The Inspired Classroom » arts

…but I’m not an artist…

Elizabeth Peterson — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:35:19 +0000

I hear this a lot and have often found myself saying it as well. But after years of dabbling in this and that, I’ve stopped. After trying things out, failing and still enjoying myself, I’ve stopped. All it took was the right people allowing me to explore my own creative side, teaching me a few skills and techniques and then letting me take my own reigns. It worked. I am an artist.

I am creative and sometimes fearless when it comes to creating certain things. I’m not afraid of failure, because I’ve learned that often the best outcome comes from a mistake. I am an artist.

I can write poetry and tell a story. I can act and play a mean drum. I can paint and mix colors, and oh, baby, I can dance. This is not to say people want to hear my poems or stories, pay to see me perform or jam with me, collect my paintings or tip me while dancing (although some have tried ~wink~), I’m just saying I love to create. I’ve freed myself of this idea that “I am not an artist.” I am an artist.

Think of what would happen if we allowed our students to limit themselves in being what they thought they could be. “…but I cannot read…but I am not a writer…but I cannot…” So why would we allow that for ourselves? We need to crystallize and not paralyze our students and ourselves!

I’m setting out to help other teachers realize their inner artists, not by perfecting their skills, but by liberating their potential. I believe that if we are able to see the artist within ourselves then we are better able to see it in our students. By becoming this type of artist, we can understand our own way of thinking and appreciate others’ perspectives.

And it’s not just about art, it’s about learning. Art is learning. The creative process is the learning process.

By many standards, I am not an artist, and yet I am…and you are too!

In what ways are you an artist?

~EMP

Join me this summer for the Teacher ART Retreat – Get Inspired so you can BE Inspiring!

The Artist-Teacher Partnership

Teacher Retreat 2011

Elizabeth Peterson — Thu, 26 May 2011 09:32:20 +0000

I am so excited to announce The Inspired Classroom’s first ever Teacher Art Retreat summer event!

Join teachers from the area who are ready to treat themselves to three days of art making and idea sharing. Whether you are interested in ARTS INTEGRATION, ART EDUCATION, or just need some time for YOURSELF, this retreat, built just for TEACHERS is for YOU!

This will be a time for discovery and inspiration as we get together to create a piece of art – a hinged box book and participate in a different workshop each day in poetry, music and drama. So GET inspired so you can BE inspiring! We’re trying to live up to our motto!

For all the information, go to our Teacher Art Retreat page now. There, you can see what it’s all about and sign up. Be sure to take advantage of our Early Bird and Super Early Bird Rates!

Here’s to a wonderful experience teachers can share together!

~EMP

ArtsEd Vs ArtsInt

Elizabeth Peterson — Sat, 14 May 2011 10:46:54 +0000

Arts education and arts integration are two different things. I find that some people don’t quite understand this and therefore may feel unqualified or disinterested in learning about what they have to offer their students. Here, I am setting out to clarify a few things.

Let’s get a couple of critical questions out of the way first:

Are arts education and arts integration two different things? YES

Can either form take the place of another? NO

And now to the nitty gritty…

Arts Education is where students learn the skills and practices of artists and musicians. They learn how to play an instrument, techniques for painting, vocabulary that defines their movement or strategies to take a picture. Students knowledge base in an artform as well as the historical aspect and appreciation of the arts is what is taught here. Students are then given opportunities to explore, refine and use these skills in various art projects as they move through the artistic process. When we have an education in the arts we are also learning skills beyond the ones that can be readily assessed: collaboration and independence, work ethic and perseverance, communication and self-reflection. An education in the arts helps us to define ourselves and understand our culture. It is an essential piece to the whole picture of becoming a lifelong learner.

Arts Integration is a concept of teaching where students utilize the arts to learn about, practice and embed an understanding of various concepts that may or may not be arts-related. With arts integration, students learn with and through the arts. For example, my students have gained quite a repertoire of math dances that have helped them to understand and remember math concepts such as area and perimeter, parallel and perpendicular lines and how to move on a coordinate grid. We also listen to music daily and discuss related reading strategies such as visualization and the concept of beginning, middle and end.

These two methods of educating children are very different and one type needs the other. Sure they could be taught independently of each other, but that would take away from the potential of a well-rounded arts education. This is not to say that those only interested in the arts should practice both arts ed and int. In fact, the arts are for everyone. After all the arts are culture and we all need to be able to understand and process all that is around us. Visit this post for more on learning with, through and about the arts.

Why this post?

I decided to write this post for a couple of reasons. One is that many people simply don’t know the difference between arts education and integration. The other is because in these times of so many budget cuts, where the arts tend to be their first to go, it is important to understand that arts integration SHOULD NOT and CANNOT replace arts education. The only true formula it to have the arts taught for the sake of the art and to integrate it into other content areas so that students can deepen their knowledge, appreciation and understanding of both the art form and the other area that is taught.

I am a proponent of the ideal where both artsed and artsint are taught simultaneously. The two need to be taught and should be taught together. They naturally compliment each other and provide for the most effective and long standing education we can give our students!

What are your thoughts?

~EMP

Arts Integration School

Elizabeth Peterson — Thu, 12 May 2011 09:43:42 +0000

Recently, I was honored to be invited to visit an arts integration school here in New Hampshire. The Seacoast Charter School in Kingston, NH is devoted to providing their students with both arts education and integration as a means to a well rounded education.

During my visit, I was welcomed into all classrooms to see the types of things teachers do on a daily basis. I was pleased at the immediate sense of collegiality in the school. It was a welcoming place. Students addressed their teachers respectfully by first name and teachers were able to assist all their students grouped in multi-aged classrooms. In every classroom I visited, students worked diligently on their tasks whether it was an Everyday Math lesson, vocabulary activity, or work with poetry and visualization and illustration.

The students’ education appeared to be very well rounded in the arts. There was a focus in both arts education AND arts integration – very important and the topic of an upcoming post for sure! The students have instruction two times a week for extended periods of time in music (strings and general music) and visual art. There are also many opportunities in movement and dance, drama, set building and design. These students are learning the skills and practices of the arts. It’s awesome! While I was there I witnessed 3rd and 4th graders planning out and sketching their designs for an amazing 3D hinged box book, as well as seventh and eighth graders working on collages with intensity and attention to detail. Every student is also taught a stringed instrument and expected to perform with the schools orchestra. Rows of cellos lined the back of one music room awaiting the students’ rehearsal time.

The idea of integration seems to drive the school, and this is true integration. The integrity of the art form is held at a high regard. While at the school, I was able to see 5th and 6th graders in music class researching the music of various countries in music class and then witness how students are using that information to create a collage representing their findings. When

There is a great emphasis on the learning process at this school. Students are not only given time to go through the process, but are encouraged, supported and in some regard expected to do so. One project that I saw was one upper elementary students completed in “Roman tiles.” The students were introduced to the project, and then expected to plan it out, try it out with paper first, commit to a design and then work with the true materials.

In another classroom, students created a replica of a Renaissance painting by each completing one square section of it and piecing it together. They first mapped it out, drew a plan, tried it out and then worked with the material very carefully.

It was obvious that the arts teachers and classroom teachers work closely together on integrated projects that allow the students to work deeply with their curriculum. I left with a sense of excitement and renewed energy to share these findings with my colleagues. No matter the type of school, the curriculum taught or the students to teach, it is obvious to me how much good can come from an education steeped in the arts!

This week end the art teachers at the Seacoast Charter School, Judy and Andrea will be hosting a STUDENT ART SHOW. The art show will be open on Saturday and Sunday, May 14^th and 15^th at the barn at Memories Ice Cream on Rt 111 in Kingston. There will be a Grand Opening at 11 on Saturday and the show will be open both days from 11-9. If you are in the area, I encourage you to stop by and see some of the amazing art work these students have completed and are working on this school year.

~EMP

Arts Integration Course this Summer

Elizabeth Peterson — Thu, 05 May 2011 09:30:42 +0000

Here’s an exciting opportunity for teachers of all grade levels and subject areas: An Arts Integration graduate level course! If you are in the Maine/Massachusetts/New Hampshire area this summer, you may want to invest some time into this! Read on for details:

I am excited to announce that I will be conducting a graduate level course in ARTS INTEGRATION through the Northeast Consortium for Staff Development. You can opt to take this course for 3 credits or not. Either way you will learn so much as you work hands-on in various art forms including music, visual, drama, storytelling, poetry and movement. We will explore all these art forms and look closely into the creative process as a learning process.

Participants will learn effective strategies for lesson planning and implementing the arts into their teaching. We will discover how arts integration can transform your classroom’s culture and motivate your students while you simultaneously teach other content areas. You will come away with a working portfolio of lesson plans and activities you can use immediately in your teaching!

Who should take a course in Arts Integration? ANY teacher (or administrator). Arts integration is for all educators who know that students learn in a variety of ways and who want to provide lasting learning experiences for their students. General ed teachers, special ed teachers, arts teachers, ESL teachers, language teachers, science teachers, math teachers, elementary teachers, middle school teachers, high school teachers, ALL teachers will be able to learn and develop strategies that pertain to their individual teaching situation.

Want even more details? Here you go!

This course will run from July 25-29 at the Cashman Elementary School in Amesbury, MA.

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the benefits of arts education and integration (including music, visual, storytelling, movement and dance, drama and poetry) by engaging in various artful activities and experiences and personal reflection.
Assemble a work to present and use for advocacy showing your understanding of what arts integration is and how to advocate for it.
Through numerous arts-based activities, experiences, and readings, understand the relationship between the creative and learning process.
Demonstrate your understanding of how to write an integrated lesson plan as you develop a working repertoire of arts-based lessons and activities.
By engaging in discussions both face to face and online, your will hone their understandings of and beliefs in the benefits of arts integration.

If you are interested or would like even more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me by commenting here or emailing me. You can also visit the NCSD website. The registration information and forms are HERE. This course, “LEARNING THROUGH THE CREATIVE ARTS: A LOOK INTO THE CREATIVE PROCESS” is on page 11.

I hope you consider taking this course. (Or if you are too far away, another arts integration course.) The value of discovering and learning these wonderful teaching strategies is priceless, not only for your students, but for you!

~EMP

Literacy and the Arts

Elizabeth Peterson — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:39:48 +0000

This month my focus has been on the parallels between music and literacy. However, music is not the only art that can be integrated with literacy. Drama, movement and visual art can as well.

Think about the elements of a story. Each of these art forms tells a story. In theatre, a story comes alive, complete with props, scenes, costumes and actors. Movement and dance can also tell a story. The story can be as simple as an individual moving through the growth of a plant from seed to flower or as complex as a dance that tells the story of a girl’s search for love. (I love watching the various stories that come from the dancers on Dancing with the Stars!) Visual art is no different. Many paintings, drawings and sculptures tell a story. You just have to search for the details that make the story come to life.

All the arts assist students in their learning and practice of visualization, questioning, predicting, cause and effect, and drawing conclusions. In my ebook Integration the Works of Norman Rockwell into Reading Instruction, I explore many ways to use the fabulous works of American painter Norman Rockwell to help students achieve a better understanding of these and other literacy skills.

There are so many parallels and applications that the arts have for us in our teaching. In what ways do you use the arts to help you teach literacy?

~EMP

image from http://www.amitypublications.com/

Celebrate Music and Literacy! This is the LAST DAY to take advantage of Elizabeth’s book Inspired by Listening, a teacher resource book for integrating musical listening experiences into the classroom. The book is on sale this month only (March 2011) at 20% off!