Artmaking: Using Picture Books and Art to Read Our World

From the award-winning authors of StoryMaking and Makerspaces comes ArtMaking.

ArtMaking is a process of making meaning by reading children’s books, investigating how this meaning is expressed and then inviting the child to use art to communicate their own meaning. It is the perfect language to give all children a voice, regardless of age or ability. In ArtMaking children are invited to “read their worlds” as they learn about images, explore materials and elements of art (color, lines, shapes, textures, spaces, design) and communicate their thinking through their own art processes and products. Along the way these skills build a strong literacy foundation.

Using artwork as well as illustrations from children’s books as provocations, children make meaning with their visual literacy skills as they use the receptive and productive languages of literacy and art to make connections. When children engage in ArtMaking they apply the highest level of the comprehension and visual literacy continuums to new art experiences and makerspaces. They aren’t just making art, they are making meaning of the book and the world.

Michelle Kay Compton, MA, has been in the education field for over 15 years and specializes in inquiry practices with early learners up to children in the middle school years. She holds a master’s degree in varying exceptionalities from the University of South Florida and is endorsed in gifted as well as reading and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). For the last 10 years, she has worked to design curriculum aligned to state and international standards collaboratively with teachers. Michelle provides training to teachers within the district of Manatee County, as well as at the state and national level related to reading and writing instruction, inquiry practices, and content area literacy. She has worked as a volunteer consultant with the International Baccalaureate Organization to train teachers and visit school sites interested in improving their practices in inquiry instruction. Currently, Michelle works as an independent learning environment consultant. She is the coauthor of StoryMaking, Makerspaces, and Storymakers on Deck.

Robin Chappele Thompson’s work in education spans 25 years. Her master’s degree in elementary education, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement, certification in K-12 reading, and certification in preschool education provide her with a strong knowledge base in the teaching and learning processes. She has been a teacher, literacy coach, and curriculum coordinator. After earning her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in childhood reading and language arts, she worked as an instructor at the University of South Florida, where she supervised interns and taught literacy, assessment, and writing courses in the College of Education. Currently, Robin works as the director of early learning in the school district of Manatee County, where curriculum design and implementation for pre-K–2 has been a focus area for her work. She is the coauthor of StoryMaking, Makerspaces, and Storymakers on Deck.