Students have been learning about new cultures and also discovering their own culture. Our culture unit began by the teachers being trained in how to integrate arts in core curriculum areas. Students activated their prior knowledge by learning about Native Americans from Minnesota and other regions of the United States.
In this unit, art, music, and phy-ed teachers are collaborating with classroom teachers to teach an arts integrated unit. Students have been given the opportunity to develop and integrate their artistic and academic abilities. We do this this by teaching in and through the arts.
The reason why arts integration holds so much potential for the classroom is the power of art to engage students in experiential learning, which is the process for making meaning directly from the learning experience.
Studies show that children thrive on the study of the arts. The arts open doors to creativity and initiate critical thinking and innovation. Important new technologies can only add to the scope of the arts. Our students have been blogging about these experiences to exhibit their critical thinking skills and how their understanding has changed over the course of the unit.
Here are a few of the pictures from the culture unit.
Blake reading and creating a poster that represents Native Americans from different regions of the United States.
Students displaying their finished project. The students had to pick symbols to represent each Native American tribe.
Aijah and Danielle reading about Children of Native America Today.
Derek creating a musical instrument and painting his symbol that represents his culture.
Issy and Michelle painting their musical instruments.
Mr. Wilson taping the boys during their dance.
Stretching on the fabric to create the drum in art class.
