Edit: The Winner has been selected! Congratulations to Kim Colasante!
Scholastic Art magazine sent me samples of last year's issues to review. I was somewhat familiar with the magazine as it seems every year I get a sample issue in the mail and I have a file cabinet drawer of back issues from the previous teacher, but I'd honestly never taken the time to actually read the magazine and see what it was all about.
I was a pleasantly surprised at everything included in the issues. I had assumed that it was basically a couple about on whatever was on the cover and now I feel silly for not having checked it out before!
The issues are organized by artist or theme- How to Read Art, The Art of the Campaign, Edward Hopper, Objects from World Cultures, Ansel Adams, and Painting Right Now were last year's topics.
I really appreciate that they have a good balance between art history and contemporary artists and have articles about high school students' work. It's good for students to see others their own age who've worked hard and found success in art. In addition to the articles, each teacher edition has lesson plans, worksheets, a high quality poster (printed on magazine paper but you can laminate if you want it to be sturdier), and you can access more materials with your login for the website. The digital resources include videos, slideshows, and more. I could see the videos being really intriguing for students. I saw videos with featured artists talking about their works as well as "how to" videos demonstrating techniques or presenting students with challenges.
I really wish I'd had the Art of the Campaign issue last year! It would have been a perfect supplement to the lesson I presented on campaign posters and honestly would have saved me a lot of work since I spent time collecting some of the very same images that they included.
Ways to use Scholastic Art magazine...
- Read the magazine on a regularly scheduled day worked into your month's lesson plans
- Save the issues until it correlates with a theme
- Use it for a substitute plan
- Read one article or the whole magazine!
- Take advantage of the art prompts for students
- With middle-high school students and even upper elementary
I know that cost is always a concern when teachers with limited budgets consider a purchase like a magazine subscription. According to the Scholastic magazine website, the subscription is $8.99 per student. If I ordered 20 issues that would be enough for my classes, which rarely have more than 20 students, the price including shipping would be around $200. If that were to come out of my supply budget, I'm not sure I could handle it. However, the educational foundation for my district allows teachers to write grants for supplies or professional development. I think next year I will write one for a magazine subscription. Your district may agree to purchase a subscription in place of textbooks. That's how an art teacher friend of mine has managed her subscriptions and she talks about how much the students love it and beg to do the studio assignments included. Scholastic also has some suggestions for getting funding, including Donors Choose and others.Give Away
But what's even better than convincing someone to fund your subscription? Getting a year for FREE! I am partnering with Scholastic to bring you this giveaway. To enter, share this post on social media and leave a comment on this blog post including your email address. I will randomly select a winner on August 1st and send your info to Scholastic Art to set up your subscription. Good luck!
