Integrating the Visual Arts into my Ideal Classroom
I have worked in an arts integrated school and have witnessed first-hand how beneficial it is for the students, as well as the school as a whole. I know how meaningful learning through the arts can be. It not only benefits students’ learning, but also keeps them interested and allows them to enjoy learning. As stated in Claudia E. Cornett’s Creating Meaning Through Literature and the Arts (2011), “Visual literacy is about understanding and knowing how to create visual images to express thoughts and feelings” (p. 141). As educators, our job is to teach students to learn, think, and communicate through the arts. Arts integration effectively engages and motivates students, and “supports the academic achievement and improved social behavior of students while enhancing school climate and parental involvement” (Arts Every Day, 2008). I believe this is absolutely true. Based on my experience, parents of students who attend arts integrated schools are so much more involved and supportive of their child(ren)’s education. The school is a more positive, welcoming environment because the students enjoy school and the campus is decorated with their work. I fell in love with the school as soon as I set foot on campus. The benefits of arts integration in the classroom don’t just stay within the classroom, but spreads throughout the entire school.
Important Concepts in the Visual Arts I Plan to Teach my Students
As an arts integration educator, I plan to teach my students things they need to know to compose as well as understand art. I want my students to create art to express their thoughts and emotions. I plan to teach them how to interpret and read different pieces or artwork so that they can share their art with the class and learn from one another. According to Cornett (2011), the basics students learn in K-6 pertaining to visual art are “(1) the historical, social, and cultural role of each art in our lives; (2) communication through art forms by creating, exhibiting, and responding to art; and (3) valuing art and developing aesthetic sensitivity (the roles of beauty and emotion in life)” (p. 149). In addition to those basics, I want them to see art as a form of expression and be able to analyze various works of art.
I plan to teach my students the principles of design and the elements of visual arts as listed in Cornett’s Creating Meaning Through Literature and the Arts (2011):
“Visual Art Elements: Line, shape, color [value & saturation], space, texture, and form. Concepts and Design Principles: composition [foreground, middle, & background], structures and forms, balance, emphasis, variety, repetition, contrast, rhythm/motion, unity, and light” (p. 154).
I plan to teach them about several famous artists and their art styles such as Andy Warhol and his pop art, as well as how different types of art were popularized throughout the years.
How I Plan to Arrange my Classroom Environment to Promote Arts Integration
I plan to dedicate a large section of my classroom for art supplies such as paint, watercolors, oil pastels, chalk, charcoal, colored pencils, glue, various types of paper, scissors, clay, glaze, etc. My walls would be reserved for my students’ artwork to be displayed with their permission. “Not all kids want their work up” and some would rather keep their artwork in a portfolio than have it displayed (Cornett, 2011, p. 162). I would have some of my own artwork displayed throughout the classroom to serve as examples for my students, as well as to help them get to know me better as an artist.
I would have cubbyholes to organize art supplies and students’ belongings. If the location of the classroom permits, I would use natural lighting to light the classroom and maybe turn on just a few of the lights so that the classroom is not too bright. I remember working better in art class when the some of the lights were off. The room felt more relaxing and I could concentrate better on my art. “Light should be soft, not glaring white, to relax and make learning pleasant” (Cornett, 2011, p. 162).
Specific Teaching Practices in the Visual Arts I Plan to Use in my Classroom
I plan to use visual imagery in my classroom and teach my students to make mental visualizations as they read through stories, articles, and passages, which is called “guided visualization” (Cornett, 2011, p. 165). As an educator, I can teach my students “five mental actions to increase visualization: (1) transfer long-term memories into temporary visual memory, (2) zoom in on details, (3) embellish images, (4) rotate image, and (5) scan visually with your mind’s eye” (Cornett, 2011, p. 142). This will help students better comprehend the stories they read. “Instruction to form mental images significantly enhances reading comprehension and memory” and “what is most imaged and felt during reading is what is most retained” (Cornett, 2011, p. 142).
As we do art projects and use art materials that are new to students, I plan to teach them the various ways art can be created using the materials. Teaching students all the possible ways art materials can be used creates a wider range of possibilities for the students’ art creations. “When given materials and tools to create art, children will experiment and use imagination. When explicitly taught now to use materials and tools, they work with greater satisfaction and depth of problem solving” and doing so also “can prevent tendencies of students to abandon art expression in upper grades” (Cornett, 2011, p. 165). It is important to realize that students need to see examples of artwork so that they have a better picture of what is being asked for. Examples should serve as references and provide students with ideas, not as something students imitate – “Imitation does not use high order thinking. Instead, several “examples” should be shown that present options to meet the goals of the assignment. The work of previous students can be used and it is helpful to show work depicting several levels of success” (Cornett, 2011, p. 165-166).
Based on my personal experiences, I plan to give students short, but clear instructions on how to complete art assignments. I remember getting impatient as my teachers spent too much time explaining how to complete our art assignments. We would end up not having enough time to work on our art because too much time was spent on instructions. “Limit direction giving, which creates impatience, but demonstrate basic ways to use materials and tools before exploration, especially in regard to safety issues” (Cornett, 2011, p. 166).
After students create their works of art, we will analyze and evaluate each other’s artwork. I plan to teach my students how to read art, look for hidden messages, and find meanings behind the art. “Children need to be taught to take time and describe what they see and the feelings the art evokes. They can be coached to create stories (interpretations) from art” (Cornett, 2011, p. 166).
Specific Critical Thinking Strategies I Plan to Engage my Students in Through Our Work in the Visual Arts
To engage my students in critical thinking, I plan to use Bloom’s Taxonomy levels as listed in Cornett’s Creating Meaning Through Literature and the Arts (2011):
1. “Memory: just the facts (literal) (What are the primary colors?)
2. Interpretation: read between the lines and add your own experiences to infer (Explain in your own words how to create shades and tints.)
3. Application: put a skill to use (Use what we’ve been learning about mixing colors to make different skin tones.)
4. Analysis: examine pieces to develop understanding (Look closely to discover the repeated elements in this art.)
5. Synthesis: put pieces together to make a creative whole; requires invention and imagination (How can you use collage materials to show what you learned about the environment?)
6. Evaluation: make a judgment based on the goodness or badness, rightness or wrongness using certain criteria (What do you think about this piece of art? Why do you think as you do?)” (p. 147).
Each of these six stages makes students think critically about work(s) of art and think in-depth for messages and hidden meanings. It causes “students to think beyond the memory or literal level and coordinate higher order thinking skills to solve problems” (Cornett, 2011, p. 147). Also, as students create their art, I will prompt them with questions asking why they made their art the way they did, why they used a certain technique, ask what the meaning is behind their art idea, and how a slight alteration could change the entire meaning behind their artwork.
Bibliography
Cornett, C. (2011). Creating meaning through literature and the arts. Boston, MA: Pearson
Education, Inc.
Why arts integration. Arts Every Day. Retrieved from
“http://www.artseveryday.org/WhatWeDo/detail.aspx?id=166.”
Important Concepts in the Visual Arts I Plan to Teach my Students
As an arts integration educator, I plan to teach my students things they need to know to compose as well as understand art. I want my students to create art to express their thoughts and emotions. I plan to teach them how to interpret and read different pieces or artwork so that they can share their art with the class and learn from one another. According to Cornett (2011), the basics students learn in K-6 pertaining to visual art are “(1) the historical, social, and cultural role of each art in our lives; (2) communication through art forms by creating, exhibiting, and responding to art; and (3) valuing art and developing aesthetic sensitivity (the roles of beauty and emotion in life)” (p. 149). In addition to those basics, I want them to see art as a form of expression and be able to analyze various works of art.
I plan to teach my students the principles of design and the elements of visual arts as listed in Cornett’s Creating Meaning Through Literature and the Arts (2011):
“Visual Art Elements: Line, shape, color [value & saturation], space, texture, and form. Concepts and Design Principles: composition [foreground, middle, & background], structures and forms, balance, emphasis, variety, repetition, contrast, rhythm/motion, unity, and light” (p. 154).
I plan to teach them about several famous artists and their art styles such as Andy Warhol and his pop art, as well as how different types of art were popularized throughout the years.
How I Plan to Arrange my Classroom Environment to Promote Arts Integration
I plan to dedicate a large section of my classroom for art supplies such as paint, watercolors, oil pastels, chalk, charcoal, colored pencils, glue, various types of paper, scissors, clay, glaze, etc. My walls would be reserved for my students’ artwork to be displayed with their permission. “Not all kids want their work up” and some would rather keep their artwork in a portfolio than have it displayed (Cornett, 2011, p. 162). I would have some of my own artwork displayed throughout the classroom to serve as examples for my students, as well as to help them get to know me better as an artist.
I would have cubbyholes to organize art supplies and students’ belongings. If the location of the classroom permits, I would use natural lighting to light the classroom and maybe turn on just a few of the lights so that the classroom is not too bright. I remember working better in art class when the some of the lights were off. The room felt more relaxing and I could concentrate better on my art. “Light should be soft, not glaring white, to relax and make learning pleasant” (Cornett, 2011, p. 162).
Specific Teaching Practices in the Visual Arts I Plan to Use in my Classroom
I plan to use visual imagery in my classroom and teach my students to make mental visualizations as they read through stories, articles, and passages, which is called “guided visualization” (Cornett, 2011, p. 165). As an educator, I can teach my students “five mental actions to increase visualization: (1) transfer long-term memories into temporary visual memory, (2) zoom in on details, (3) embellish images, (4) rotate image, and (5) scan visually with your mind’s eye” (Cornett, 2011, p. 142). This will help students better comprehend the stories they read. “Instruction to form mental images significantly enhances reading comprehension and memory” and “what is most imaged and felt during reading is what is most retained” (Cornett, 2011, p. 142).
As we do art projects and use art materials that are new to students, I plan to teach them the various ways art can be created using the materials. Teaching students all the possible ways art materials can be used creates a wider range of possibilities for the students’ art creations. “When given materials and tools to create art, children will experiment and use imagination. When explicitly taught now to use materials and tools, they work with greater satisfaction and depth of problem solving” and doing so also “can prevent tendencies of students to abandon art expression in upper grades” (Cornett, 2011, p. 165). It is important to realize that students need to see examples of artwork so that they have a better picture of what is being asked for. Examples should serve as references and provide students with ideas, not as something students imitate – “Imitation does not use high order thinking. Instead, several “examples” should be shown that present options to meet the goals of the assignment. The work of previous students can be used and it is helpful to show work depicting several levels of success” (Cornett, 2011, p. 165-166).
Based on my personal experiences, I plan to give students short, but clear instructions on how to complete art assignments. I remember getting impatient as my teachers spent too much time explaining how to complete our art assignments. We would end up not having enough time to work on our art because too much time was spent on instructions. “Limit direction giving, which creates impatience, but demonstrate basic ways to use materials and tools before exploration, especially in regard to safety issues” (Cornett, 2011, p. 166).
After students create their works of art, we will analyze and evaluate each other’s artwork. I plan to teach my students how to read art, look for hidden messages, and find meanings behind the art. “Children need to be taught to take time and describe what they see and the feelings the art evokes. They can be coached to create stories (interpretations) from art” (Cornett, 2011, p. 166).
Specific Critical Thinking Strategies I Plan to Engage my Students in Through Our Work in the Visual Arts
To engage my students in critical thinking, I plan to use Bloom’s Taxonomy levels as listed in Cornett’s Creating Meaning Through Literature and the Arts (2011):
1. “Memory: just the facts (literal) (What are the primary colors?)
2. Interpretation: read between the lines and add your own experiences to infer (Explain in your own words how to create shades and tints.)
3. Application: put a skill to use (Use what we’ve been learning about mixing colors to make different skin tones.)
4. Analysis: examine pieces to develop understanding (Look closely to discover the repeated elements in this art.)
5. Synthesis: put pieces together to make a creative whole; requires invention and imagination (How can you use collage materials to show what you learned about the environment?)
6. Evaluation: make a judgment based on the goodness or badness, rightness or wrongness using certain criteria (What do you think about this piece of art? Why do you think as you do?)” (p. 147).
Each of these six stages makes students think critically about work(s) of art and think in-depth for messages and hidden meanings. It causes “students to think beyond the memory or literal level and coordinate higher order thinking skills to solve problems” (Cornett, 2011, p. 147). Also, as students create their art, I will prompt them with questions asking why they made their art the way they did, why they used a certain technique, ask what the meaning is behind their art idea, and how a slight alteration could change the entire meaning behind their artwork.
Bibliography
Cornett, C. (2011). Creating meaning through literature and the arts. Boston, MA: Pearson
Education, Inc.
Why arts integration. Arts Every Day. Retrieved from
“http://www.artseveryday.org/WhatWeDo/detail.aspx?id=166.”