Elementary reading, math, science are all important parts of an elementary curriculum,
but so are art and music. In the ten, thirty minute Behind the Scenes episodes
comic magicians Penn and Teller instill creative and critical thinking through exploration of the visual and
performing arts.
Each episode focuses on one aesthetic idea, such as line, color or musical texture. A feature artist
creates a work-a blank canvas becomes a painting or everyday movements become the patterns of a dance. By
exploring each idea from several viewpoints, Behind the Scenes encourages children to
sharpen their focus, look more carefully and to think more creatively.
Behind the Scenes educational DVDs explore artists' techniques but go even further, showing artists
moving beyond technique, sometimes even ignoring or working against it, to find surprising solutions. The
programs make complex concepts such as one and two point perspective easy to understand even at a young age.
Free Online Teacher's Guide
is available for each episode.
Add Behind the Scenes into your elementary curriculum with corresponding classroom
activities, outlined in the free online teacher's guide. It lets children discover how they can use the
concepts presented in the programs and unlock their own artistic and creative abilities.
The Thinking Teacher's Guide to the Visual Arts expands episodes #1- 5 into a full semester of visual
arts learning. This in-depth guide makes it easy to give students hands-on experiences in the visual arts
and enables students to explore art skills and help them become better creative and critical thinkers. Use
in conjunction with elementary reading to further grow student’s creative abilities with nonfiction.
Download the Visual Arts Guide by clicking on individual episodes. Free online or $15.95 to purchase a
printed copy. Printed copy is provided free of charge with the purchase of the complete series.
"1st graders really enjoy the color video. They don't realize how much they are learning because it's so entertaining." —Jennifer McVey, Oak Grove School Green Oaks, IL
Rights granted with the purchase include: a) life of media audiovisual use, b) public performance, c) campus or building closed circuit and digital/video-on-demand transmission.