Art Standards Support

Inspired by the National Core Arts Standards1, the reference points that are bolded below can enhance your art instruction.


Creating

Show illustrators modeling art techniques and mediums when introducing or reviewing concepts.


Presenting

Enjoy as illustrators teach the book-making process to reinforce method, connect ideas, and inspire learners.

  • Find out how to create engaging picture books in four steps in this Meet-the-Author Movie with David Wiesner.

  • Unfold the engineering behind realistic dinosaur pop-up art in this Meet-the-Author Movie with Matthew Reinhart.

  • Read this Guest Illustrator Blog Post by Christian Robinson and reflect on how he used historical photographs to capture the spirit of Josephine Baker in his acrylic illustrations.

  • Learn Kevin Henkes’ process for bringing his books to life in this Meet-the-Author Movie.


Responding

Hear illustrators share the intent of and meaning behind their artistic work.

  • Understand how illustrator Ernie Colón used “graphic continuity” to portray the complex, difficult subject of 9/11 in this Meet-the-Author Movie.

  • Learn how Brian Pinkney brought musical sounds to visual life through scratchboard painting in his Meet-the-Illustrator Recording for Duke Ellington.

  • Listen to this Meet-the-Illustrator Recording with Dan Santat for Drawn Together and discover how he met the challenge of creating illustrations that “inhabit the personalities of the characters.”

  • Discover Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s purposeful use of color and process to connect every picture to the one before and after it, reflecting the interconnectedness of the environment, in this Meet-the-Author Recording for Green.


Connecting

Analyze how illustrators use visual imagery to both help readers understand their world and lead to the appreciation of self and others.

  • Gain insight into the power of art to represent emotional ties to people and places in Christian Robinson's Meet-the-Illustrator Recording for Last Stop on Market Street.

  • Consider how Molly Idle used interactive illustrations to show the relationship between the main characters of Flora and the Flamingo in this Meet-the-Author Recording.

  • Join Raúl Colón on an imaginative trip through his city with wordless pictures in this Meet-the-Illustrator Recording for Imagine!.

  • Connect themes to illustrations using this educator’s guide for When Stars are Scattered.


1. Referenced from "National Core Arts Standards." National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, SEADAE, http://nationalartsstandards.org.