The Visual Arts
Visual Arts in the Classroom
The visual arts are comprised of a variety of forms that include design, art production, paper and canvas work, photography, drawing, illustration, and painting. They also are included within technology to include film making, video stories, visualizing, print making, shooting, editing, and computer based graphic design. Within theater work they include costume design, make up, lighting, props, and scenery!
Why Integrate Visual Arts?
Besides the fact that the visual arts are my favorite, there are many benefits to using them in the classroom! The visual arts are a universal language and help us construct meaning. They can enhance cognition, emotional expression, perception, cultural awareness, and aesthetics too! This branch of the arts, just like all the others, once again allows us to express ourselves through alternative means. It allows children to use their imagination to improve neural processing, and can offer stress relief, and can improve reading and math scores. Not to mention students think its a great deal of fun!
Here is a Visual Arts Lesson Plan!
It's Easy to Integrate Visual Arts
My students get so excited when I begin to get out the buckets of crayons, markers, and paints that they have a hard time hearing anything I say after they have seen them. I use visual arts most often as a means to check for understanding or solidify content. Often, in my class, assessments include a form of visual arts so that students have an alternative means to show their knowledge. Other ways you can incorperate visual art into the classroom are:
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Having your students take visual notes.
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Assigning end of the unit visual art projects (along with, or inplace of tests.)
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Use visual arts to teach about culture. Perhaps plan a lesson plan around Gullah culture and basket weaving, dream catchers and Native American culture, or masks that can be used in a dramatic performance on Shakespear.
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Use the visual arts to teach Social and Emotional Learning (ESL).
Just for fun, here are a few of my paintings from this year !
