Common Core Integration In The Art Studio
As the Common Core standards gain momentum I realize the importance of embedding literacy skills across disciplines. The Common Core set students up for careers and college using reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language skills in rigorous and relevant ways to access content. In art specifically, I will ask students to imagine, investigate, construct and reflect using literacy skills. For example, students in art can imagine and form mental images. Students can investigate concepts and knowledge by digging deeper and exploring concepts. Students can combine parts of literary knowledge to construct an artistic representation. And students can reflect by carefully thinking about and evaluating an idea. Literacy manifests itself in art through reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Reading in art means reading texts from other artists. It means looking as an deciphering informational of narrative texts and connecting them to art. We learn and create through reading. Art is embedded in texts like poetry, lyrics, stories, and typography. Art projects can be born from reading or result in something being read producing a dynamic way to gain knowledge and allow for art minds to be stretched. Writing can enhance an artist’s growth as they reflect through their writing how they feel about their own art, others’ art, and make critical guesses about the content and concepts of art. From artist statements to writing short stories that coincide with an art piece, writing is a valuable form of art and finds a home in the studio. Listening and speaking are vital for growth and learning in the art studio. The art studio cultivates a community of creative thinking and sharing ideas. Artists give and take through verbal processing and through listening. Listening to one another and speaking in collaboration with peers is a skill that is necessary for all students. Art is a particularly special discipline where there is no right answer. Art language is fundamental to understanding art and discussing art. Without the proper vocabulary needed to describe a work of art, students find themselves unable to describe art. Art language also helps people more effectively critique art.. Art has a language of its own, the visual language of colors, shapes, lines, value, and space masterfully manipulated on a canvas or in a three-dimensional sculpture or installation. Literacy enhances artist understanding. Reading allows us to learn about art in all its facets. Through writing, artists can share their ideas and insights about their own art and the art of others. Writing is the avenue with which we share art concepts and stories with others. Conversations in the art studio help us to learn from one another and discuss the issues about art that we would otherwise let go. Speaking the language of art allows us to full grasp the art as a whole. Without literacy in the studio, the four creative practices are for naught. Imagining, investigating, constructing, and reflecting rely heavily on literacy. Art relies on literacy. The Common Core elevated the art studio from a good place of learning to a great place of learning. |