The Arts for Learning Lessons (A4L) Program was highlighted in 2 workshop sessions during the recent Beyond School Hours XIV that was held in Atlanta for educators and staff in afterschool programs. The hands-on activity was the high point for the A4L workshop participants.
THE PROCESSGlen Haven ES teacher, Kimberli Maxwell, read an excerpt from Jose Clemente, Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates by Jonah Winter to the participants. Members in each small group were asked to listen to the story of Clemente's early life in Puerto Rico and determine what details were most important. Each group had to agree on the most significant information given the facts they had just heard in the story excerpt.
The next task was to turn to turn to their box of art supplies and select materials that would help them re-create the parts of the story that they found to be "most important".
THE FINAL PRODUCT
The A4L team presenting the workshop modeled the process students experiences as they move back and forth from reading text to group discussion, writing and hands-on art making. In the A4L Lessons Unit, Everyday Heroes, students complete this same cycle of work as they read the full story of Roberto Clemente's life and create narrative collages to express what they found to be the important details.
Teachers, students - and workshop participants - all come to realize the powerful learning that results when literacy & the arts are combined.
Some of the final collages from the workshop are shown below.
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