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The Arts In Every Classroom: A Workshop for Elementary School Teachers

Building on New Ideas Getting Ready

An original multi-arts performance gave second-graders the chance to explore metamorphosis at Ridgeway Elementary School in White Plains, New York.

(10 minutes)

The following information will help you focus and organize your professional development session.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the effects of an increased arts presence on faculty and on students.
  • Consider ways to build on new experiences with the arts.

Guiding Questions
These are questions for your group to consider as you work through the session:

  • How do the arts affect the way students learn?
  • What roles do the arts play in your school’s curriculum?

Materials and Resources

 

Opening Steps

Facilitator: Engage participants in thinking about the role the arts can play in the classroom by discussing these questions:

  • How can arts education increase student learning and understanding?
  • How can the arts enable students to create knowledge for themselves?
  • How can teachers help students make learning their own process rather than the process of the teacher?
  • How does focusing attention on the artistic process (creating, performing, and responding) affect students’ understanding of the arts?

Workshops