Here is the arts curriculum for this year (in a stage of development, of course). I'm finding that a curriculum is never really "done".
Teaching an after school art enrichment program has given me the opportunity to develop and implement a unique arts curriculum. I have sequenced it in four parts, one influencing the next.
DREAMS: I chose this as the first theme because I wanted students to think of the imaginative, the impossible, the extreme, the absurd, and magical. The units that surround this theme allow students to escape from realities and create their own worlds and ideas. These units I have been striving to make light hearted, fun and exciting.
SELF: These set of units surround the theme of identity. Who am I? What do I value? Where have I been? and Where am I going? Students will look inward to what makes them unique. My hope is that I will get a chance to know my students in a different way and understand how they see themselves. I believe that it is important to know and understand ourselves before we make assumptions about others.
SCHOOL: After investigating who we are as individuals we will take a closer look at our school. This theme will be broken down into two sections. What do value about our school? and What needs to be improved? My howpe is that the unit for this theme will be the same for all grade levels. It will coincide with the political campaign to obtain the Block Grant Bill to fund the renovation and rebuilding of all Baltimore City schools. Students will have an awareness of the meaning behind the campaign and will use their art to communicate their ideas.
COMMUNITY: Moving outward, beyond our school we will look at our entire community, what and who it consists of and the relation we have to our community. This is the last theme of the year. It's now pretty far into the future and I'm not exactly sure what this project will look like. It is my hope that this unit will come in the form of a collaborative mural telling the story of our community.
I believe that storytelling is a timeless and effective tool for teaching and learning. That is the lense that I am taking with this entire curriculum. I want the students to be the researchers, learners, experts, storytellers. I want them to be able to express what is important to them through their works of art.
In the end I hope that this curriculum helps my students become more aware of themselves and surroundings. I want it to empower them to continue telling their story and be perceptive of the uniqueness of others, too. These are high ambitions for a first year art teacher, I'm aware of that. But if we as art teachers don't give kids this opportunity to celebrate individuality and community, who will?
DREAMS: I chose this as the first theme because I wanted students to think of the imaginative, the impossible, the extreme, the absurd, and magical. The units that surround this theme allow students to escape from realities and create their own worlds and ideas. These units I have been striving to make light hearted, fun and exciting.
SELF: These set of units surround the theme of identity. Who am I? What do I value? Where have I been? and Where am I going? Students will look inward to what makes them unique. My hope is that I will get a chance to know my students in a different way and understand how they see themselves. I believe that it is important to know and understand ourselves before we make assumptions about others.
SCHOOL: After investigating who we are as individuals we will take a closer look at our school. This theme will be broken down into two sections. What do value about our school? and What needs to be improved? My howpe is that the unit for this theme will be the same for all grade levels. It will coincide with the political campaign to obtain the Block Grant Bill to fund the renovation and rebuilding of all Baltimore City schools. Students will have an awareness of the meaning behind the campaign and will use their art to communicate their ideas.
COMMUNITY: Moving outward, beyond our school we will look at our entire community, what and who it consists of and the relation we have to our community. This is the last theme of the year. It's now pretty far into the future and I'm not exactly sure what this project will look like. It is my hope that this unit will come in the form of a collaborative mural telling the story of our community.
I believe that storytelling is a timeless and effective tool for teaching and learning. That is the lense that I am taking with this entire curriculum. I want the students to be the researchers, learners, experts, storytellers. I want them to be able to express what is important to them through their works of art.
In the end I hope that this curriculum helps my students become more aware of themselves and surroundings. I want it to empower them to continue telling their story and be perceptive of the uniqueness of others, too. These are high ambitions for a first year art teacher, I'm aware of that. But if we as art teachers don't give kids this opportunity to celebrate individuality and community, who will?
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