Infusing the Arts into the High School English Curriculum



Infusing the Arts into the High School English Curriculum

“We know that all the arts are brothers, that each of them illuminates another, and that a universal light results.” - Voltaire

"Develop an interest in life as you see it: the people, things, literature, music-the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people.  Forget yourself."        ~ Henry Miller

 

mbferrell@wsfcs.k12.nc.us

Career Center

AP Literature and Composition, English IV Honors

Essential Questions: How does art represent society and culture? What are the connections between musicians, writers, and artists? Is their commentary the same? How does the study of the humanities enhance 21st century learning goals for students? Is it critical that we keep these connections open as the trend in education is towards technology? In the wake of dwindling art and music programs, how can we keep these important studies available for students?

Best Practices:

1. Performance Days – string duets, comedy raps, piano solos, flute, saxophone, guitar, original lyrics and melodies, oils, pastels, charcoal sketches, photography, watercolors, skits, weavings, modern dance, Indian dance, cello quartets, baking, short films, original poetry, Lego artistic representations, tea parties

2. Topic Tracking – science, history, music, food, religion, politics, military, women, education, clothing, entertainment, athletics, architecture

3. Individualized projects – welding the Holy Grail, papier mache ravens, clay dinosaurs, handmade dresses and shirts

Sites to consider:

Making Curriculum Pop! –

“It is hard for individual teachers to catch every cool website, video clip, song, study guide or comic but collectively, MC POP is a forum where we can all share resources to reinvent our core curriculum and the larger dialogue on public education. So if you use popular and common cultures to reflect, refract, refocus and reinvent your core curriculum, MC POP is the place for you.”

Fine Art

Real vs. Virtual: Examining Works of Art Online – The Learning Network – NYT



How do the experiences of looking at works of fine art in real life, in photo reproductions and in digital forms compare? What can be reached by perusing an online trove of paintings and other works? In this lesson, students engage in one or more activities using Google’s Art Project to reflect on key issues and questions about art.

Interactive Timeline of Art History –

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History is funded by the Heilbrunn Foundation, New Tamarind Foundation, and Zodiac Fund. The Timeline is a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated by the Museum's collection. It is an invaluable reference and research tool for students, educators, scholars, and anyone interested in the study of art history and related subjects. First launched in 2000, the Timeline extends from prehistory to the present day. The Museum's curators, conservators, and educators research and write the Timeline, that continues to expand in scope and depth and reflect the most up-to-date scholarship.

Sandra Effinger –

Artwork that lends itself to writing - Powerpoints



Comics



Photography

Film



Teach It With Movies



Photography

Rare and Unusual Images from the Burns Collection (Newsweek

(Effinger)

Poetry Pairings

Collaboration with the Poetry Foundation to feature a work from its American Life in Poetry Project alongside content from The New York Times that somehow echoes or challenges the poem’s themes.



Teaching and Learning Ideas For Any Poetry-News Pairing

Questions:

— Why do you think this poem was paired with this photo and article from The Times? What do the two have in common?

— Which do you like best: the poem, the image or the article? Why?

— What does this pairing say about life today? Do you think someone looking at it 25 years from now would “get” the same meaning? What about 100 years from now?

— What other Times photos or articles could also have been paired with this poem? Why?

— What other works of literature, film, or fine art can you think of that also echo, expand or even challenge the words and ideas of this poem?

Activities:

— Write a dialogue between the poet and the photographer, or the poet and the journalist, or between something in the photo or article and something in the poem.

— Take a picture of your own to illustrate this poem.

— Write a poem of your own in response to this photograph and/or article.

— Put the words of the poem into a tool like Wordle to see the “word cloud” that emerges, then do the same with the text of the article. What important words, if any, do the two have in common? Does the word cloud make you see the themes, ideas or subjects of each more clearly? How?

(Memory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonders.)

Music

Covers – Using Musical Interpretation to Teach Poetry – Sandra Effinger



Metaphysical Poetry: Using Modern Music to Teach John Donne – Eric Pettus



Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Woody Guthrie and The Grapes of Wrath



Lit Tunes –

Mobilizing Artists, Empowering Teachers, Inspiring Students

We know that art programs are being cut in schools. We also know that there are ways to deeply engage our students through art-based learning. Literature comes alive when the teaching of it becomes as exciting and memorable as the stories themselves. Our work draws out the artistry of both the student and the teacher to bring books alive.

A collaborative online community designed to serve three purposes:

1. to provide educators with a centralized source of materials and support for using popular music in the classroom.

2. to provide a forum for educators to share their successful experiences and research involving the use of popular music, and

3. to inspire educators to reach the disenfranchised with their own language – music

Artists for Literacy –

EDSITEMENT -

National Endowment for the Humanities -



“You Kiss By the Book:



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