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Elementary Generalist Arts Educator
This project is finished. But read my responses to the questions of other users in the Recent topics area. The bell rings…the students head home…and you sit down for the first time that day with a sigh…once again you have managed to pack the deepest learning experiences possible in multiple subject matters into six hours with numerous interruptions. Does this sound familiar? If so, you must be an elementary teacher! The challenge of ensuring a high quality standards-based experience for all of those young individuals is quite amazing. The skill with which you layer subjects together to make connections about the world around us is substantial, however, most of the time, for most students in our state, one subject tends to be overlooked. Yep, the arts! The visual and performing arts do have state content standards in all four disciplines: dance, music, theatre, and visual art. If you are like me, I often found that even though I had some experience in one, I certainly didn't feel confident about teaching the other three. And so…I didn't…until I began to find resources and other educators to help me understand what and how to implement instruction in those areas. Then I slowly began to infuse my planning with more and more effective arts instruction and opportunities for students to experience the academics of the arts. Over the past few years, as an elementary teacher, I have focused primarily on ensuring the students know and truly understand the elements of each arts discipline. I've also incorporated in my word walls, arts vocabulary terms to give students "tools" to communicate with regarding the arts. Then, slowly but surely, I started to build towards the five component strands within each discipline (artistic perception, creative expression, historical and cultural context, aesthetic valuing, and connections, relationships, and applications) always ensuring that I layered these standards-based experiences within other subject's standards. I found that I could not only find the time for quality arts education, but that my students' interest in all subjects dramatically increased. It really works!
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