How can I integrate art into my classroom? After reading the chapters in our text I feel like I am so full of ideas that I could just go on and on forever, so I will try to sum up my thoughts the best I can. First of all, I really enjoy this text and I am excited to use it in my classroom as a “go to” book. If a teacher wanted to, they would be able to incorporate art with every single thing that they did during the day. The book states that we need to make sure that we address all 3 domains in our lesson plans. The three domains are cognitive, affective and psychomotor or as the text also refers to them the “mind, heart and body”[1], which I thought was a helpful way to remember them. By integrating art into our classrooms we are not only getting students more involved we are also making the learning more memorable.
We need to use the cognitive domain, of course, in order to teach the students facts and information. We need to use the affective domain in order to let the students show their emotions and realize that it is ok to express their feelings. We need to use the psychomotor domain in order to get the children moving. The psychomotor domain is also important to use so that the students get a break from just sitting and learning – they need some hands on learning and movement to keep them awake and involved.
The Visual Cultural Approach needs to be integrated into our classrooms now due to the new technology that is everywhere and that children are completely surrounded by. When we think of art we need to also think of current art that will help to inform the students about the time period that they are in so that they are able to understand the art that they are seeing around them every day. The text also talked about not using “stereotyped Pilgrim hats with buckles” or any “look-a-like exercises.”[2] What student has not made the Pilgrim hat with the buckle? I think that this means we need to be a little more creative as teachers and use new styles of art instead of the norm.
In language arts there are so many ways to use art. I really liked the example that the text showed where the student did a self-portrait and then filled in the background with a story of “what I did last summer.” I also like the teacher that had the students draw pictures from a book that they are reading as a class. The students get to be the illustrator – that way not only are the students drawing they are also interpreting the book how they see it in their minds. For psychomotor you could even have the children act out the book as it was being read. The text suggests that teachers “provide opportunities for them to translate from one symbol to another, artworks to stories and vice versa.”[3]
In math we don’t really think about art, but why not. Math is used to create art projects all the time but we just don’t realize it. Math uses measuring, estimating, symmetry, perspective, and shapes, just to name a few. In my Eled 1010 class we learned how to make a very cool bookmark using patterns and shapes and we were told that it is a great math exercise but it is art. I like when the students get to weave patterns with fabric or paper in order to make their own designs using patterns. I remember writing our names in cursive with paint and then folding our papers in half and seeing the design that it created and we were able to add details and turn it into whatever we thought it resembled. This was teaching us symmetry and I still remember it almost thirty years later. The snowflakes that we just did are a great teaching tool for showing symmetry in five directions. You could then have the children act like they are falling snowflakes and show how they would fall and float around the room for psychomotor.
In science the possibilities are endless because there are so many categories that we will be teaching that will fall under science. I like the idea of taking the students on a nature walk (psychomotor), have them collect some items from nature like leaves, feathers, sticks, etc. Then have the students bring the items back to class and create a picture using the items that they found. We did this and one of the students made a drawing of a bird and glued the random feathers to the picture and then glued a stick under the bird’s feet. Building solar systems and painting them and then hanging them from the classroom ceiling – tons of stuff to do.
In performing arts you could have a lot of fun putting on plays where the children have to make costumes, singing and dancing in performances for parents. I liked the pictures in the text where the students created pictures of people dancing and then used shiny wrapping paper to embellish the pictures.
I read through some really cool websites about integrating art into the classroom. I want to share some of my favorite points that they made.
“They (the arts) can bring every subject to life and turn abstractions into concrete reality.”[4]
“Educators who integrate the arts into their classroom’s core curriculum find inspiration for new teaching methods and experience deeper learning from their students.”[5]
“Teachers observed that students who had attention problems could learn through drawing to stay on track for unbelievable lengths of time. In order to achieve realistic drawings the students automatically learned to focus, concentrate, and problem solve.”[6]
I absolutely think that integrating art into the classroom is important. Why not make learning interesting, enjoyable and most of all memorable. Using art in the classroom will help the students to be involved in the learning. Students want to touch and feel and get into the learning, they don’t want to sit in a chair and listen to a teacher tell them fact after fact. Teach them the facts but make the facts sparkle and fill their brains with questions and ideas that make them want to know more.
[1] Clements, Robert D. “Emphasis Art” 2010. Ninth edition.
[2] Clements, Robert D. “Emphasis Art” 2010. Ninth edition.
[3] Clements, Robert D. “Emphasis Art” 2010. Ninth edition.
[4] http://www.marthalakecov.org/~building/strategies/arts/front_arts.htm
[5] http://www.neohiofamily.com/articles/index.php?view=viewarticle&id=256
[6] http://www.marthalakecov.org/~building/strategies/arts/brookes.htm
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