Voices from the Middle, Vol. 4, No. 3, September 1997

Table of Contents

Issue Theme: Vision and Voice

• The Seeing Line

  Donald M. Murray

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  Abstract: Points out that there is an enormous amount of material from the world of art that can help people see and, therefore, help them write. Notes the connections between writing and visual art as expressed in the work of many writers, including the author. Offers suggestions on how to explore the connections between writing and art.

  Keywords: Middle, Writing

• Sketches of Life

  Joni Chancer and Gina Rester-Zodrow

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  Abstract: Describes an adventure through writing and art. Discusses the many uses of the blank sketchbooks\journals that students make. Describes an integrated writing and art workshop in which sketchbook\journal items are developed into finished pieces. Describes the evolution of a focused classroom inquiry project (a lunar investigation). Includes students drawings, poems, and observations.

  Keywords: Middle, Writing

• Art to Writing: The Healer, the Catalyst

  Margaret H. Hill

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  Abstract: Describes a teacher's work with a small-group Book Club format for adolescents (who were also parents) and a large-group workshop environment at a juvenile detention center. Shows that art creates powerful catalytic links to writing while serving as a catharsis for the young writers. Suggests that art helps them to concentrate thoughts for subsequent speech and writing.

  Keywords: Middle, Literature, Writing, Reading

• Looking, Writing, Creating

  Bonnie Katzive

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  Abstract: Describes how a middle school language arts teacher makes analyzing and creating visual art a partner to reading and writing in her classroom. Describes a project on art and Vietnam which shows how background information can add to and influence interpretation. Describes a unit on Greek mythology and Greek vases which leads to a related visual assignment.

  Keywords: Middle, Writing

• Paintbrushes and Pens: The World of Literate Seeing

  Kristin Rauch and Lorraine Almond

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  Abstract: Describes how art-making and writing intersect in a sixth-grade art classroom. Discusses how writing about art-making promoted reflection and thinking, and was essential to the learning in class for both students and teacher. Offers brief notes also about art in the language arts class.

  Keywords: Middle, Writing

• Literary Weavings: Extending Response through the Arts

  Nancy J. Johnson

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  Abstract: Describes how students in an undergraduate children's literature class constructed and created interpretations of the books they were reading. Notes that the students each designed a three-foot paper strip reflecting his or her personal response to the book. Finds fresh thinking, fewer repeated ideas, and more understanding of symbol, metaphor, and image.

  Keywords: Middle, Literature, Writing

• Educated Eyes: Portraits in the English Classroom

  Elizabeth Canaday

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  Abstract: Describes a half-year curriculum called "Portraits," developed by three middle school teachers in collaboration with the education department of a museum, in which students learn and practice the skills involved in visual observation and apply them to reading and writing: precise observation of detail, accurate inference based on these facts, and analysis of artists' choices.

  Keywords: Middle, Pedagogy, Writing

• Message from the Editors

  Linda Rief and Maureen Barbieri

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  Abstract: For this themed issue, "Vision and Voice," the editors comment on the relationship of visual arts to language arts, and encourage teachers to engage with the arts: a greater understanding of what we paint or draw affects not only how we see but also how we write and read, how we view other works of art, and, ultimately, how we live.

  Keywords: Middle

• Clip and File Reviews

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  Abstract: Available in print issue only.

  Keywords: Middle

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