Sunday, July 16, 2017

Review of Scholastic Art Magazine

Congrats to Audrey as she is the winner of the giveaway!







Recently, Scholastic Art sent me 2016-2017 magazines and resources to review. They have also allowed me to give away a class set of  Scholastic Art magazines. Details on how to win are below.

          When I opened my sample copies, I discovered that the magazine also contains a 2-sided poster along with a teacher's guide and online resources. But more about that later. The magazine is bright and colorful and instantly draws you into the content inside. The magazine is very well organized. The magazine is thinnish, but its content is not.  I would love to see them use a different sort of paper to give it a different feel, but I know how expensive printing costs can be.

The first two pages are Art News and Notes which I found very current and trending. I especially loved reading the blurb on the Space Suit Art Project. I found the Art News and Notes spread a great way to connect the current art world to students. Some of the content I had seen online and trending on Facebook and instagram.

         



            The next section of the magazine is the Spotlight, which echo the artwork and names on the cover. The Spotlight includes between one to four artists in about an 8-page spread and includes art history, analysis, and Q&A with the artists. The last few pages of Spotlight are focused on modern and contemporary connections. The content was thoughtful and age appropriate for students to understand. I was excited to see Jenny Holzer in one of the Spotlight series as her work is at MASSMOcA and I recently brought student there. (Eighty 5th graders, 120 7th graders and twenty 8th graders to be exact. All on different days, of course with many teachers and chaperons). Anytime a student is exposed to an artist's work in multiple ways, they grasp the concepts so much better.




                 The next section was the Debate page. The debate each month included a current and relevant topic relating to art and gives students the information for them to draw their own conclusions and explore further questions. It asks students to craft their own argument and to even go online and add their opinion on the site. I imagine I could give extra credit for this, or even make it part of an assignment.



              The Student of the Month page followed and featured students who won either a gold or silver key in the Scholastic Art and Writing awards. It was really cool to see the artwork of these talented students and read their stories of their artwork. I was very impressed with the talent of these young adults. They must be so proud!



               The next spread was the Hands-on Project. Each issue included a lesson plan for students to create artwork inspired by the theme of the issue. Rather than a lesson plan, its actually a student centered step by step tutorial that is categorized into 3 steps and a short list of materials, making the project not intimidating or complicated to start. There is also a "Watch a Video" prompt and when you go online; there is a short video that explains the steps. This is especially useful for differentiating teaching to have the directions both in print and in video format.



              The back cover is the last page and features Great Art Jobs. It is a Q&A with a professional who is employed in an art profession. The professions that are chosen are in line with that month's theme. These were really interesting to read and all professions were so different from each other. My favorite to read about was the Color Specialist at Pantone. I want her job!



             The teacher insert is a guide that is full of resources to work with alongside the magazine. Standards are listed for administration that wants to see them, along with enduring understandings and essential questions. The lesson plans that correlate to the content in the magazine include everything you need. They make it easy as it's all there for you. There is also an Elementary Teaching Guide Insert to use with younger students, as the magazine seems to be geared to middle and high. I teach 5th-8th, so I could definitely make use if the Elementary Teaching Guide insert for my 5th classes. The insert also includes worksheets, graphic organizers, and sketchbook starters.


           In addition to the teacher's insert, the magazine comes with a double-sided poster. I have mixed feelings about the posters as its folded in fours, leaving creases. I would love to see them ship it in a tube and use better paper. It's the same paper that is used in the magazines. The posters are beautifully printed and the color is great, but the quality of the paper and the creases detracts from it, for me at least. Nevertheless, I was super excited about the We Can Do It Poster and will definitely be hanging that up in my classroom.


   
           The last resource that comes with the magazine is the online tools. Each issue has its own page online that contains a digital version of the magazine, downloads of the worksheets that are in the teacher guide, the video of the Hands-on Project, a slideshow, downloads of the posters, a debate page, where student or teachers can add their own opinions to the current discussion from the Debate page in the magazine, and a video from one of the artists featured in Spotlight. Teachers can also go back and see the resources of past issues.



          Overall, Scholastic Art Magazine is concise, relevant, accessible, has rich content, is engaging and well-organized. I would need to figure out how to use it in my classroom effectively. The things I would have to think about are:


1. What grade or grades would be using these? I teach about 25-30 different sections a year with 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th. My class sizes range from 18-26. How could I make this work?

2. Would the students keep the magazine at the end of the unit, or would I reuse them (then they would be dog eared and less appealing).

3. Could I buy extra back issues if I wanted to do a unit again, or should I just use the online resources for future classes?

Maybe Scholastic Art Magazine can help me with some of these questions.

Now on to the prize!  Scholastic Art Magazine is giving me a class set to give TO ONE OF YOU!

Rules:

1. Leave a comment on my blog 
2. Follow my instagram: mvrms_art

That's it!

I will pick a winner in 4 weeks on Aug. 16th.
Please make sure you leave your email for me so I may contact you.
I will also post the winner on my blog and instagram.
If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be picked. 




31 comments:

ArtTeacherSarah said...

I love scholastic art magazines! Their downloadable worksheets that go along with the magazines are great too!

Unknown said...

These look like great resources. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

awesome! thanks!

Unknown said...

Awesome! Thanks!

Laura said...

Scholastic Arts Magazines are so awesome! Quick info right at your fingertips!!!

Cynthia Bliss said...

Great resource! My school has been focusing on literacy - this would be a relevant way to have reading be part of my art curriculum.

Unknown said...

Love scholastic magazine! Would be great to get this in my classroom!

Anonymous said...

this would be a fabulous resource for me! thank you for the opportunity!! phrogprincess@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

My classroom budget was reduced this year, so this would be a wonderful resource to make up for the shortfall with my students. Thanks so much for this opportunity!

Mrs. Impey said...

I love Scholastic Art! I wasn't able to get it last year and this year I had to decide between it and a serger for my Fashion Design class. The serger won! Great article!
Jen

Instagram: @ekcougarart
jimpey@ekcsk12.org

Anonymous said...

I always love the sample issue they send me every year, I would LOVE to actually have a whole set. They're soooo useful :) avanbrunt@libertyperry.org

Cheryl Hancock said...

I have managed to collect a few magazines on line to use in my Artroom here in Perth Western Australia . I love the magazine but sadly unable to subscribe here. I would love to buy a digital subscription strictly as a teacher. My feed back to Scholastic is create a teachers digital worldwide subscription .

Unknown said...

I really enjoy the scholastic magazines. I also appreciate the mix of past and contemporary artist in the magazine. I need to do a better job using them in the classroom.

K.S said...

Ive been wanting these but i dont have it work with my budget! I think they connect the visial arts to so many other subjects in a really thoughtful way.
Ill be following you on instagram as k._salem, see you there!

Michelle Venable said...

I love Scholastic Art, but it just isn't in my budget to subscrib every year. The information is much more relate to and inspiring to students than an art text book is. Michelle Venable Mvstencil@gmail.com

Kathleen Moore said...

I love scholastic art! I am starting at a new school district this year and and our budget is extremely low. Having this resource for my students and myself to use and explore different artists, mediums, and trends would really help spread the interest and inspire my students.

Following on insta as kmoore819
Kmoore819@gmail.com

Mrs. Hazelwood said...

Awesome! :)

Marcia Beckett said...

I would love to win a class subscription. Awesome! Marciadotcom@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

I would love to win this. I actually share a classroom with two other art teachers (90 students at a time with three different classes)and we would all get so much use from these!!

Anonymous said...

I plan each year to order Scholastic Art but our supply budget just won't stretch. Thanks for the opportunity to win it!

KimA said...

Love the Scholastic Art online resources. I still have old class sets in my classroom for kids to use as needed. Thanks for the contest!

KimA said...

Almost forgot...Kim Alfes, kimalfes@gmail.com, instagram: kimberalf

artmarcia said...

Love Scholastic Art! Thanks for the chance to win a classroom set.

Unknown said...

Love Scholastics Art magazine. If you find out if they sell back issues, I would love to know. Have always wanted to fill the blanks in my collection.
Renna.moore@gmail.com

Amy Seiber said...

I love the samples, but haven't been able to afford a class set!

Unknown said...

I'm a first year teacher, and these would be am amazing resource. I received a few for free along with my NAEA membership, and have been wanting them ever since. Thank you for offering this!

Unknown said...

I've had the ability to get some at conferences and ordered just one set last year which was a great way to do a resource library. Thanks for the opportunity! Lpkibbe@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

I have been subscribing to a few copies in order to keep access to the on line resources. I want to call and inquire if they have a digital only option. I have favorite issues I use over and over and hate to lose them.

Unknown said...

I love Scholastic Art - as a resource as I teach K through 5 - Would be nice to have a class set for the upper grades! Seeing the digital option - might be a great idea!

Laura B. said...

I love the Scholastic Art magazine! Great blog.

Victoria said...

Love Scholastic Art but sadly I don't have room in the budget currently :(

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