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Annenberg/CPBProfessional Development Workshop Guide

The Arts in EveryClassroomA Workshop for Elementary School Teachers

An eight-part professional development workshop forK–5 teachers

Produced by Lavine Production Group in collaboration withKSA-Plus Communications and the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts

The Arts in Every Classroom: A Workshop for Elementary School Teachers

is produced byLavine Production Group in collaboration withKSA-Plus Communications and the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts.

© 2003 Corporation for Public BroadcastingAll rights reserved.ISBN: 1-57680-666-9

Funding forThe Arts in Every Classroom: A Workshop for Elementary School Teachersis provided by Annenberg/CPB.

Annenberg/CPB, a partnership between the Annenberg Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting,uses media and telecommunications to advance excellent teaching in American schools. Annenberg/CPB fundseducational series and teacher professional development workshops for the Annenberg/CPB Channel. TheChannel is distributed free by satellite to schools and other educational and community organizations nation-wide and streamed via broadband on the Web.

The notable series, workshops, and activities of Annenberg/CPB include American Cinema, Art of the WesternWorld, Conversations in Literature, Exploring the World of Music, In Search of the Novel, Signature, Voices & Visions, andA World of Art: Works in Progress.

To purchase copies of our videos and guides or to learn more about our other professional development mate-rials and the Annenberg/CPB Channel, contact us by phone, by mail, or on the Web.

1-800-LEARNER

P.O. Box 2345S. Burlington, VT 05407-2345

[email protected]

www.learner.org

Introduction..................................................................................................................................1

About the Workshop ............................................................................................................1

Workshop Components ........................................................................................................3

Helpful Hints for Facilitators ................................................................................................5

Materials Needed ..................................................................................................................6

About the Contributors ........................................................................................................7

Start Your Journey Here: The Arts in Every Classroom Survey ................................................13

Program 1. What Is Art? ............................................................................................................15

Program 2. Responding to the Arts ..........................................................................................21

Program 3. Historical References in the Arts ............................................................................27

Program 4. Creating a Multi-Arts Performance Piece ..............................................................35

Program 5. Designing a Multi-Arts Curriculum Unit ..............................................................41

Program 6. The Role of Assessment in Curriculum Design ....................................................47

Program 7. Three Schools, Three Approaches ..........................................................................53

Program 8. Building on New Ideas............................................................................................59

Appendix ....................................................................................................................................65

Handouts and Readings ......................................................................................................68

Survey Resources ..............................................................................................................112

Production Credits ............................................................................................................121

Table of Contents

The Arts in Every Classroom: A Workshop for Elementary School Teachers 1

OverviewThe Arts in Every Classroom is a professional development video workshop for K–5 teachers. Whether you are aclassroom teacher or an arts specialist teacher, the workshop’s video programs, Web site, and printed materials willhelp you incorporate the arts into your curriculum as you:

• discover the power of a multi-arts curriculum,

• learn arts-based teaching approaches,

• find classroom-ready ideas and lesson plans,

• investigate a process for curriculum design that can help you teach the arts and other subject areas moreeffectively, and

• see teachers from three schools begin to bring the arts into their classrooms.

The eight one-hour programs are guided by workshop leaders from the Southeast Center for Education in theArts. The workshop leaders work with Learner Teams from three elementary schools. Each Learner Team ismade up of the school’s principal, an arts specialist teacher, and two classroom teachers. Also included in theprograms are extensive examples of elementary school students working with the same material as theLearner Teams.

The eight workshop programs introduce key concepts about the arts and arts education. The programs aredesigned to be viewed sequentially.

• Programs 1–4 present a unit of study that integrates four art forms: theatre, music, dance, and visual art.The unit of study is based on a multi-arts performance piece, Quidam, by the world-famous troupe Cirquedu Soleil. Each program includes several lessons that build on each other, each with activities and discus-sion. The unit is designed for viewers to use in their own classrooms.

• Programs 5–6 demonstrate a step-by-step process for developing your own multi-arts curriculum unit,using the Quidam unit as an example.

• Programs 7–8 explore practical experiences of using the arts in elementary school classrooms, as membersof the Learner Teams are seen in their own schools, using what they learned and discussing their experiences.

An online version of this workshop guide is available at www.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom.In addition to the material presented here, the Web site features other information and resources that you may finduseful, including complete lesson plans, background on key ideas and works of art, vocabulary words, links to relatedorganizations, and additional extended workshop sessions to help deepen your knowledge and skills.

A companion to the workshop is The Arts in Every Classroom: A Video Library, K–5. The video library is a series of 14documentary programs showing classroom and arts specialist teachers using the arts in a variety of successfulways in elementary schools around the country. Print and online guides are available for the video library. Theonline version is at www.learner.org/channel/libraries/artsineveryclassroom.

About the Workshop

2 The Arts in Every Classroom: A Workshop for Elementary School Teachers

Program Descriptions

Program 1. What Is Art?Learner Teams and students investigate the nature of art by identifying elements of four art forms: theatre, music,dance, and visual art. The teams explore their perceptions about each art form separately, then examine how theart forms work together in the multi-arts example Quidam.

Program 2. Responding to the ArtsUsing two multi-arts performance pieces from different eras, Quidam (1996) and Parade (1917), Learner Teams andstudents examine how artists and audiences form their perceptions of art. Participants examine theatrical andmusical elements in Quidam and Parade to investigate the role of social and historical context, recognize theartists’ creative intentions and expressive techniques, study the influence and practices of vaudeville, and masterand apply a process of criticism by going to “critic school.”

Program 3. Historical References in the ArtsThis program explores the concept of historical context. How do artistic and historical references inform and influ-ence our understanding of works of art? Using visual and dance elements, Learner Teams and students recognizethe use of historical references in Quidam, use costumes to investigate the ways that historical references canaffect a work of art, study a painting by René Magritte and choreography by Alwin Nikolais to see their influenceon the creators of Quidam, and take on the role of art historian to discover how art history is being made today.

Program 4. Creating a Multi-Arts Performance PieceApplying knowledge gained through the lessons modeled in Programs 1–3, Learner Teams and students create,rehearse, and revise a multi-arts performance piece that is based on the central narrative theme in Quidam. In asequential series of large- and small-group interactions, they create original plots based on Quidam’s “journey”storystructure, communicate their stories in a multi-arts medium, and critique and refine their performance pieces.

Program 5. Designing a Multi-Arts Curriculum UnitThis program introduces a curriculum design process sometimes called “backward design.” This process builds onthe enduring ideas/understandings that drive a curriculum unit—the “why” rather than the “what.” Using the multi-arts unit of study seen in Programs 1–4 as a model, Learner Teams investigate the components of this process—howthe enduring ideas form the basis for essential questions and unit objectives. Learner Teams then construct enduringideas, essential questions, and unit objectives for integrated units of study that they can use in their own schools.

Program 6. The Role of Assessment in Curriculum DesignLearner Teams discover how to build formative and summative assessments into the units they are developing. Theyconsider assessment strategies used in the lessons of Programs 1–4, continue working on their own units by devel-oping performance tasks that address assessment criteria, and create scoring guidelines to measure student success.

Program 7. Three Schools, Three ApproachesDuring the school year that followed the filming of the first six programs, a television production crew visited the threeLearner Teams at their own schools. Documentary segments show the Learner Teams planning and teaching arts-based lessons that grew out of what they learned. Discussions at the end of the school year, facilitated by one of theworkshop leaders, give the Learner Team members the chance to reflect on developments in their teaching practice.

Program 8. Building on New IdeasMore documentary segments show further work by the team members—with their students, among themselves,and with colleagues. The end-of-year discussions continue, with team members reflecting on how their new ini-tiatives in the arts have affected them and their schools and offering advice for other teachers who want to bringthe arts into their own classrooms.

About the Workshop, cont’d.


This guide provides everything you need to know to conduct this workshop, either with colleagues or on yourown. (Note: If you are taking this workshop alone, you are your own facilitator.) The workshop consists of activi-ties carried out with your colleagues on-site (Workshop Sessions) and those to do on your own (Between Sessions). See Helpful Hints for Facilitators in this guide for more information on preparing for workshop sessions.

Workshop Sessions (On-Site)Weekly workshop sessions may be scheduled around live broadcasts of the programs, in which case you will wantto begin at least 30 minutes before the scheduled broadcast. You may prefer to watch the programs on videotape,so that you can schedule the sessions at a time that is more convenient for all participants. Sessions outlined inthis guide are approximately two hours, including viewing time.

Each two-hour session consists of three parts.

Getting ReadyIn preparation for watching the program, you will engage in 10 to 25 minutes of discussion and activity (for spe-cific times, see the individual workshop sessions).

Watch the Workshop ProgramThen you will watch the 60-minute program. You may want to consider the questions posed in this guide beforeor while viewing the program and discuss them later.

Suggested Activities and DiscussionWrap up the session with an additional period of activities and discussion (for specific times, see the individualworkshop sessions).

Optional Extended SessionsAs an alternative to the two-hour sessions designed to accompany each program of the workshop,Programs 1–4 offer optional four-hour sessions, which you can find on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. These extended sessions feature additional on-siteactivities for each of the first four programs, which will enhance significantly your understanding of the materialpresented in the workshop.

Between Sessions (On Your Own)

Homework AssignmentsYou will be assigned exercises and activities that put into use practices learned in the previous program and prepare you for the next one.

Reading AssignmentsYou will be given a reading assignment that will introduce you to the topics for the next program. Reading assign-ments may be found in the Appendix of this guide.

Workshop Components


Ongoing ActivitiesYou can enrich the experience of this workshop by continuing your personal investigations and reflections in yourdaily activities. Here are some suggestions.

• Keep a journal. You are encouraged to keep a journal, including thoughts, questions, and discoveriesabout the arts in education that arise from the workshop and learning experiences in your own classroom.

• Attend a show by a museum, theatre, dance company, or orchestra in your community. Share thisexperience of the arts with workshop participants and students in your classroom.

• Learn more about The Arts in Every Classroom by visiting the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. Go online for materials and resources toextend your understanding and implementation of the practices shown in the workshop.

• Watch the programs in The Arts in Every Classroom companion video library. For more information,visit the video library Web site at www.learner.org/channel/libraries/artsineveryclassroom. Here you willfind additional ideas, links, and other resources on relevant topics.

• Share ideas on [email protected]. You can subscribe to an email discussion list and communicate with other workshop participants online. To subscribe to Channel-TalkArtsk5, visitwww.learner.org/mailman/listinfo/channel-talkArtsk5.

Workshop Components, cont’d.


Successful Workshop SessionsThis guide provides you with detailed instructions for leading workshop sessions, particularly the group discus-sion and activities included in the Getting Ready and Suggested Activities and Discussion segments of each program. These discussions before and after the program screenings help participants better understand the pro-grams and enhance the workshop experience. Getting Ready prepares participants for what to focus on duringthe screening, and Suggested Activities and Discussion gives them the opportunity to analyze and reflect on whatthey saw. These activities range in length from 15 to 45 minutes, depending on the program, with the entire session running around two hours.

Participants watching the program at the time of broadcast may reflect on the questions provided for each ses-sion as they watch and then discuss them as a group at a later time. Groups watching the programs on videotapecan stop the program after each lesson to discuss the questions (five minutes recommended).

The following hints are intended to help you get the most out of your sessions.

Designate ResponsibilitiesEach week, one person should be responsible for facilitating the workshop session (or two people might share theresponsibility—one facilitating Getting Ready and the other facilitating Suggested Activities and Discussion). Thefacilitator does not need to be the same person each week; in fact, it is recommended that participants rotate therole of facilitator on a weekly basis.

Prepare for the SessionThe facilitator should review the entire session in this guide before arriving at each session. The sessions will bemost productive if you and your colleagues come prepared.

Bring the Necessary MaterialsA few of the activities require group brainstorming or list making. It will be useful to have markers and a flip chart,as well as a few sheets of paper available for each participant. The facilitator should be responsible for bringingthese and other items, listed in the Materials Needed section, to the session when necessary. Note: You will needthese materials for the first workshop session.

Keep an Eye on the TimeWe have suggested the amount of time you should spend on each question or activity. While these times aremerely guidelines, you should keep an eye on the clock, particularly if you are watching a live broadcast. You maywant to set a kitchen timer before you begin Getting Ready to ensure that you won’t miss the beginning of the pro-gram. If you are watching the programs on videotape, you will have more flexibility if your discussions run longer.

Record Your DiscussionsWe recommend that someone take notes during each discussion or, even better, that you tape-record the discus-sions each week. These notes or audiotapes can serve as make-up materials in case anyone misses a workshop.

Share Your Discussions on the WebThe workshop sessions serve as a starting point to share and think about the video program. We encourage youto continue your discussions with participants from other sites on Channel-Talk at the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom.

Explore Extended Workshop SessionsThis guide is structured to provide teaching and learning activities for two-hour workshop sessions. For Programs1–4, you are encouraged to explore an alternate set of four-hour sessions, which are featured on the workshopWeb site at www.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. These extended sessions include in-depth, on-site activities for each program, which will enhance significantly your understanding of the materialpresented in the workshop.

Helpful Hints for Facilitators


For each workshop session, you will need:

• the videotape or broadcast of the relevant program;

• a television (and a videotape player if you are using videotapes);

• a blackboard or flipchart, a few pages of paper for each participant, and writing materials to record discus-sion and facilitate activities;

• copies of this guide (also available on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom) for all workshop session participants;

• copies of the session’s handouts (originals of which are available in the Appendix of this guide or on theworkshop Web site) for all workshop session participants;

• copies of the session’s readings (originals of which are available in the Appendix of this guide or on theworkshop Web site) for all workshop session participants; and

• any other materials specified in the Materials and Resources section of each program in this guide.

Program 1 includes the opening sequence of Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam. Participants are encouraged to viewQuidam in its entirety, ideally after watching Program 1 and before watching Program 2. Your public library or localvideo store might have a copy, or you can purchase it at http://store.yahoo.com/cirquestore/video1.html or fromvideo stores or online video sellers. If you obtain a single copy for all participants to share, you may wish to set atime when participants can view Quidam together or establish a schedule for participants to borrow the videotape.

Likewise, participants may want to develop a similar system for sharing the tapes of The Arts in Every Classroomcompanion video library or gathering to view a broadcast of these documentary programs via theAnnenberg/CPB Channel. See the video library Web site at www.learner.org/channel/libraries/artsineveryclassroomfor more ideas.

For the ClassroomAudio and video demonstration materials needed to teach the classroom lessons in Programs 1–4 can be foundon the Classroom Demonstration Materials videotape, which is provided free to buyers of the set of workshopvideotapes. This videotape includes all the examples seen in the workshop programs, along with additional exam-ples that may be useful when you take these lessons back to your classroom. If you are watching the broadcaston the Annenberg/CPB Channel, call 1-800-LEARNER or visit www.learner.org to purchase the Classroom Demonstration Materials videotape separately.

When using the lessons in the classroom, teachers are advised to show students Quidam in its entirety (please seethe information above about obtaining a videotape).

Materials Needed


Instructional DesignersContent for The Arts in Every Classroom: A Workshop for Elementary School Teachers was developed by the SoutheastCenter for Education in the Arts (SCEA), in collaboration with Lavine Production Group and KSA-Plus Communications.Located at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC Chattanooga), SCEA is a think tank and laboratory forcreative inquiry into teaching and learning. SCEA’s multi-arts focus on comprehensive arts education and artsintegration provides a dynamic approach to innovative professional development and education reform.

SCEA StaffKim Wheetley, director of the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts, holds the UTC Lyndhurst Chair of Excellencein Arts Education. He served on the writing committees for the National Standards for Arts Education and the Inter-state New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Arts Education Standards for teachers.

Susanne Burgess is the music specialist at Solvang Elementary School in Solvang, California. She previously wasdirector of music at the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts. She has worked with all age groups from new-born to college, teaching general and choral music in public and private schools, conservatories, and communityorganizations.

Scott Rosenow is the director of the Southeast Institute for Education in Theatre at the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts. He has taught and directed theatre at the elementary school, middle school, high school,and university levels.

Project Collaborators With SCEAKathy Blum is the headmaster at Cliff Valley School, a private elementary school in Atlanta, Georgia. She previ-ously was director of theatre at the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts and has provided professionaldevelopment for elementary and secondary school teachers throughout the country.

Kathy DeJean is the dance specialist at Lusher Alternative Elementary and Middle Schools in New Orleans,Louisiana. She has taught, danced, and choreographed in schools and professional dance companies in theUnited States and Europe.

Ann Rowson Love is the curator of education at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, Louisiana.She previously was director of visual art at the Southeast Center for Education in the Arts, and is a museum educator.

Hazel Lucas is a curriculum coordinator at Browns Mill Elementary School in Lithonia, Georgia. She previouslytaught fifth-grade social studies there and has given workshops in visual art education in the United States andChina.

Workshop LeadersKathy Blum, Susanne Burgess, Kathy DeJean, and Hazel Lucas appear as on-camera workshop leaders for The Artsin Every Classroom: A Workshop for Elementary School Teachers.

About the Contributors


Classroom demonstrations were filmed at:Browns Mill Elementary School, Lithonia, Georgia

Yvonne Butler, principal

Hazel Lucas, fifth-grade teacher

Lusher Alternative Elementary School, New Orleans, Louisiana

Kathy Hurstell Riedlinger, principal

Kathy DeJean, dance specialist

Carolyn DuBois, fourth-grade teacher

Marti Dumas, fifth-grade teacher

Kathy Guidry, kindergarten teacher

Megan Neelis, second-grade teacher

Amanda Newberry, theatre teacher

Wallace A. Smith Elementary School, Ooltewah, Tennessee

Lisa Miller, principal

About the Contributors, cont’d.

Learner Teams in the Workshop Programs

Drew Model School, Arlington, Virginia

Janice Adkisson, principal

Stephanie Ellison, fourth-grade teacher

Walter McKenzie, instructional technology coordinator

Angela Snead, kindergarten teacher

Connie Usova, visual art teacher

Kingsbury Elementary School, Memphis, Tennessee

Brett Lawson, principal

Lokita Glover, third-grade teacher

Thomas Raphael, Orff music teacher

Angela Tillery, kindergarten teacher

Ridgeway Elementary School, White Plains, New York

Sandi Cangialosi, principal

Monica Bermiss, third-grade teacher

MaryFrances Perkins, visual art teacher

Joan Roberts, second-grade teacher

Classroom Demonstrations in the Workshop Programs


About the Learner Teams

Drew Model School, Arlington, Virginiawww.arlington.k12.va.us/schools/drew/

www.arlington.k12.va.us/schools/drew/a&a/a&a.htm

Drew Model School focuses on the “four As”—academics, accountability, appreciation, and the arts. Interdiscipli-nary connections between the visual, performing, and literary arts and the curriculum provide innovative and creative learning experiences that excite and engage children. Drew provides instruction through the multi-ageMontessori program and the Graded program to 475 children from diverse backgrounds. The school seeks tofoster a strong sense of community, honor all students by encouraging cooperation and de-emphasizing compe-tition, and provide a friendly and dynamic place to work and learn.

Since the early 1970s, Drew Model School has been a school of choice for all school-age residents of Arlington,Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. In fall 2001, the staff and student body moved intoa new building located in south Arlington, minutes from the Pentagon.

Janice Adkisson has been principal of Drew Model School since 1999. Previously she held positions as programdevelopment coordinator, supervisor of early childhood, and supervisor of staff development for Arlington PublicSchools. Prior to joining the district staff, Adkisson was director of research and information for the Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) and served as manager of the Computer Alliance for theNational School Boards Association. She has taught elementary grades in Maine, New Hampshire, Michigan, andMaryland. Adkisson received her master’s degree from George Mason University and her doctorate from GeorgeWashington University.

Stephanie Ellison has taught fourth grade at Drew Model School since 2000. Her collaboration with a localArlington theatre group and the school art and music staff has helped her make Virginia history especially excitingfor her students. Prior to joining the school district, Ellison taught fifth and sixth grades in Moreno Valley,California, and Moses Lake, Washington. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’sdegree in reading from Central Washington University.

Walter McKenzie is Drew Model School’s instructional technology coordinator and a veteran classroom teacherof 14 years. His professional interests include curriculum integration, multiple intelligences, and the arts. His book,Multiple Intelligences and Instructional Technology: A Manual for the Mind, was published by the InternationalSociety for Technology in Education in May 2002.

Angela Snead has taught kindergarten and preschool at Drew Model School since 1999. Since the start of hercareer, she has collaborated with colleagues to integrate the arts into her teaching. Angela holds a bachelor’sdegree in liberal arts and a master’s degree in education from Marymount University.

Connie Usova has worked as a visual art teacher at Drew Model School since 1990. She received her undergrad-uate degree from Carlow College and, in addition to graduate coursework at Carnegie Mellon University and theUniversity of Pittsburgh, earned a master’s degree in education at George Mason University. She brought to Drew15 years of experience in arts education, including work at a highly diverse, inner-city school outside of Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania; a private school in Charleston, South Carolina; and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Information provided by Drew Model School. Current as of May 2002.



Kingsbury Elementary School, Memphis, Tennesseewww.memphis-schools.k12.tn.us/schools/kingsbury.es/index.asp

Kingsbury Elementary is a K–6 school that uses the ATLAS and arts integration models of education. Kingsbury’s35 classroom teachers and 10 support teachers bring an average of eight years of experience to instruction. Localorganizations that have “adopted” Kingsbury Elementary include Amro Music, Hicks Convention Services, Kroger,St. Stephen United Methodist Church, and Variety Clubs Children’s Charities.

Kingsbury Elementary is a neighborhood school serving the Berclair/Highland Heights area in Memphis,Tennessee. The families in the school attendance district generally have low income, with 82 percent of theschool’s nearly 600 students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Twenty-six percent of students at Kingsbury Elementary receive special education services. Eighty percent have limited English proficiency. The stu-dent body is 48 percent Caucasian, 38 percent African American, 12 percent Hispanic, and 2 percent Asian.

Brett Lawson, principal of Kingsbury Elementary and a native of Jonesboro, Arkansas, received his bachelor’sdegree in music education from Arkansas State University and earned his master’s degree in leadership from theUniversity of Memphis. He has taught music at Crawfordsville and Marion schools in Arkansas and at MunfordHigh School and Cherokee Elementary School in Tennessee. Lawson became assistant principal at Kingsbury Elementary in 1998 and principal in 2001.

Lokita Glover has been a third-grade teacher in the Memphis City Schools since 1996. She earned her bachelor’sdegree in education at the University of Memphis.

Thomas Raphael is an Orff music teacher at Kingsbury Elementary. He received his bachelor’s degree in musiceducation from Syracuse University in 1998. Raphael served as band director in the St. Charles Parish Public SchoolSystem in New Orleans, Louisiana, before becoming an Orff music teacher and band director at Kingsbury Elementary.

Angela Tillery has been a kindergarten teacher in Memphis City Schools since 1998. She earned her bachelor’sdegree in science from LeMoyne Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee. She currently teaches kindergarten atKingsbury Elementary.

Information provided by Kingsbury Elementary School. Current as of May 2002.

Ridgeway Elementary School, White Plains, New Yorkwww.wpcsd.k12.ny.us/2schools/index.html

Ridgeway Elementary School, a K–5 elementary school of more than 600 students, is located in White Plains, NewYork, about 30 miles northwest of New York City. Ridgeway is a Child Development Project school that emphasizeschildren’s intellectual, moral, and ethical development. The school’s theme of “global understanding” addressesissues relating to diversity and the environment.

Educators support students’ roles as producers of their own knowledge in this caring community of learners. Theschool uses a “thinking curriculum” in which knowledge and thinking are intertwined. Teachers use the BalancedLiteracy approach to teach reading and writing and offer students hands-on experiences in mathematics and sci-ence. Classroom activities are designed to foster creativity, a sense of community, mutual respect among children,and an understanding of the world in which they live. Hallways and classrooms are organized and decorated tocelebrate students’ work in the arts and academic subjects. Located in a one-story facility, the school has naturetrails adjacent to its playing fields.

Sandi Cangialosi has been principal of Ridgeway Elementary School since 1999. Prior to coming to White Plainsshe worked as a teacher, an assistant principal, and a principal in the New York City Schools. As a teacher,Cangialosi was trained by the Metropolitan Opera in its Writing Original Opera With Children series. As an admin-istrator, she founded the Professional Performing Arts School, a public middle/high school for students whodemonstrate a serious desire to study for a career in the arts.



Monica Bermiss has taught third grade in the White Plains Public Schools since 2000. Previously, she was an elementary school teacher in Harlem, New York, for five years. In addition to academic programs, she has a longhistory of working with youths, ages six to 19, at a camp in Huguenot, New York.

MaryFrances Perkins is a visual art teacher in the White Plains Public Schools. She has more than 30 years ofexperience working with both regular and special-needs children of all ages. She has held teaching positions atthe Hudson River Museum and with the Board of Cooperative Educational Services. Perkins has worked onsummer art projects with the City of White Plains as well as the Youth Bureau. She earned her bachelor’s degreein art education from Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida, and master’s degree in art therapy from theCollege of New Rochelle in New Rochelle, New York.

Joan Roberts, a second-grade teacher at Ridgeway Elementary School, has been teaching since the mid-1980s.She has taught in Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, and Ohio. Roberts has a bachelor’s degree in science fromWright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She served as a building substitute at Ridgeway for more than a yearbefore becoming a full-time teacher there.

Information provided by Ridgeway Elementary School. Current as of May 2002.

Advisors to the ProjectArnold Aprill is the executive director of the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education, a network of 30 Chicagopublic schools, 45 professional arts organizations, and 11 community organizations dedicated to co-planningwhole-school improvement through the arts.

Deborah Brzoska is the director of arts education for the Vancouver School District in Vancouver, Washington,which has been recognized by the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities as one of nine districts in thenation with exemplary K–12 arts education.

David Diaz Guerrero has been a documentary photographer for more than 30 years. He has been a recipient ofa Colorado Humanities and Arts grant, an NEA Collaborative Project grant, and a Colorado Council on the ArtsVisual Artist fellowship. He has taught as a visiting artist in several schools in Colorado.

Joseph Juliano, Jr., is the director of fine arts for the Hamden Public Schools in Hamden, Connecticut, where hesupervises programs in all the arts for grades K–12. In addition, he is president of the American Alliance for Theatre and Education, an association of artists and educators serving young people. He also is on the steeringcommittee of the Arts Education Partnership and is chair of the Interdisciplinary Committee of the Consortium ofNational Arts Education Associations.

Donald J. Killeen is national program manager of the National Arts Education Consortium, Department of ArtEducation, Ohio State University. He has more than 20 years of experience teaching and administering in highereducation settings both in the United States and internationally. From 1997 to 2002, he directed the TransformingEducation Through the Arts Challenge, a five-year national education reform initiative designed to link compre-hensive arts education with national and local efforts to reform our nation’s schools.

Sally Nogg, a first-grade teacher at John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Brewster, New York, is an early child-hood specialist who has been a classroom teacher for more than 25 years. She began teaching at the secondarylevel but after six years moved to primary grades. Her teaching experience ranges from living and teaching onIndian reservations in Arizona and New Mexico to working in an inner-city school in Albuquerque, New Mexico.She specializes in diverse populations and developmentally appropriate practices.

Martha Rodriguez-Torres is the principal of P.S. 156, The Waverly School of the Arts, in the Brownsville section ofBrooklyn, New York. When she started at Waverly, it was a relatively low-performing school with only 17 percentof the children reading at or above grade level. She made the school into an arts magnet school and improvedstudent performance outcomes.



Vicki Rosenberg is vice president and chief operating officer of the Council of Michigan Foundations. Beforetaking this position, she was senior program officer with the Getty Grant Program, a subsidiary of the J. Paul GettyTrust, where she managed national programs designed to improve the quality and status of arts education inAmerican public schools.

Wayne Walters is principal of the Frick International Studies Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Previously hewas assistant principal at Northview Heights Elementary School, where he fostered a music program for inner-citychildren. He also was an elementary and vocal music teacher at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, also inPittsburgh.

Stella Yu is associate director of the Mayor’s Office of Art, Culture, and Film in Denver, Colorado. She has a back-ground in fine arts, arts education, and business and is an accomplished visual artist who spent many years as avisual art specialist teacher.



The Arts in Every Classroom SurveyThe nine questions in this short survey can help you take stock of what you already know about the arts. We sug-gest that you begin your journey by completing the survey now, before you watch Program 1.

After watching Program 8, you’ll revisit the survey to see how this workshop has expanded your thinking. Pleasesave this survey, with your responses, to refer to at the end of the workshop.

See the Survey Resources section in the Appendix of this guide for a rich selection of Web links and examples forusing the arts in your classroom. You also can take the survey and view these resources online by going towww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom and clicking on the button Start Your Journey Here.After you have completed your survey, you are ready to begin your session for Program 1, What Is Art?

About the Arts What are some similarities and differences among the different art forms?

What experience, training, or interests do you have in the arts?

Why are the arts important to learning?

How might the arts improve student achievement in arts and non-arts content areas?

The Arts in Your ClassroomWhat role do the arts play in your classroom?

How might you expand the role of the arts in your classroom?

What arts resources are available in your community, and how can you draw on them in your classroom?

How might you collaborate with a colleague to support the role of the arts in your classroom?

What additional knowledge and skills do you need to bring the arts effectively into your classroom?

Start Your Journey Here


Program 1

What Is Art?

DescriptionAre there universal elements that distinguish what we call “art” from other objects or experiences? How can werecognize art when we see it?

In Program 1, you will:

• explore the nature of art by examining each of four art forms—theatre, music, dance, and visual art;

• begin to develop a definition for each of the art forms and consider how you might determine whether aparticular item is art; and

• investigate how these art forms work together in a multi-arts performance piece.

The program includes five lessons, in which Learner Teams and students:

• use a game called “Hunter and Hunted” to demonstrate how theatre uses plot, characters, and imagery toinvolve an audience;

• listen to a variety of sounds to create their own definitions of music;

• use their bodies to create a dance by varying the elements of shape, space, and time;

• analyze an assortment of objects to determine whether they fit their own personal definitions of art; and

• view the opening sequence of Quidam and discuss how the four art forms are used in it.

In this session, you will reflect on these lessons as a group and begin to make connections among the four artforms.

Learning Objectives• Engage in discussion and activities leading to the discovery of some basic characteristics of theatre.

• Investigate musical elements and create a basic definition of music.

• Experiment with movement and identify essential elements of dance.

• Formulate, discuss, and revise personal definitions of visual art.

• Examine ways in which fantasy impacts perceptions of reality in Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam and in everyday life.


Guiding QuestionsThe following are questions for your group to consider as you work through the session.

• What is art?

• How do the arts connect with each other?

• How can the arts be integrated into every classroom?

Key Concepts/Vocabulary

TheatreDefinitions of theatre include everything from a formal, staged production to a group improvisation conducted inschool classrooms. However, there are three essential elements present in all forms of theatre: an actor, a storywith a conflict, and an audience.

• Acting: the process of creating roles and characters in dramatic context

• Audience: one or more persons who observe actors in a scene or play

• Conflict: when the desires of two or more characters are opposed to each other

• Costume: an actor’s stage clothing

• Dialogue: words spoken by the characters in a play to communicate their thoughts, feelings, and actions

• Elements of drama: according to Aristotle, these are plot, character, theme, dialogue, music, and spectacle

• Plot: the structure of the action of the play

• Script: the written dialogue, description, and directions provided by the playwright

• Setting: the time and place in which the dramatic action occurs

• Theatre: the imitation or representation of life, performed for other people; the performance of dramatic literature

MusicMusic is organized sound created to communicate an idea, feeling, or process.

• Articulation: how individual notes are attacked

• Design: the arrangement of musical parts; the form of the music

• Duration: music in time; the length of the sounds

• Dynamics: loudness and softness in music

• Expressive qualities: variables within performance parameters

• Melody: a planned succession of pitches; the tune

• Pitch: the high and low qualities of music

• Rhythm: the patterns of sounds in relation to the steady beat

• Steady beat: the regular pulse of the music

• Tempo: the speed of the music

• Timbre: tone color; the distinctive quality of a given instrument, voice, or sound source

• Tonality: the combination of pitches as they function together


DanceAll dance—whether it is about a story, a culture, a specific style, a feeling, or movement for movement’s sake—involves a body in motion. All styles of dance communicate using the basic elements of shape, space, and time.

• Chant: singing or speaking that repeats itself

• Choreographer: person who creates the dance

• Choreography: the dance movements

• Cue: a signal

• Freeze: stopping all movement

• Shape: using the body to create lines

• Space: the locations occupied by the body; for example, low, middle, and high levels or negative and posi-tive space

• Time: the cadence or meter that determines the motion; it can be slow, medium, or fast

• Transition: the passage among ideas, places, thoughts, and stages

Visual ArtThis lesson models an approach to art called aesthetics. As the Learner Teams and students create their own def-initions of art, they are engaging in philosophical inquiry. Definitions of visual art vary depending on cultural con-text and personal viewpoints. As students develop a personal understanding of art, it is important that theysupport their viewpoints with evidence.

• Art: the conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in amanner that affects the sense of beauty

• Composition: design manipulation, including balance, repetition, movement, unity, and center of interest

• Craftsmanship: quality of design and technique

• Elements of art: components artists often manipulate—line, color, shape/form, value, texture, and space

• Intent: the mood, message, or meaning desired by the artist

• Performance art: a form of theatrical art in which thematically related works in a variety of media are pre-sented simultaneously or successively to an audience

• Technique: materials and working methods used by artists


Materials and Resources• Videotape or broadcast of Program 1—What Is Art?

• Reading: Cirque du Soleil

• Reading: Quidam

Readings are available in the Appendix of this guide or on the workshop Web site.

Optional: Extended SessionLike all of the activities described in this guide, the activities describedbelow are designed to guide participants in a two-hour workshop session.For a more in-depth experience of Program 1, explore the alternativeExtended Session featured on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. This four-hourextended session includes expanded on-site activities that will enhancesignificantly your understanding of the material presented in the workshop.

Getting Ready (15 minutes)In this workshop session, you will explore the many ways that the arts canenhance the learning experience for your students. The following informa-tion will provide the structure for your professional development session asyou view the program.

Discuss the question “What is art?” in your group or reflect and write downcomments on your own.

Watch the Workshop Program (60 minutes)View Program 1—What Is Art?

As you watch the program, consider the following focus questions.

• How will you build on your previous awareness of the arts to develop your knowledge and skills in arts education?

• How will you assess your understanding of the concepts presented in these programs?

Workshop Session (On-Site)

Facilitator: If you have electedto explore the Extended Sessionfeatured on the workshop Website, do so now. Refer to the Website for required materials,handouts, and instructions.

Facilitator: Distribute copies ofthis workshop guide, in itsentirety, to all participants. Youcan make photocopies or printout additional copies from the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/work-shops/artsineveryclassroom.Discuss your expectations of thisprofessional development work-shop. You can use the GuidingQuestions for Program 1 as astarting place.


Suggested Activities and Discussion (45 minutes)

Discussion (30 minutes)Explore the ideas in the first four lessons—What Is Theatre? What Is Music? What Is Dance? and What Is VisualArt?—using the following discussion questions.

• What are the similarities and differences among the art forms?

• How have the workshop leaders presented diverse styles and methods of instruction?

• Which activities challenged your thinking most? Why?

• What questions do you have about teaching the lessons you’ve seen in this program?

• What interdisciplinary connections can you make between these activities and your existing curriculum?

Share your findings with the group or keep a journal of your own ideas.

Reflection (15 minutes)Explore the ideas in Combining the Art Forms, the last segment inthis program, which introduces Quidam by Cirque du Soleil.

Think back about the opening three minutes of Quidam and dis-cuss the following questions.

• In what ways did Quidam meet the expectations you formedfrom hearing it described? What surprised you?

• What kinds of movement did you see? Would you call thisdance?

• How did the music communicate an idea, feeling, orprocess?

• How were dramatic and visual elements used to juxtaposereality and fantasy?

• What are some big questions that you have about this work?

• What is your understanding of the enduring idea/under-standing that fantasy impacts our perception of reality?

Workshop Session (On-Site), cont’d.

Facilitator: First, share the followinginformation with your group: Cirque duSoleil is a world-renowned organizationknown for its striking, dramatic mix ofthe circus arts and street entertainment,featuring fantastical costumes, magicallighting, and original music. Its produc-tion of Quidam is a surrealistic andhighly theatrical circus event that hasbeen performed worldwide since 1996.

Quidam is the story of Zoe, a young girlwhose world is meaningless until aheadless stranger invites her on ajourney through a fantastic world wheregravity is irrelevant and the impossibleis possible. Like Alice’s adventures inWonderland and Dorothy’s questthrough Oz, Zoe’s experiences with thestrange and unreal change her everydaylife, demonstrating the “enduringidea/understanding” for the unit mod-eled in Programs 1–4: Fantasy impactsour perception of reality.

Programs 2 and 3 will explore the topicsof research, criticism, and historicalprecedents. You will discover howCirque du Soleil has integrated the artsto create a unique contemporary artform all its own.


Homework AssignmentFor a full understanding of Quidam and its role in this workshop, it is strongly recommended that you view theshow in its entirety on videotape (see Materials Needed in this guide for suggestions on obtaining the tape). Lookfor examples of fantasy and reality and the interaction of theatre, music, dance, and visual art.

You can find the complete lesson plans and handouts for the Quidam unit on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. Audio and video demonstration materials relatedto these lessons can be found on the Classroom Demonstration Materials videotape, which will be provided freeto purchasers of the workshop tapes. For additional information on obtaining this tape, call 1-800-LEARNER orgo to www.learner.org.

Based on the lesson plans and handouts for Program 1, think about how you might adapt these lessons in yourown teaching. Write some notes in your journal.

Optional ActivitiesOther enrichment activities can boost your learning between workshop sessions. Consider the recommendedactivities below and choose those that best meet your needs. Time permitting, you might share what you find outbefore or after your next workshop session.

Watch some or all of these programs from The Arts in Every Classroom: A Video Library, K–5:

• What Is Arts Education? • Teaching Music

• What Are the Arts? • Teaching Theatre

• Teaching Dance • Teaching Visual Art

To learn more about Cirque du Soleil and its many productions, including Quidam, visit the Cirque du Soleil Web site at www.cirquedusoleil.com.

Research reviews, feature articles, or other material on Quidam at your public library or on the Web.

Reading AssignmentTo support your understanding of Program 1, review the following readings:

• Cirque du Soleil • Quidam

To prepare for Program 2, study the following additional readings:

• Criticism • Listening Map for Quidam

• Parade • Listening Map for Parade

• Vaudeville • Setting Up Your Discovery Stations

These readings can be found in the Appendix of this guide or on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom.



Program 2

Responding to the Arts

DescriptionHow is our perception of a work of art influenced by what we know about the time and place in which it was created? How does music establish a mood or atmosphere? How do you evaluate a work of art?

In Program 2, you will:

• come to understand how social and historical context can affect the creation and perception of art,

• recognize the creative intentions behind works of art and discover techniques artists use to carry out theirintentions,

• explore how form and style help shape a work of art, and

• master and apply a process of critical evaluation to decide whether the work of art successfully carries outthe artist’s intention.

In this program, Learner Teams and students examine two multi-arts performance pieces from different eras,Quidam (1996) and Parade (1917), to identify and examine elements that audiences might perceive as art. In fourhands-on lessons, they:

• research Quidam and Parade to learn more about the characters, imagery, and context in these produc-tions, and about the art forms used to express these elements;

• study the concept of “program music” to explore how composers express ideas and images;

• investigate the early-20th century theatrical form of vaudeville to see its influence on the creators ofQuidam; and

• assume the role of critic and learn to evaluate works of art.

In this session you will write, share, and discuss your own critiques of the opening sequence of Quidam.


Learning Objectives • Investigate Parade and Quidam through individual and group research to understand the social and his-

torical settings in which these works were conceptualized and produced.

• Recognize melodic themes and nonmusical sounds in Parade and Quidam and discuss their significancewithin the dramatic context of each piece.

• Perform a piece of music using body percussion and percussion instruments.

• Explore the theatrical traditions of vaudeville and create a performance piece in the style of vaudeville.

• Understand the purpose of criticism and a process for performance criticism.

• Analyze written criticism to identify the purpose and the author’s process. Respond to Quidam in-role as acritic.


• What does “multi-arts” mean?

• What is criticism?

Key Concepts/Vocabulary• Body percussion: using the body as a percussive instrument; in the music lesson, Susanne uses different

parts of the body to introduce parts that will be played on specific instruments, preparing students to besuccessful when they transfer to instruments

• Listening map: a simple picture representation of what is being heard; it is a useful visual reinforcement tohelp students with auditory focus

• Solfège: general music training to help develop sight-reading skills; the term also refers to hand signs thathelp singers learn pitches (Susanne uses these signs when she teaches the melody for “Rolling in the Grass”)

• Tuning fork: a small, two-pronged, steel instrument that gives a fixed tone when struck and is useful fortuning musical instruments or setting a vocal pitch


Materials and Resources • Videotape or broadcast of Program 2—Responding to the Arts

• Handout: Criticism: Purposes and Process

• Handout: Jean Cocteau’s Scenario for Parade

• Reading: Cirque du Soleil (from Program 1)

• Reading: Quidam (from Program 1)

• Reading: Criticism

• Reading: Parade

• Reading: Vaudeville

• Reading: Listening Map for Quidam

• Reading: Listening Map for Parade

• Reading: Setting Up Your Discovery Stations

Handouts and readings are available in the Appendix of this guide or on the workshop Web site.

Optional: Extended SessionLike all of the activities described in this guide, the activities describedbelow are designed to guide participants in a two-hour workshop session. For a more in-depth experience of Program 2, explore the alter-native Extended Session featured on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. This four-hour session includes expanded on-site activities that will enhance signif-icantly your understanding of the material presented in the workshop.

Getting Ready (20 minutes)Discuss reactions to the opening three minutes (or the entire performance) of Quidam.

• In what time and place does the action appear to occur?

• How do these cultural clues affect your experience of the performance?




Watch the Workshop Program (60 minutes)View Program 2—Responding to the Arts.


Lesson 1: Researching Clues• Based on the handout, Jean Cocteau’s Scenario for Parade (see Appendix or Web), what kinds of images

come to mind? Think in terms of dance, music, theatre, and visual art.

• What are the advantages of group research, and how can students be prepared for success in this model?

Lesson 2: Musical Cues • What is “program music,” and how does the music in Quidam express mood?

• How have key vocabulary words been integrated into this lesson?

Lesson 3: Vaudeville• What are the important elements in the theatrical style “vaudeville,”and where do you see influences of this

style in Quidam?

• How do the students mix elements of reality and fantasy to create their vaudeville performances?

Lesson 4: Critic School• What are the essential elements of criticism? How is criticism useful in understanding works of art?

• How does this performance task serve to assess student understandings in dance, music, theatre, and visual art?


Writing Criticism (30 minutes)View (or recall) the three-minute opening sequence of Quidam, with the pur-pose of writing a critique of this segment.

Divide into three groups:

• Group 1 will write a description of the opening sequence withoutinterpretation or judgment.

• Group 2 will write an analysis of how artistic elements were employed and to what effect.

• Group 3 will write an evaluation of the opening sequence with supporting evidence for their opinions.

Share the findings with the group. Discuss points of disagreement and why people have different opinions.

Reflection (10 minutes)• Identify the progression of Bloom’s Taxonomy (knowledge, compre-

hension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation) in the four lessons you saw. In what ways are students challenged to synthesizeand evaluate through these lessons?

• How has your understanding of “multi-arts” and “criticism” changed?

• In what ways will an expanded understanding of the criticism process lead your students to higher levelsof thinking?

• How do you envision collaboration with your colleagues, as you begin to think about integrating the artsinto your curriculum?


Facilitator: Distribute and dis-cuss the handout, Criticism:Purposes and Process.

Facilitator: Use the followingquestions to focus a closingdiscussion.


Homework Assignment If possible, introduce the purposes and process of criticism to your students and have them work in small groupsto write a critique of a work of visual art, dance, music, or theatre with which you all are familiar. Discuss students’ideas together as a group.

Be prepared to respond to the following questions at the next workshop session.

• What knowledge base was necessary for your students to succeed?

• How did your students work together?

• With what kinds of vocabulary did they need the most help?

You can find the complete lesson plans and handouts on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. Audio and video demonstration materials related tothese lessons can be found on the Classroom Demonstration Materials videotape, which will be provided free topurchasers of the workshop tapes.

If you are unable to explore these activities with your students at this time, think about how you could adapt thislesson for your classroom. Prepare a lesson plan in your journal.



• Expanding the Role of the Arts Specialist

• Teaching Dance

• Teaching Music

• Teaching Theatre

• Teaching Visual Art

• Developing an Arts-Based Unit

• Working With Local Artists

• Bringing Artists to Your Community

• Borrowing From the Arts To Enhance Learning

Research resources on costumes, vaudeville, and criticism at your school or public library or on the Web.

Attend a show by a museum, theatre, dance company, or orchestra in your community. Write a critical appraisalof the performance. Share the experience with students in your classroom.




• Cirque du Soleil (see Program 1 Appendix)

• Quidam (see Program 1 Appendix)

• Criticism

• Parade

• Vaudeville

• Listening Map for Quidam

• Listening Map for Parade

• Setting Up Your Discovery Stations

To prepare for Program 3, study the following additional readings.

• Costumes Used in Program 3

• Alwin Nikolais

• René Magritte

• Role-Play

• Surrealism


Between Sessions (On Your Own), cont’d.


Program 3

Historical References in the Arts

DescriptionHow does art history inform and influence contemporary works of art? How do individual art forms impact orinform each other in a multi-arts work?

In this program, you will explore the concept of historical context. You will learn to recognize the use of historicalreferences in a work of art, investigate the many ways that historical references can affect a work of art, interpretand use historical references to convey important information, and see how art continues to shape history today.

The program includes four lessons, in which Learner Teams and students:

• examine the multi-arts performance piece Quidam to identify historical references and consider theirimpact on the work,

• discover the power of costumes to evoke specific times and places,

• explore the lives and times of two artists from the past to see how their work affects artists today, and

• investigate traditional forms of street performances and determine whether or not they are “art.”

After viewing this program, you will design and construct your own costume elements to portray characters fromWhere the Wild Things Are, a children’s book by Maurice Sendak.

Learning Objectives• Describe where historical references occur in a video segment from Quidam.

• Analyze costume designs for Parade, focusing on how they convey character and dictate movement. Createa costume element and explore how that costumes affects character development and movement.

• Analyze and interpret works of painter René Magritte and choreographer Alwin Nikolais, comparing theartists’ works to Quidam. Create a movement sequence that incorporates an original prop/costume ele-ment and references to Magritte and Nikolais.

• Conduct research into the history of street performance and how its influence is felt in Cirque du Soleil’sQuidam. Take on the role of an art historian discussing a specific type of street performance.


• What are historical references?

• How do historical references affect the creation of new works of art?


Key Concepts/Vocabulary• Costume: clothes or accessories worn to look like someone else, to evoke a specific time or place, or to fit in

with a group or occasion

• Fantasy: a creation of the imagination; unlikely to exist in real life

• Historical precedent: a previous act, event, convention, or custom

• Reality: something that exists or could exist in real life

• Street performers: entertainers who perform in public areas, including musicians, mimes, magicians, pup-peteers, dancers, acrobats, and daredevils

• Surrealism: an early- and mid-20th century movement in the arts that explored the subconscious to createfantastic imagery; an example is juxtaposing recognizable objects with things that seem to be the oppo-site (contrast)

• Symbol: something that represents something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especiallya material object used to represent something invisible


Materials and Resources • Videotape or broadcast of Program 3—Historical References in the Arts

• Quidam video by Cirque du Soleil, available at your library and video rental store or for purchase athttp://store.yahoo.com/cirquestore/video1.html or other online video sellers

• Costume design materials, such as fabric pieces, colored paper, ribbons, feathers, and pipe cleaners

• Handout: Criticism: Purposes and Process (from Program 2)

• Handout: Summary of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are

• Reading: Cirque du Soleil (from Program 1)

• Reading: Quidam (from Program 1)

• Reading: Costumes Used in Program 3

• Reading: Alwin Nikolais

• Reading: René Magritte

• Reading: Role-Play

• Reading: Surrealism


Optional: Extended SessionLike all of the activities described in this guide, the activities describedbelow are designed to guide participants in a two-hour workshop session.For a more in-depth experience of Program 3, explore the alternativeExtended Session featured on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. This four-hoursession includes expanded on-site activities that will enhance your under-standing of the material presented in the workshop.

Getting Ready (20 minutes)Discuss your experiences with having your students write critiques.

• What knowledge base was necessary for your students to succeed?

• How did your students work together?

• With what kinds of vocabulary did your students need the most help?

Discuss the following questions.

• How does art history inform and influence contemporary works of art?

• How do individual art forms affect or inform each other in a multi-arts work?



Facilitator: Distribute thehandout, Criticism: Purposesand Process.


In the videotape, look for specific examples of:

• where art history influenced the performance and

• where individual art forms affected or informed each other in the performance.

Watch the Workshop Program (60 minutes)View Program 3—Historical References in the Arts.


Lesson 1: Influences of the Past• What historical references might have influenced Quidam?

• What role does history play in the ideas that artists have?

Lesson 2: The Power of Costume • What do costumes symbolize or represent in various works of art?

• How is a costume a work of art?

Lesson 3: Magritte and Nikolais • How might biographical information about an artist inform our understanding of his or her works?

• How could the work of one artist influence the work of other artists?

Lesson 4: Art Historian Role-Play• What is street performance? Is it art?

• How does historical precedent affect our view of art today?

• What criteria should be used to identify and define works of art?


Facilitator: If you have a videotape of Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam, use it to provide examples of historical refer-ences. Cue the program tape by setting the time counter in your videocassette player to 0:00 when you seethe title “Quidam” at the beginning of the performance, then running the tape fast-forward to 9:50. Play thesegment of Quidam that runs from 9:50 to 18:50 on the time counter (running time approximately nine min-utes). The section to be viewed begins with a team of female acrobats performing with yo-yos. It continueswith a transition in which Zoe swings and the father walks through the air; an aerial performer works on a sus-pended red fabric streamer; and a clown runs with sparklers. When a clown enters with a hula-hoop, stop thetape.



Costume Design (30 minutes)Read the handout, Summary of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are.

Using available materials, design and construct a simple costume piece thatan actor might use to portray a “wild thing.” The costume should supportthe way the character would move and should communicate the followingthings about the character:

• emotions

• personality traits

• locale

• gender

• historical period

• age

• occupation

• social status

In preparation for sharing completed costume pieces with the group, reflect on the symbolic or literal nature ofcostume elements.

Share costume pieces with the entire group using the following focus questions.

• What are the similarities and differences among these pieces?

• Why might these similarities and differences exist?

• How have symbols been used to express character traits?

• What impact might particular materials, color choices, or construction techniques have on the designs andthe way the characters can move?

Reflection (10 minutes)• Why is an understanding of history informative in the creation and

analysis of works of art?

• What opportunities do you have in your daily classroom routine toaddress important historical connections to learning?


Facilitator: Distribute thehandout, Summary of MauriceSendak’s Where the Wild ThingsAre.



Homework AssignmentIf possible, apply the ideas from this program in your own classroom. For example, ask your students to create cos-tumes for familiar characters from history or literature that they currently are studying. Be sure to engage studentsin discussion about artistic elements and historical facts that influenced their choices.

Classroom footage in this program models a team approach in which classroom teachers and arts specialists worktogether. You may wish to try this approach in your own classroom.

You can find the complete lesson plans and handouts on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. Audio and video demonstration materials related tothese lessons can be found on the Classroom Demonstration Materials videotape, which will be provided free topurchasers of the workshop tapes.

If you are able to apply these ideas in your classroom, please be prepared to respond to the following question atthe next workshop session:

• How effective were your students in representing artistic and historical elements in their design choices?

If you are unable to explore these activities with your students at this time, think about how you could adapt thislesson for your classroom. Prepare a lesson plan in your journal.




• Teaching Dance

• Teaching Music






Explore the literature of Maurice Sendak beyond Where the Wild Things Are.

Research resources on fantasy, symbolism, surrealism, and street performance at your school or public library oron the Web.

Attend a show by a museum, theatre, dance company, or orchestra in your community. Research the historical ref-erences that apply to the performance. If possible, share the experience with students in your classroom.




• Cirque du Soleil

• Quidam

• Costumes Used in Program 3

• Alwin Nikolais

• René Magritte

• Role-Play

• Surrealism

To prepare for Program 4, study the following additional reading:

• Orff Instrumentarium


In addition, read the complete illustrated children’s book Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.



Notes


Program 4

Creating a Multi-Arts Performance Piece

DescriptionIn Program 4, Learner Teams apply knowledge gained in Programs 1–3 to create a multi-arts performance piecebased on Quidam. You will use what you have learned to create, critique, and revise a similar piece based on Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are.

In Quidam, a young girl follows a guide on a journey through a fantasy world. Learner Teams and students createtheir own journey stories that depict the thoughts and feelings the young girl might have while on her fantasticadventure. Performance pieces created by the Learner Teams and students are structured using elements of theclassic hero’s journey.

In this program, the Learner Teams participate in a series of lessons that result in a completed work of art. Throughlarge- and small-group interactions, you will see the Learner Teams:

• create a story line based on the stages of a journey,

• develop their ideas into complete plots,

• rehearse music and action for the story and critique their progress,

• communicate their stories in a multi-arts medium, and

• perform their piece and reflect on the process.

The students, who are in kindergarten and fourth grade at Lusher Alternative Elementary School in New Orleans,Louisiana, review four stages of the process they went through to create their multi-arts performance piece, whichis based on Zoe’s “inner journey” in Quidam. The students:

• review the feelings that Zoe and other characters had during the three stages of their story,

• demonstrate how movements and voices changed in each stage,

• discuss the costume pieces they created for their characters, and

• perform their piece, which they call “Zoe’s Journey.”

In this session, you will begin the collaborative process of developing a multi-arts performance piece based on Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are, in which the character Max makes a journey similar to that of Zoe inQuidam.

You will brainstorm how you would dramatize Max’s story by applying the journey story structure. You also willconstruct a storyboard and indicate the role each of the art forms might play in telling the story.


Learning Objectives • Develop a plot structure for a multi-arts piece.

• Plan and implement a dramatization for the piece.

• Create and perform movement and costumes for the piece.

• Create and perform a musical score for the piece.

• Understand choreographic principles and processes in creating, performing, and responding.


• What are the steps in the process of creating a multi-arts performance piece?

• How does a teacher effectively guide the development of a student-created work?

Key Concepts/Vocabulary• Choreographer: someone who plans the movements of a dance

• Choreography: a sequence of movements planned for a dance performance

• Dialogue: the conversation between characters in a drama or narrative

• Energy qualities: types of “muscle” energy, used to describe movement qualities

• Leitmotif: a musical fragment, related to some aspect of the drama (character, emotion, or event), thatrecurs in the course of the plot

• Orff instrumentarium: standard instruments used in the method of teaching music developed by composerCarl Orff (1895–1982); these instruments include xylophones, metallophones, glockenspiels, recorders, anda wide variety of unpitched percussion instruments

• Ostinato: a short musical pattern that is repeated persistently throughout a composition or one of its sec-tions

• Pentatonic: a simple scale, based on five tones, that often is used when preparing students for success inmusical composition; the teacher may elect to use this scale without student input, depending on the pre-vious learning and abilities of the students

• Sound carpet: a subtle foundation of sound intended to provide musical support to a piece of music; thesound carpet often establishes a tonality and mood over which prominent themes or melodies are played

• Storyboard: a graphic, sequential depiction of a narrative, such as a comic strip; storyboards are commonlyused to map out animation and film productions with each “cel,” or frame, illustrating an event

• Symbol: something that stands for something else

• Theme: a musical idea, usually a melody, that forms the basis or starting point for an entire composition ora major section


Materials and Resources • Videotape or broadcast of Program 4—Creating a Multi-Arts Performance Piece

• Where the Wild Things Are, a book by Maurice Sendak

• Paper, pencils, and markers

• Handout: Elements of the Hero’s Journey

• Reading: Orff Instrumentarium


Optional: Extended SessionLike all of the activities described in this guide, the activities describedbelow are designed to guide participants in a two-hour workshop session. For a more in-depth experience of Program 4, explore the alternative Extended Session featured on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. This four-hourextended session includes expanded on-site activities that will enhance significantly your understanding of the material presented in the workshop.

Getting Ready (10 minutes)Discuss your experiences with having your students create costumes for characters from history or literature.

• How effectively did the students represent artistic and historical elements in their design choices?

Discuss the classic hero’s journey in myth and folklore and the prevalence ofthe journey structure in literature.

Watch the Workshop Program (60 minutes)View Program 4—Creating a Multi-Arts Performance Piece.


Lesson 1: Outlining the Story• How is outlining a multi-arts performance piece similar to or different from outlining a literary piece?

• How does an understanding of the journey structure facilitate the story-writing process?

Lesson 2: Developing Ideas• How does setting structural guidelines assist students in the creative process?

• How can the characters and plot of one story inform the development of a new story or a story extension?


Facilitator: Distribute thehandout, Elements of theHero’s Journey.



Lesson 3: Rehearsing and Refining• How do the outcomes of active rehearsal differ from those expected or experienced in classroom discussion?

• What are the similarities and differences between a visual symbol used in a performance piece and a lit-erary symbol used metaphorically in a written work?

Lesson 4: Performing and Reflecting• How do students’ reflections on a performance piece affect their understanding of the creative process?

• How can you meaningfully facilitate reflection and refinement of student work?


Storyboarding (40 minutes)In each group, think about how you would dramatize Where the Wild ThingsAre, which shows Max’s journey into a fantasy world.

Identify the classic journey structure (the call, the challenge, the transfor-mation, and the return) in Where the Wild Things Are. Use the following ques-tions to drive your brainstorming:

• What do you think is going on in Max’s mind during each part of thestory?

• What is he thinking?

• What is he feeling?

• How might you show this in your story?

In each group, construct a storyboard with six to eight cels total, illustrating what Max is thinking and feelingduring the four parts of his journey. Indicate the role each of the art forms might play in telling the story.

Share and discuss the storyboard outlines with the entire group, using the following questions.

• How effectively does the storyboard encompass each part of the journey?

• Where is each of the art forms employed?

Reflection (10 minutes)• How does refining and replaying contribute to student under-

standing of an arts production process?


Facilitator: Organize partici-pants into groups of five or sixto engage in the first step ofthe collaborative process ofdeveloping a multi-arts per-formance piece based onWhere the Wild Things Are byMaurice Sendak.

Facilitator: Use the followingquestion to focus a closing discussion.


Homework Assignment You can find the complete lesson plans and handouts on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. Audio and video demonstration materials relatedto these lessons can be found on the Classroom Demonstration Materials videotape, which will be providedfree to purchasers of the Workshop tapes.

Based on the lesson plans and handouts for Program 4, think about how you might adapt these lessons in yourown teaching and write some notes in your journal. If possible, introduce the concept of the classic journey toyour students and use it as a tool for analyzing the structure of a piece of literature you currently are studying.

If you are able to apply these ideas in your classroom, please be prepared to discuss student responses at the nextworkshop session.

Optional ActivitiesOther enrichment activities can boost your learning between workshop sessions. Consider the recommendedactivities below and choose those that best meet your needs. Time permitting, before or after your next workshopsession, you might share with participants what you find out.


• Teaching Dance

• Teaching Music






• Collaborating With a Community Resource


Research resources on performance art, theatrical instrumentation, and heroic quests in literature at your schoolor public library or on the Web.

Attend a show at a museum, theatre, dance company, or orchestra in your community. Consider how the work ofvarious kinds of artists and others contributed to your overall experience of the performance. Share the experi-ence with students in your classroom.



Reading AssignmentTo support your understanding of Program 4, see the following reading:

• Orff Instrumentarium

You also may see the following book:

• The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler, Michael Wiese Productions; ISBN0941188701; 2nd edition (November 1998). Referencing Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, the author assertsthat most stories consist of a few structural elements found universally in myths, fairy tales, dreams, andmovies.

Suggested Additional ReadingsThe following articles can help you prepare for Program 5:

• “Through the Lens of Art” (www.ascd.org/frameedlead.html) by Linda Nathan, Educational Leadership,Volume 60, October 2002. By integrating their study of art, academics, and life, Boston Academy studentsexperience the joys and responsibilities of becoming citizens of the world.

• “In Their Own Way”(www.ascd.org/frameedlead.html) by Nicola Findley, Educational Leadership, Volume 60,September 2002. The connections that students make may be related more to their individual approachesto learning than to the integrated curriculum.



Program 5

Designing a Multi-Arts Curriculum Unit

DescriptionIn Program 5, you will be introduced to a curriculum design process that you can use in your own classroom. Theprocess uses an approach based on the book and workshop series entitled Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. Additional ideas were developed through the national education reform project calledTransforming Education Through the Arts Challenge (TETAC), which was funded by the Walter H. AnnenbergFoundation and the Getty Education Institute for the Arts.

Unlike traditional approaches to curriculum design, the process presented here focuses on the enduring ideas,also known as enduring understandings, that drive the curriculum—the “why” rather than the “what.”

In the program, you will see Learner Team members:

• investigate the components and process of this curriculum design model, using as a reference the multi-arts unit of study based on Quidam;

• analyze various curriculum topics for significant enduring ideas/understandings, essential questions, andunit objectives; and

• construct enduring ideas/understandings, essential questions, and objectives for their own integratedunits of study, working in collaboration.

In this session, you will work in groups to construct these elements for your own curriculum topics. You also willidentify the enduring ideas/understandings, essential questions, and goals and objectives for your units of study.

Learning Objectives • Identify elements of curriculum design, including enduring ideas/understandings, essential questions, and

unit objectives.

• Analyze curriculum for appropriate and significant enduring ideas/understandings, essential questions,and unit objectives.

• Collaboratively write the enduring ideas/understandings, essential questions, and unit objectives for anintegrated unit of study.



• What is curriculum design?

• How can curriculum design inform your daily classroom activities?

• How can this curriculum design process be useful to you as you begin to integrate the arts into your curriculum?

Key Concepts/Vocabulary• Enduring ideas/understandings: the big concepts about a theme or topic that students should comprehend

and retain after they’ve forgotten many of the details (a topic is a subject; a theme is an idea about the subject)

• Essential questions: questions that guide teaching and engage students in uncovering the important ideasat the heart of each subject

• Unit objectives: knowledge and skills necessary for students to demonstrate their understandings of essen-tial questions


Materials and Resources • Videotape or broadcast of Program 5—Designing a Multi-Arts Curriculum Unit

• Handout: Developing a Unit of Study

• Handout: Indicators of Enduring Ideas/Understandings and Essential Questions

• Handout: Enduring Ideas/Understandings Worksheet

Handouts are available in the Appendix of this guide or on the workshop Web site.

Getting Ready (25 minutes)If you have been able to have your own students analyze a work of literature looking for elements of the classichero’s journey structure, discuss your experiences.

Begin thinking about your current curriculum design process by discussing the following questions.

• What is the difference between lesson planning and curriculum design?

• With which curriculum design models are you familiar?

Watch the Workshop Program (60 minutes)View Program 5—Designing a Multi-Arts Curriculum Unit.


• Where do your curriculum topics originate?

• Once you select a topic, what design process do you follow?

• What is the value of considering the “why” as well as the “what” of instruction?

• What are essential questions, and how can they help clarify unit objectives?


Facilitator: Distribute thehandout, Developing a Unit ofStudy.



Beginning the Curriculum Design Process (30 minutes)Each group will begin the curriculum design process for a lesson that inte-grates the arts by constructing an enduring idea/understanding for theirtopic. Begin by brainstorming and mapping a web of concepts that supportyour assigned topic. From the concepts, construct a list of generalizations—general statements developed by connecting concepts together.

Using the generalizations, craft the enduring idea/understanding for theunit. Refer to the handout, Indicators of Enduring Ideas/Understandingsand Essential Questions, for criteria.

Then, using the same handout, construct the essential questions. Theseshould support and address the unit concepts you have identified.

Finally, use the essential questions to define your unit goals and objectives.

Reflection (5 minutes)• What affected your ability to work collaboratively?

• How has this process encouraged you to explore the “why” in yourteaching?

Save your written work and notes from this workshop session and bringthem to the next workshop session, when you will be asked to discuss these topics further.


Facilitator: Distribute thehandout, Indicators ofEnduring Ideas/Understand-ings and Essential Questions,and the handout, EnduringIdeas/Understandings Work-sheet. Divide participants intofour groups. Assign each groupone of the following topics:

• Arts and History

• Arts and Literature

• Arts and Math

• Arts and Science



Homework Assignment You can find the curriculum design plans and handouts on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom. Based on the lesson plans and handouts for Program 5, think about how you might apply the curriculum design process discussed in this program to a content standard, topic, or theme relevant to your classroom. Write some notes in your journal.

Be prepared to respond to the following question at the next workshop session:

• Based on this journal exercise, what difficulties or advantages do you foresee in working with the cur-riculum design model discussed in this program?



• Teaching Dance

• Teaching Music




• Collaborating With a Cultural Resource

• Leadership Team

• Students Create a Multi-Arts Performance

• Three Leaders at Arts-Based Schools

Research resources on arts integration and curriculum design at your school or public library or on the Web.

Consider what multi-arts performance pieces, in addition to Quidam, might provide a powerful platform forteaching and learning in your school.

Reading AssignmentTo support your understanding of Program 5, see the following article and book:

• “Teaching for Understanding” (www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/workshops/teachingforunder-standing.html) This article provides insights from research and educational practice about both the natureof understanding and how people learn for understanding.

• Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Prentice Hall College Div; ISBN 013093058X(December 28, 2000), (www.ascd.org/readingroom/books/wiggins98book.html). This book is about thedesign of curricula to engage students in exploration and to deepen their understanding of importantideas and about the design of assessments to reveal the extent of their understandings.



To prepare for Program 6, review this reading:

• Criteria for Planning Multi-Arts Instruction

This reading can be found in the Appendix of this guide or on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom.

In addition, read the following articles:

• “Using Rubrics to Promote Thinking and Learning” (www.ascd.org/frameedlead.html), Educational Leadership, Volume 57, February 2000. Instructional rubrics have two features: a list of “what counts” in an assignment and gradations of quality for each criterion.

• “Creating Rubrics: Inspire Your Students and Foster Critical Thinking” (www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4523.html). This five-part series of articles explores how to design, refine, and imple-ment rubrics in a variety of subject areas.



Program 6

The Role of Assessment in Curriculum Design

DescriptionWhat are some of the ways teachers can evaluate student learning in a classroom that integrates the arts? Howcan teachers use assessment effectively to inform curriculum design?

Having laid foundations for their own units of study in Program 5, the Learner Teams in Program 6 discover howto build formative and summative assessments into the units they are developing. They consider assessmentstrategies used in the lessons of Programs 1–4, continue working on their own units by developing performancetasks that address assessment criteria, and create scoring guidelines.

The Learner Teams refer to Programs 1-4, which used Quidam as the focal point for an entire arts-based unit. TheLearner Teams look at the assessment strategies used in those programs to:

• understand the role and value of assessments;

• define, identify, and analyze various types of assessments;

• develop performance tasks to use as assessment tools; and

• create scoring guidelines for assessing how well students carry out performance tasks.

In this session, you will develop performance tasks and scoring guidelines to evaluate students’ performance onthe tasks. You can use the assessment practices discussed here in designing curriculum for virtually any subjectarea.

Learning Objectives • Write a performance task to use as an assessment tool.

• Align the performance task with a unit objective.

• Design a set of scoring guidelines, or rubric.


• How can assessments be used as curriculum planning tools?

• What is the difference between a performance task and a performance?

• How can you establish effective criteria for assessment in the arts?


Key Concepts/Vocabulary• Criteria: the essential components that demonstrate successful accomplishment of learning objectives

• Formative assessment: evaluation that occurs throughout a unit of study to let teachers know how well students are learning what has been taught so far

• Informal observations: teacher-conducted observations or recordings of a whole group, small group, or indi-vidual learner performances

• Performance tasks: activities that allow the learner to demonstrate his/her understandings through a scenario, employing a goal and a role to create a product or performance for a given audience

• Reflection: the opportunity for learners to think about previous learning and how it affected their under-standing and decision-making; it can be expressed in verbal or written form

• Rubric: a scoring guide that includes all criteria for a range of levels of achievement; it is provided to learnersprior to learning activities and uses clear and concise language

• Summative assessment: an evaluation conducted at the end of a lesson or unit of study to measure accom-plishment of a completed process or product


Materials and Resources • Videotape or broadcast of Program 6—The Role of Assessment in Curriculum Design

• Paper, pencils, and markers

• Written work, completed during the workshop session for Program 5, including constructed enduringideas/understandings and essential questions

• Handout: Evaluating Performance Tasks Worksheet (with sample)

• Handout: Performance Tasks Worksheet (with sample)

• Handout: Performance Tasks Rubric Worksheet (with sample)

• Reading: Criteria for Planning Multi-Arts Instruction


Getting Ready (10 minutes)At the conclusion of the previous workshop session, you were asked tothink about how you might design curriculum using practices introduced inProgram 5, such as the development of enduring ideas/understandings andessential questions. Discuss the difficulties and successes you encounteredin working with this curriculum design model.

• How do we know students have learned what we taught?

• What is the difference between a formative assessment and a summative assessment?

• How are formative assessment and summative assessment interrelated?

Watch the Workshop Program (60 minutes)View Program 6—The Role of Assessment in Curriculum Design.


• What does it mean to ask students to reflect on their learning?

• How does a performance task influence a student performance?

• How does a rubric serve as a valid and reliable assessment tool?


Facilitator: Encourage partici-pants to begin thinking aboutassessment by discussing thefollowing questions.



Writing and Evaluating Performance Tasks (40 minutes)Reassemble in the four groups established in Program 5. Each group will writea performance task that would enable students to demonstrate their grasp ofthe enduring idea/understanding and essential questions previously craftedfor a lesson integrating the arts. Use the Performance Tasks Worksheet andthe completed sample as a guide in writing the performance task.

As you work, consider the following questions.

• How will you refer to this task when giving instructions? What will be the title?

• What knowledge and skills will be assessed through this task? How will this task enable students to showwhat they know and can do?

• What is the purpose of this assessment tool? Will you use this evaluation to monitor students’ progress andinform further instruction, or will you measure the students’ completed process or product?

• What is the goal of the task? How will this task help to confirm students’achievement of the unit objectives?

Decide on the following:

• the situation in which the performance task will take place,

• what students must do to complete the task,

• the intended audience for the task, and

• the product or process that will result from the task.

Write a scenario for the performance task that takes the following key elements into account:

• Goal: Why are you asking students to do this?

• Role: Whom will students portray as they develop the scenario?

• Audience: For whom is the process or product intended?

• Situation: What will students do to accomplish the goal?

• Performance or product: How will students demonstrate their understanding?

Using the Evaluating Performance Tasks Worksheet and completed sampleto organize your thoughts, analyze your performance task to ensure thattask criteria are aligned with lesson objectives. Edit your completed sce-nario if necessary.

Based on the performance task sce-nario you have written, design an assessment rubric that would enable youto effectively score students’ performance. Use the Performance TasksRubric Worksheet and completed sample as a guide.

Reflection (10 minutes)• What benefits do you see in the “backward planning” approach to

writing curriculum?

• Based on these insights, how might you use assessment differently inyour classroom?

This process for designing performance tasks is adapted from Wiggins’ and McTighe’s Understanding by Design.(See www.ascd.org/readingroom/books/wiggins98toc.html for more information.)


Facilitator: Distribute thehandout, Performance TasksWorksheet (with sample).

Facilitator: Distribute the hand-out, Evaluating PerformanceTasks Worksheet (with sample).

Facilitator: Distribute thehandout, Performance TasksRubric Worksheet (with sample).



Homework AssignmentHaving done the “backward planning” of using assessment as a starting point for curriculum design, you now areprepared for the next step in the curriculum design process—development of the sequence and content for yourlesson plans. Consider these key elements as you continue to develop lesson plans and write notes in your journal:

• Content: The knowledge and skills you intend to measure through your performance task represent whatyou must teach in this unit. How many lessons will it take for students to learn what they need to success-fully complete the task?

• Instruction: As you develop content, consider various ways students could learn it, including both tradi-tional and inquiry-based methods of instruction. If most of the instructional strategies you plan to use fallinto the traditional category, consider trying methods that are more inquiry-based. What methods helpyour students learn most effectively? Daily lectures? Hands-on activities? A combination of approaches?

• Integration of subjects: Integrate a variety of subjects if each subject plays an essential role in the learningthat is desired. If you took one of the intended subjects out, would students still get what they should outof the lesson or unit?

If possible, apply the ideas from Program 6 in your own classroom. For example, create a lesson plan integratingthe arts based on knowledge and skills that you want to assess. Design a performance task that would enable stu-dents to show that they have achieved the relevant objective.

You can find the assessment design plans and handouts on the workshop Web site atwww.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom.

Develop your own multi-arts unit of study. To assist you in your planning, use the checklist of criteria provided inthe reading, Criteria for Planning Multi-Arts Instruction, which can be found in the Appendix of this guide.



• What Is Arts Education?

• How Do You Know They’re Learning?


• Students Create a Multi-Arts Performance

• Borrowing From the Arts To Enhance Learning

Research resources on performance task assessment and curriculum design at your school or public library or onthe Web.



Reading AssignmentTo support your understanding of Program 6, see the following reading:

• Criteria for Planning Multi-Arts Instruction

In addition, see the following articles:

• “Arts Assessment Guide” (www.kosd.org/~patt/arts/) by Ray Wilkins, Pennsylvania Department of Educa-tion. This guide is intended to assist teachers in matching challenging curriculum and instruction withauthentic assessment strategies that mirror the teaching/learning experience.

• “Assessment in the Arts” (www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/curriculumatwork/arts/ar_assess.htm). This is a discus-sion of arts assessment with sample learning outcomes and indicators.

Suggested Additional Reading• “Classroom Assessment for Learning” (www.ascd.org/frameedlead.html) by Stephen Chappuis and Richard

J. Stiggins, Educational Leadership, Volume 60, September 2002. Classroom assessment that involves stu-dents in the process and focuses on increasing learning can motivate rather than merely measure students.

To prepare for Program 7, review these readings:

• Roles of Arts Specialists and Classroom Teachers

• Comprehensive Arts Education


In addition, read about the Learner Teams and their schools in the About the Contributors section of this guide.

If time permits, look up additional resources on writing assessment rubrics:

• National standards for student achievement in all major subject areas, which can be found easily on theInternet, can help you set expectations for student learning.

• Most states and many local school districts also have established academic standards or guidelines for stu-dent learning. Find out whether your school district provides benchmarks for the knowledge and skills thatstudents are expected to master at various grade levels.

• For arts education, many states rely on the National Standards for Arts Education, available athttp://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/professional_resources/standards/natstandards/.

• An excellent resource on assessment specific to the arts is Beattie’s Assessment in the Arts. For more infor-mation, see www.davis-art.com.



Program 7

Three Schools, Three Approaches

DescriptionThis program features visits to the schools of each Learner Team during the year following their summer work-shop training. It also includes reflective discussions between each team and workshop leader Susanne Burgess.

At Ridgeway Elementary School in White Plains, New York, team members worked all year planning and teachinga sequence of instruction leading to a multi-arts performance piece.

The team from Drew Model School in Arlington, Virginia, invited other interested teachers to work with them ona variety of lessons and units that integrated the arts with other subjects.

The entire faculty at Kingsbury Elementary School in Memphis, Tennessee, participated in schoolwide planning tomake good use of community arts resources.

In this session, you will reflect on the work of the Learner Teams and discuss how your school might act similarlyor differently. You also will think about specific ways that you and your colleagues might increase the role of thearts in your classrooms.

Learning Objectives • Examine how different schools expand the role of the arts, based on their culture, priorities, and personnel;

• Discover different ways that teachers collaborate to use the arts in their classrooms.


• How can meaningful arts education change teaching practice?

• What are various ways educators can collaborate to increase the presence of the arts in their classrooms?


Key Concepts/Vocabulary• Enduring ideas/understandings: big concepts about a topic (subject) or theme (idea about the subject) that

students should comprehend and retain after they’ve forgotten many of the details

• Essential questions: questions that guide teaching and engage students in uncovering the important ideasat the heart of a topic of study

• Performance tasks: activities that allow the learner to demonstrate his/her understanding through a sce-nario, employing a goal and a role to create a product or performance for a given audience

• Process-centered learning: the experience of students actively engaged in exploration and problem solving,learning through firsthand experience

• Standards of Learning (SOLs): criterion-referenced tests in Virginia that compare a student’s mastery of spe-cific curriculum against a test standard

• Team teaching: an instructional approach in which two or more instructors are jointly responsible for coursecontent, presentations, and grading; they may interact in front of the class, discussing specific topics fromdivergent perspectives, and take turns presenting material appropriate to their individual areas of special-ization

• Unit objectives: knowledge and skills necessary for students to demonstrate their understandings of essen-tial questions


Materials and Resources• Videotape or broadcast of Program 7—Three Schools, Three Approaches

• Handout: Ridgeway Elementary School

• Handout: Drew Model School

• Handout: Kingsbury Elementary School

• Reading: Roles of Arts Specialists and Classroom Teachers

• Reading: Comprehensive Arts Education


Getting Ready (10 minutes)The first six programs of this series were videotaped during a summer workshop. During the following school year,a video production team visited each Learner Team’s school to document some of the team’s relevant activities.In this program, you will see Learner Team members planning and teaching arts-related units. You also will seeend-of-year discussions that each team had with workshop leader Susanne Burgess.

• What are the arts?

• What do different art forms have in common with one another?

• What is arts education?

• How are the arts different from and similar to non-arts subjects?

Watch the Program (60 minutes)View Program 7—Three Schools, Three Approaches.


• How did the three Learner Teams apply what they had learned about the arts?

• How did team members collaborate with each other?

• What problems did they encounter? How did they overcome these challenges? What successes did theyachieve?


Facilitator: Ask participants toreview their understanding ofthe arts by discussing the fol-lowing questions.



Analyzing the Impact of the Arts (25 minutes)In your group, examine the profile of your designated Learner Team school.Think about the role of the arts in that school before the summer workshopand what changes occurred after the workshop. Identify similarities withyour own school and discuss how some of the strategies employed byLearner Team members might help broaden the role of the arts in yourschool. Consider the following questions.

• What parallels do you see between the Learner Team school and yourschool?

• How would you build on what the Learner Team did?

The Role of the Arts in Your School (20 minutes)Divide into small groups and discuss the following questions.

• How do knowledge about the arts and hands-on making of artinteract to enhance student understandings?

• How can your planning and instruction focus more on the why andhow of the arts, rather than the what?

• What are some challenges to broadening the use of the arts in your classroom?

• How can the role of arts specialists be expanded or changed to enable increased professional collabora-tion?

• How might you collaborate with your colleagues to evaluate and reflect on your own teaching practice?

• How would such collaborative professional reflection benefit student learning?

Share your findings with the group or keep a journal of your own ideas.

Reflection (5 minutes)• Before viewing The Arts in Every Classroom programs and participating

in this workshop series, what did you think about arts education?

• What do you think about arts education now?


Facilitator: Divide participantsinto three groups, one for eachLearner Team school. Distributethe profile for that group’sschool to each participant inthe group.

Facilitator: Lead a discussionreflecting on the role of the artsin your school.



Homework AssignmentTalk with other teachers about what is being taught in your school. Look at curriculum maps if they are available.Consider possible connections among and with the arts, and think about how you might collaborate with anotherteacher to meet common learning objectives.

Explore the Developing Educational Standards Web site (http://edStandards.org/Standards.html), a repository forinformation about national, state, and local educational standards and curriculum frameworks.


Learn more about arts education by exploring the National Standards for Arts Education(http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/professional_resources/standards/nat_standards_main.html). The openingparagraphs for each art form provide a snapshot of what successful teaching of the arts looks like at variousgrade levels.

Examine the Model Standards for Licensing Classroom Teachers and Specialists in the Arts(www.ccsso.org/intaspub.html#arts) to learn more about what all teachers—both classroom teachers and arts specialists—should know and be able to do to teach the arts effectively.

Reading AssignmentSee the following readings:

• Roles of Arts Specialists and Classroom Teachers

• Comprehensive Arts Education

The following articles can add to your understanding of this material:

• “Fads and Fireflies: The Difficulties of Sustaining Change”(www.ascd.org/frameedlead.html) by John O’Neil,Educational Leadership, Volume 57, April 2000. Educator and historian Larry Cuban, co-author of TinkeringToward Utopia, reflects on why reforms are proposed and what happens when they are brought to the com-plex laboratory of schools.

• “Creating a Knowledge Base for Teaching: A Conversation with James Stigler” (www.ascd.org/frameed-lead.html) by Scott Willis, Educational Leadership, Volume 59, March 2002. James Stigler discusses how wecan improve professional development by helping teachers learn to analyze classroom practices and accu-mulate professional knowledge. Stigler, author of The Teaching Gap, advocates professional developmentthat is site based, long term, and directly related to teacher practice.

To prepare for Program 8, review these readings:

• Factors for Arts Education Success

• Research on Arts Education




Suggested Additional Readings• “Sustaining Change: The Answers Are Blowing in the Wind” (www.ascd.org/frameedlead.html) by Cerylle A.

Moffett, Educational Leadership, Volume 57, April 2000. Highlights of more than 20 years of research onschool change suggest implications for leaders and policymakers.

• “Teachers Leading Teachers” (www.ascd.org/frameedlead.html) by Rachelle Feiler, Margaret Heritage, andRonald Gallimore, Educational Leadership, Volume 57, April 2000. Developing teacher-leaders increases thelikelihood that a school will realize lasting improvements. A school looks within its own community to dis-cover and develop leaders who can offer readily available, site-specific resources and expertise.



Program 8

Building on New Ideas

DescriptionIn this program, you will see how the Learner Teams implemented new ideas and expanded arts instruction intothe general curriculum at their schools. In conversations with workshop leader Susanne Burgess, Learner Teammembers reflect on instructional changes and consider where they’ll go next with the arts.

Emphasizing the arts in the general classroom was a new idea at Ridgeway Elementary School in White Plains,New York. Learner Team members chose to replicate some of the activities they had experienced in the summerworkshop as a first step toward broadening the role of the arts in their curriculum. Over the course of the schoolyear, they led their students through a process of investigation and creation leading up to a multi-arts performance.

At Kingsbury Elementary School in Memphis, Tennessee, Learner Team members used several approaches toengage students, including an introduction to costume design, visits from a local dance artist, and analysis of a pas-sage of music. These approaches all related to the multi-arts aspects of a ballet that the children planned to attend.

Having already identified the arts as a priority, Learner Team members at Drew Model School in Arlington, Virginia,sought to create connections between the arts and other subjects. Teachers collaborated to integrate visual artwith science for third-graders, with community studies for kindergartners, and with music for fifth-graders.

In this session, you will take on roles from the school community to debate the importance of the arts to educa-tion. You also will work in pairs to create a work of art that communicates your vision of arts in your classroom.

Learning Objectives • Understand the effects of an increased arts presence on faculty and on students.

• Consider ways to build on new experiences with the arts.


• How do the arts impact the way students learn?

• What roles do the arts play in your school’s curriculum?

Key Concepts/Vocabulary• Constructivism: the belief that learners create their own knowledge structures rather than merely receiving

them from others, that knowledge is not simply transmitted from teacher to student but instead is con-structed in the mind of the learner

• Differentiated instruction: teaching that is adapted to the needs of individual children


Materials and Resources• Videotape or broadcast of Program 8—Building on New Ideas

• Several sets of four index cards labeled “teacher,”“principal,”“parent,” and “student”

• Paper and art supplies

• Reading: Factors for Arts Education Success

• Reading: Research on Arts Education

Readings are available in the Appendix of this guide or on the workshop Web site.

Getting Ready (10 minutes)In the previous program, you saw Learner Team members reflecting on theimpact of lessons and teaching strategies that they tried with their students.This program documents some of their collaborative work with colleagues,their observations about how their teaching practice changed, and theirthinking about what their next steps might be.

• How can arts education increase student learning and under-standing?

• How can the arts enable students to create knowledge for themselves?

• How can teachers help students make learning their own process rather than the process of the teacher?

• How does focusing attention on the artistic process (creating, performing, and responding) affect students’understanding of the arts?

Watch the Program (60 minutes)View Program 8—Building on New Ideas.


• How did the three Learner Teams connect the arts with other parts of the curriculum?

• How are they planning to build on and expand their work?


Facilitator: Engage partici-pants in thinking about the rolethe arts can play in the class-room by discussing the fol-lowing questions.



Making a Case for the Arts (20 minutes)Learner Team members used a variety of techniques to bring the arts intotheir classrooms, but all of them started by recognizing the value of the artsfor elementary schoolchildren. Realizing the power and promise of artseducation is a first step toward changing instructional practice and findinga new role for the arts in your school.

Divide into two groups for a mock debate. Distribute index cards with roles to be assumed during the debate. Ineach group, there should be at least one person playing the role of teacher, one person representing a principal,one acting as a parent, and one playing the role of a student.

In the debate, one group will make the case for an arts-rich curriculum in every classroom. The other group willcounter with arguments against arts education. The debate may begin with stereotypical claims and put-downs,but it should work toward deeper discussion of real issues. Begin the debate with the following questions.

• Do you consider the arts to be extraneous to traditional curriculum—at best merely an enrichment?

• Should the arts be an essential part of the core academic curriculum?

• What makes a subject “academic”?

When everyone has spoken, end the debate. Come out of character and talk about any points that did not have acounterargument. Is the case stronger for or against the arts?

Preparing To Build on New Ideas (25 minutes)Divide into pairs, each pair collaboratively creating a work of art—such as adrawing, sculpture, poem, song, dance, and/or scene—that communicatesyour vision of the arts in your classroom. Combine two or more art forms ifpossible.

Reassemble as one group and share your works of art, pointing out and dis-cussing similarities and differences.

Begin laying the foundation for your shared vision of the arts in every class-room by discussing the following questions.

• What changes in curriculum content and instructional practice willneed to be made?

• What assistance will you need from administrators, fellow teachers,and others outside the school?

• What expertise do various teachers have, and how can you employthis expertise in team-teaching situations?

• What additional knowledge and skills do you and other teachersneed to make arts instruction meaningful and effective?

Reflection (5 minutes)Artists look at things in different ways, experimenting with variousapproaches and changing patterns. Professional educators engage in a sim-ilar process, continually assessing and improving their curriculum andinstructional practice. What are you going to do next as you work to bringan arts-rich curriculum into your classroom?


Facilitator: Lead a debateabout the importance of thearts.

Facilitator: Lead a discussionenvisioning the expanded rolethe arts can play in your school.Consider several comparisons,such as:

• How is a classroom like ablank canvas or anempty stage?

• How are the arts like amagnifying glass, bring-ing out details and deep-ening understanding inall subject areas?

• How can the arts beused as a glue to holdtogether many parts ofthe curriculum?

Facilitator: Use the followingobservations and question tofocus a closing discussion.


Homework AssignmentWhen you began your journey exploring the role of the arts in every classroom, you were asked to complete asurvey and save a copy of your responses. Return to the Survey (Start Your Journey Here) and answer the ques-tions again. Compare your initial responses to your current understandings about the arts.

Optional ActivitiesOther enrichment activities can boost your learning. Consider the recommended activities below and choosethose that best meet your needs. Time permitting, you might share what you find out with other participants.

Work with your colleagues to develop and implement strategies for achieving your shared vision of the arts inevery classroom.

Teach the Quidam multi-arts unit of study that was the focus of Programs 1–4. You can download the completelesson plans from The Arts in Every Classroom workshop Web site at www.learner.org/channel/workshops/-artsineveryclassroom.

Develop your own multi-arts unit of study. Use the following criteria to assist you in your planning.

Criteria for Planning Multi-Arts InstructionDoes the instruction you have planned around a particular subject include:

• enduring ideas/understandings?

• measurable learning objectives?

• correlation with national, state, and local standards?

• clearly defined formative and summative assessment strategies?

• appropriate use and introduction of arts vocabulary?

• developmentally and sequentially appropriate knowledge, skills, and materials?

Seek out and attend professional development workshops and conferences in arts education theory and practice.

The following organizations are national voices for arts education in the United States. They have been involvedwith the development of the National Standards for Arts Education and the Model Standards for Licensing ClassroomTeachers and Specialists in the Arts developed by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium,a program of the Council of Chief State School Officers. To learn more, visit the Web sites of these organizations:

• American Alliance for Theatre & Education (www.aate.com)

• National Art Education Association (www.naea-reston.org)

• National Association for Music Education (www.menc.org)

• National Dance Association (www.aahperd.org/nda/template.cfm)

For more ideas and information, see the Resources section in About This Workshop on The Arts in Every Classroomworkshop Web site.

Read the introduction to the National Standards for Arts Education (http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/-professional_resources/standards/natstandards) to learn more about the benefits an arts education can provide.

Next Steps (On Your Own)


Learn about how arts education has improved student learning and changed the culture of many schools. Lookat these readings on The Arts in Every Classroom Web site and in the Appendix to this guide.

• Factors for Arts Education Success

• Research on Arts Education

The following articles can add to your understanding of this material:

• “Helping Students Ask the Right Questions” (www.ascd.org/frameedlead.html) by Cynthia Richetti andJames Sheerin, Educational Leadership, Volume 57, November 1999. Four strategies help students grapplewith complex situations, make decisions, solve problems, and implement solutions. By learning question-based, problem-solving strategies, students become more effective thinkers and learners.

• “Reconcilable Differences? Standards-Based Teaching and Differentiation”(www.ascd.org/frameedlead.html)by Carol Ann Tomlinson, Educational Leadership, Volume 58, September 2000. Can addressing students’individual needs help prepare them to meet high standards? Standards-based instruction and differenti-ated learning can be compatible approaches in today’s classrooms.

Suggested Additional Readings• “Guiding the Innate Constructivist” (www.ascd.org/frameedlead.html) by Geoffrey Caine, Renate Nummela

Caine, and Carol McClintic, Educational Leadership, Volume 60, September 2002. Teachers can create short,carefully designed events that fully engage students and prepare the way for active learning.

• “The Many Faces of Constructivism” (www.ascd.org/frameedlead.html) by David Perkins, Educational Lead-ership, Volume 57, November 1999. Although most constructivist classrooms feature active, social, and cre-ative learning, different kinds of knowledge invite different responses, not one standard approach. Theauthor of Smart Schools describes pragmatic constructivism, a toolbox for the problems of learning.

Next Steps (On Your Own), cont’d.


Notes


Appendix

Handouts and Readings

Program 1. What Is Art?

Readings

Cirque du Soleil ..................................................................................................................68

Quidam ..............................................................................................................................70

Program 2. Responding to the Arts

Handouts

Criticism: Purposes and Process ..........................................................................................72

Jean Cocteau’s Scenario for Parade ......................................................................................74

Readings

Cirque du Soleil ..............................................................................................(see Program 1)

Quidam ..........................................................................................................(see Program 1)

Criticism ............................................................................................................................75

Parade ..................................................................................................................................76

Vaudeville ............................................................................................................................77

Listening Map for Quidam ..................................................................................................78

Listening Map for Parade ....................................................................................................79

Setting Up Your Discovery Stations ....................................................................................80


Program 3. Historical References in the Arts

Handouts

Criticism: Purposes and Process ......................................................................(see Program 2)

Summary of Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are ..................................................82

Readings

Cirque du Soleil ..............................................................................................(see Program 1)

Quidam ..........................................................................................................(see Program 1)

Costumes Used in Program 3 ..............................................................................................83

Alwin Nikolais ....................................................................................................................85

René Magritte......................................................................................................................86

Role-Play ............................................................................................................................87

Surrealism............................................................................................................................88

Program 4. Creating a Multi-Arts Performance Piece

Handout

Elements of the Hero’s Journey............................................................................................89

Reading

Orff Instrumentarium ........................................................................................................90

Program 5. Designing a Multi-Arts Curriculum Unit

Handouts

Developing a Unit of Study ................................................................................................91

Indicators of Enduring Ideas/Understandings and Essential Questions................................92

Enduring Ideas/Understandings Worksheet ........................................................................93


Program 6. The Role of Assessment in Curriculum Design

Handouts

Evaluating Performance Tasks Worksheet (with sample) ......................................................94

Performance Tasks Worksheet (with sample) ......................................................................96

Performance Tasks Rubric Worksheet (with sample)............................................................98

Reading

Criteria for Planning Multi-Arts Instruction......................................................................100

Program 7. Three Schools, Three Approaches

Handouts

Ridgeway Elementary School ............................................................................................101

Drew Model School ..........................................................................................................103

Kingsbury Elementary School ..........................................................................................105

Readings

Roles of Arts Specialists and Classroom Teachers ..............................................................107

Comprehensive Arts Education ........................................................................................108

Program 8. Building on New Ideas

Readings

Factors for Arts Education Success ....................................................................................110

Research on Arts Education ..............................................................................................111

Survey Resources ......................................................................................................................112

Production Credits ..................................................................................................................121


The Arts in Every Classroom: A Workshop for Elementary School TeachersReading

Cirque du Soleil

In the early 1980s, a group of young street performers in Quebec, Canada, pooled their talent anddreams and founded the “Club des Talons Hauts” or “High-Heels Club,” aptly named because most ofthem were stilt-walkers. The club also featured fire-eaters, jugglers, and other performers, who wereknown collectively as buskers. At that time, Quebec did not have a circus tradition, so the cluborganized a festival where street performers could come together to exchange ideas and techniques.They called it the “Fête Foraine de Baie St-Paul” (the Baie Saint-Paul Fair). That was all a fewvisionaries needed to hatch the idea of bringing all this talent together under one roof or — why not?— a big top! Cirque du Soleil was born.

Cirque du Soleil was officially created in 1984 with the assistance of the Quebec government, as part ofthe celebrations surrounding the 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s arrival in Canada. Cirque wasbased on a totally new concept: a striking, dramatic mix of the circus arts and street entertainment,featuring wild, outrageous costumes, staged under magical lighting, and set to original music. With nota single animal in the ring, Cirque’s difference was clear from the very start. The show debuted in theQuebec town of Gaspé and then was performed in 10 other cities throughout the province. The firstblue and yellow big top seated 800.

Since its creation, millions of people around the world have seen Cirque du Soleil’s productions. In1996, the Cirque du Soleil International Headquarters was completed in Montreal. This $40 millionproject made it possible for more than 500 permanent Montreal employees to work together. It is herethat all of Cirque du Soleil’s shows are created and produced.

Cirque today runs several simultaneous productions worldwide. Some of the productions, such asMystère and O in Las Vegas, La Nouba at Walt Disney World, and Alegria in Biloxi, Mississippi, enjoypermanent runs. Others, including Quidam, Saltimbanco, and Dralion, are touring in both the UnitedStates and Europe. Cirque du Soleil also has released its first feature film, Alegria, inspired by the showof the same name, and its first-ever large-format (IMAX) production, Journey of Man.

Cirque du Soleil also is known for its commitment to social causes, particularly youth at risk. Onepercent of potential revenues from ticket sales every year is devoted to outreach programs. Cirque duSoleil can identify with the situation at-risk youth are facing because, in its own way, the Cirquelifestyle is also a wandering, marginal one. The creators of Cirque du Soleil were young self-taughtartists who couldn’t be pigeonholed, and before they began playing under sumptuous big tops, theironly stage was the street.

Cirque du Soleil’s social action knows no borders, reaching out to youth worldwide. This outreach isproactive and committed, since Cirque chooses its partners and undertakes to work with them longterm for a common goal. Just as their shows seek to stimulate the imagination and inspire dreams, sothey strive to work creatively with youth at risk, opening up new avenues to help them find their placein the community without forcing them into highly structured and disciplined roles.


Cirque du Soleil wants to achieve a multiplier effect for its social action by building a solidaritynetwork centered around its chosen cause. Alliances have been forged with numerous partners from allsectors of society that share the commitment to helping youth in difficulty.

The international success story known as Cirque du Soleil is above all the story of a remarkable bondamong performers and spectators the world over. For at the end of the day, it is the spectators whospark the creative passions of Cirque du Soleil.

Adapted from the Cirque du Soleil Web site, www.cirquedusoleil.com.



Quidam

In 1996, Cirque du Soleil premiered a work entitled Quidam. According to Cirque du Soleil’s Website, the character Quidam is meant to be “a nameless passer-by, a solitary figure lingering on a streetcorner, a person rushing past. It could be anyone, anybody. Someone coming, going, living in ouranonymous society. A member of the crowd, one of the silent majority. One who cries out, sings anddreams within us all. This is the Quidam that Cirque du Soleil is celebrating.”

This work is different from previous productions in that it contains a narrative story line. Theperformance opens with Zoe, a young, angry girl who already has seen everything there is to see.Quidam, the anonymous character, invites Zoe into a mysterious, magical world, and she discovers thatthere is a lot more out there than she ever could have imagined. She meets John and Fritz, whobefriend her and dazzle her. She is very excited about her new discoveries in this world, but then shesees her parents. Her parents, though, cannot see her, just as they don’t notice her in the real world. Inthe end everything works out for Zoe. She is reunited with her parents and is glad to see them again.She is much appreciated in the real world now but is sad to leave the excitement of Quidam behind.For just a second, Zoe is reluctant to leave and looks to John for advice. He hates to say good-bye toher, but he knows she must return to her own world and her own life.

Quidam was written and directed by Franco Dragone, who has been working with Cirque du Soleilsince 1985. Dragone came to the circus from a background in theatre, working with several theatricalcompanies across Europe. It was his experiences in Europe that led Dragone to propose an integrationof theatre and circus that is now the trademark of Cirque du Soleil. The rest of the creative teamincluded Michel Crete, set designer; Dominique Lemieux, costume designer; Benoit Jutras, composer;Debra Brown, choreographer; Luc Lafortune, lighting designer; and Francois Bergeron, sounddesigner. Quidam has more than 50 performers, ranging in age from 12 to 43. The current castmembers hail from Canada, United States, France, Russia, Ukraine, China, England, Argentina,Belgium, Australia, and Israel.

Cirque du Soleil means “circus of the sun.” Quidam, like all of Cirque du Soleil’s shows, can beconsidered a circus performance. A circus is a type of performance staged in a circle surrounded by tiersof seats, usually under a tent. While the tradition of traveling performers can be traced back to theMiddle Ages, the first modern circus was staged in London in 1768 by Philip Astley. His circusincluded only one act — a show of trick horsemanship. Over time, circus performances expanded toinclude many different kinds of acts. Today, a circus performance typically includes displays ofhorsemanship; exhibitions by gymnasts, aerialists, wild-animal trainers, and performing animals; andcomic pantomime by clowns. The founders of Cirque du Soleil loved the circus but wanted to changeit. Cirque du Soleil is not about elephants and lion tamers. It is more the circus of the future, a fusionof street performance and theatre.

The structure of Quidam (circus acts linked by a storyline) imitates the style called vaudeville. TheAmerican tradition of vaudeville grew out of saloon entertainment during the late 1800s. The patternof a vaudeville performance was always the same: separate acts to musical accompaniment bycomedians, serious and comic singers, jugglers, dancers, magicians, trick cyclists, etc., all structured in asingle program or “bill” to be performed twice nightly.


One of the comments you will hear about Quidam is that it is visually breathtaking. The set forQuidam is stunning. One of the production’s most spectacular features is a 120-foot overheadconveyor, whose five imposing rails take up the entire interior surface of the big top. This system isused to bring performers onto the stage and to create a multitude of special effects in various acts. Thecostumes for Quidam are colorful, spectacular, and unique. The costumes were designed to let theindividual personality of each performer and character come through.

The music of Quidam is of remarkable dramatic intensity. Drawing on influences that range fromclassical music to the most eclectic and contemporary sounds, the music accompanies, envelops, andaccentuates the magic of the show. The music is played live by six musicians using violins, cellos,percussion instruments, saxophones, synthesizers, samplers, electric guitars, classical guitars, and avaried assortment of other string instruments. For the very first time at Cirque du Soleil, the voices of aman and a child add texture and unique color to the music.

Adapted from the Cirque du Soleil Web site, www.cirquedusoleil.com.


The Arts in Every Classroom: A Workshop for Elementary School TeachersHandout

Criticism: Purposes and Process

Purposes of criticism:

• � To give your opinion of a performance to advise other audience members.• � To give your opinion of a performance to attract an audience.• � To give your opinion of a performance to inform the production team.

A process of criticism:

• � Describe the elements of the experience without interpretation or judgment.

• � Analyze how the elements were employed by the various artists and to what effect. What did they

do, and how did it make us feel? Consider the artists’ presumed goals, other options the artists

might have chosen, and related observations and evaluations by other critics.


• � Evaluate the work as a whole. What were the artists trying to do? How well was it done? Was it

worth doing?



Jean Cocteau’s Scenario for Parade

The Parade

The set represents a street in front of several houses in Paris on a Sunday.

A traveling theatre troupe, the Théâtre Forain, is present on the street performing three

music hall acts — the Chinese Magician, Acrobats, and the Little American Dancing Girl.

Together, the acts are called a Parade.

Three managers of the theatre troupe organize the publicity. They communicate in their

extraordinary language that the crowd should join the Parade to see the show inside, and

they grossly try to make the crowd understand this. No one enters.

After the last act of the Parade, the exhausted managers collapse on each other. Seeing the

supreme effort and the failure of the managers, the Chinese Magician, the Acrobats, and the

Little American Girl try to explain to the crowd that the show takes place inside.



Criticism

Criticism is a process used to describe, interpret, and evaluate works of art. It is informed byexperiences in creating art (production), historical and cultural context (history), and criteria forevaluating a work (aesthetics). Criticism also is about questioning the choices made by artists increating or interpreting a work.

Students should be encouraged to make informed judgments about the art they create and experience.Significant evaluations are more than generalized opinions (“I liked this. I did not like that.”). Theyinclude whys — reasonable explanations for opinions and value judgments. While objectivity inevaluating arts experiences is the goal, complete objectivity is impossible to attain.

Responses are influenced by the critic’s age, background, artistic experience, and natural predilections.Critical judgments about choices made by artists should be informed by aesthetic criteria derived fromknowledge about the nature of art and the cultural and historical context of the work.

Criticism involves perception, description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of artwork. Criticalinquiry focuses on questions about what is there (perception and description), what it means (analysisand interpretation), and its value (judgment). Criticism also involves comparing and contrasting worksto one another and consideration of aesthetic criteria derived from social, cultural, and historicalcontext.

One approach to criticism is to describe, analyze, and then evaluate:

•� Describe the elements of the experience without interpretation or judgment (descriptive statementsare basically statements of fact).

•� Analyze how the elements were employed by the artists and to what effect. What did they do? Howdid they make you feel?

Consider:

•� the artists’ presumed goals,•� other options the artists might have chosen, and•� related observations and evaluations by other critics.

Evaluate the work as a whole. The principles of German writer Johann Goethe (1749–1832) can beuseful for evaluating works of art:

•� What were the artists trying to do?•� How well was it done?•� Was it worth doing?



Parade

In May 1917, a collaboration among famous artists from various disciplines resulted in a unique balletentitled Parade. The scenario was written by Jean Cocteau, the music was created by Erik Satie,costumes were designed by Pablo Picasso, and the choreography was created by Léonide Massine.

“Parade,” according to a French dictionary, is a “comic act, put on at the entrance of a traveling theatreto attract a crowd.” Therefore, the play is based on the idea of a traveling theatre troupe whose“Parade” is mistaken by the crowd for the real circus act. The managers and performers try to get thecrowd to enter the circus tent, but no one enters.

Characters in the work include a Chinese magician, a little American girl, acrobats, three managers, anda horse.

Audiences of 1917 hated Parade, but it is remembered today as one of the first surrealist productions.After studying Parade, you will notice many similarities to Quidam, which many call a contemporarysurrealist performance.

Parade followed this simple story line, written by Cocteau:

The set represents a street in front of several houses in Paris on a Sunday. A traveling theatre troupe, theThéâtre Forain, is present on the street performing three music hall acts — the Chinese Magician, Acrobats,and the Little American Dancing Girl. Together, the acts are called a Parade. Three managers of the theatretroupe organize the publicity. They communicate in their extraordinary language that the crowd should jointhe Parade to see the show inside and grossly try to make the crowd understand this. No one enters. After thelast act of the Parade, the exhausted managers collapse on each other. Seeing the supreme effort and thefailure of the managers, the Chinese Magician, the Acrobats, and the Little American Girl try to explain tothe crowd that the show takes place inside.

What was unique about this piece was the artists’ nonrealistic approach to performance. A 1917description of the performance may help.

Picasso painted a drop curtain — a Cubist depiction of a cityscape with a miniature theater at itscenter. The action itself began with the First Manager dressed in Picasso’s 10-foot-high Cubistcostume dancing to a simple repeated rhythmic theme. The American manager was dressed as askyscraper and his movements were very accented and strict. The Third Manager performed insilence on horseback and introduced the next act, two acrobats who tumbled to the music of a fastwaltz played by xylophones. The ballet ended with the Little American Girl in tears as the crowdsrefused to enter the circus tent.



Vaudeville

The term vaudeville may derive from a part of France known as the Vau (valley) de Vire, where acertain kind of light song was popular. In the United States, however, the entertainment form knownas vaudeville is a variety show that developed from the saloons of the mid-1800s, where lightentertainment was provided for hard-working cowboys, lumberjacks, and miners.

While vaudeville was mostly lighthearted, performances invariably conformed to a strict structure: Upto 20 live acts by acrobats, clowns, comedians, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, magicians, mimes,singers, and trick cyclists were presented in a single program or “bill” performed twice each night. Actswere presentational, aimed directly at the audience. Anything that promised to astound or entertain —from humorous sketches and short plays to feats of strength and animal tricks — was fair game. Thebill was organized to guarantee something for everyone, but acts were not related in any way.

Acts traveled from place to place, usually performing in the theatres of a single vaudeville circuit orchain, to find new audiences. Highly critical of poor performances, vaudeville audiences were known tohiss and catcall when displeased. Audience members often ate, drank, smoked, and talked duringperformances.

By the early 1900s, vaudeville evolved into the theatrical form of the American musical, which to thisday uses a storyline and related music performances to patch together often distinct “acts.”

Adapted from The Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre, ed. J.R. Brown, Oxford University Press,1995.



Listening Map for Quidam



Listening Map for Parade



Setting Up Your Discovery Stations

This lesson will help us understand how various elements — including historical events and the worksof other artists — influence a work of art.

Students will rotate through these three discovery stations, gaining valuable background knowledgeabout the productions of Parade and Quidam:

• � Quidam, a contemporary multi-arts production of Cirque du Soleil• � Parade, a 1917 multi-arts production • � Surrealism, an arts movement

Construct your discovery stations with materials appropriate for your class. The materials listed beloware suitable for most children. You can find most of them on the Internet or at your public library.Out-of-print books may be located at used-book Web sites or at public libraries.

Discovery Station 1: QuidamInformation about Cirque du Soleil and Quidam

Suggested materials:

• � Quidam poster• � Official Quidam program• � Quidam videotape

Download information about Cirque du Soleil and Quidam from www.cirquedusoleil.com.

Discovery Station 2: ParadeInformation about the creation and context of this historic work, biographical material about theartists, background on what was happening politically and socially at the time, and samples of critics’responses to the performance


• � Images of the 1917 performance of Parade from Perloff, Nancy. Art and the Everyday, PopularEntertainment and the Circle of Erik Satie. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991.

• � Rothschild, Deborah Menaker. Picasso’s “Parade”: from Street to Stage: ballet by Jean Cocteau; scoreby Erik Satie; choreography by Léonide Massine. London: Sotheby’s Publications in association withthe Drawing Center, New York, 1991.

• � Recording of Parade from Satie, Erik. The Complete Ballets of Erik Satie — Parade. MauriceAbravanel, Utah Symphony Orchestra. Vanguard Classics OVC 4030, 1991.

• � Information about the composer and the work from Fogwall, Niclas. Erik Satie Homepage. 1996.www.af.lu.se/~fogwall/satie.html (April 30, 2001).

• � Myers, Rollo H. Erik Satie. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1968.


• � Orledge, Robert. Satie Remembered. Portland: Amadeus Press, 1995.• � Perloff, Nancy. Art and the Everyday, Popular Entertainment and the Circle of Erik Satie. Oxford:

Clarendon Press, 1991.

Discovery Station 3: SurrealismExamples of surrealism in works of visual art, poetry, and drama, along with background informationabout significant artists working in this style


• � Mystery of Magritte CD-ROM (CD-ROM contains dozens of images, writings by Magritte on thephilosophy of art, biographical information, and discussion of various artworks)

• � Definition of surrealism and biographical information of Andre Breton, Salvador Dali, RenéMagritte, and Pablo Picasso from “Art in the 20th Century,” abstracted from Gerald F. Brommer’sDiscovering Art History

• � Works by Magritte, such as:• � The Anniversary• � Blood Will Tell• � Golconde• � Good Faith• � The Haunted Castle• � The Heartstring• � The Human Condition• � The Liberator• � The Listening Room• � The Natural Graces• � The Red Model• � The Son of Man• � The Territory• � The Treachery of Images• � Works by Dali, such as:• � A Couple With Their Heads Full of Clouds• � Mae West’s Face Which May Be Used as a Surrealist Apartment• � The Persistence of Memory



Summary of Maurice Sendak’s

Where the Wild Things Are

Max puts on a wolf costume and, feeling mischievous, breaks some rules and is sent to bed without

supper. From there, his imagination takes over, as a jungle grows in his bedroom, and he goes on a

magical journey of (self-)discovery. His wild rumpus continues in the forest and out to sea. Max

lands on an island, which is populated by colorful, scary, and somewhat silly monsters. Max tames

the wild things by leading them in a wild rumpus — there’s howling and dancing and swinging in

the trees. But all this excitement makes Max hungry, and he misses his home. He decides to leave

and sails back to his room, where his mother has left him his supper, which is still hot.



Costumes Used in Program 3

Contemporary Costumes (Parade and Quidam)Costumes for these two works are representative of the real and absurd use of clothing, fabric, color,and design. Normal attire was juxtaposed with specific elements of cultural dress as well as fantasy“costumed” attire.

In Parade, the little American girl wears a rendition of schoolgirl attire: hat with long dangling bow,shirt with collar, full skirt, and matching stockings. The Chinese conjurer is dressed in clothingstereotypical of the Chinese culture: a side-button jacket, short pants below the knee, and a pointedhat. The acrobats are in geometric designed skintight body suits.

Quidam’s schoolgirl figure is dressed in overalls and a T-shirt. The fantasy figure wears a whitejumpsuit with a bulls-eye appliqué on the abdomen; the headless figure wears a recognizable bowler hatand suit.

The costumes in both pieces draw from costume attire that ranges from everyday clothing to bizarrecharacter creations designed to define the movement, plot, and character.

Costumes of the 16th and 17th CenturiesIn western dress, the early 16th century was dominated by loose, flowing garments, wide at theshoulders, rich in velvet and brocades, with low, simple headdresses and delicate white shirts. Women’shairstyles show braids with jeweled coifs and fillets.

At mid-century, style was much more flamboyant, with the use of puffs and slashes, large hats andplumes, and broad-toed shoes.

The latter half of the 16th century featured a more rigid look known as Elizabethan. During thisperiod, clothing was exaggerated in form for both men and women and extremely elaborate in cut andmaterial. The farthingale held skirts out in grotesque outlines. Brocades, satins, embroidery in gold,and velvets were used extensively. Also, the introduction of starch helped make possible the enormousruffles of muslin, gauze, or lace.

The early 17th century is known as the Cavalier period. Clothing was romantic, graceful, simpler, andmuch more wearable than it was in the preceding period.

Late 17th century styles are essentially French in character. Men’s attire included lace ribbons,exaggerated wigs, and petticoat breeches, all symbolic of the frivolity of the times. Women’s gownswere simple, beautiful, and delicate, often made out of satin with pearls and lace.

Costumes of the 20th CenturyIn the early 20th century, the costume trend was toward functionalism and away from formalism. Bustor waistline definition became less prominent in ladies’ wear. Hemlines reached an all-time high, barely


covering the knee. The cloche, a tight-fitting hat, was introduced and worn slipped down to theeyebrows.

Evening attire saw a return to more feminine contours with sweeping gown styles. Men wore standardattire, plain business suits of flannel or serge, as opposed to the bulky, broad-shouldered suits ofpreceding years. The zoot suit was popular in the 1940s. It consisted of a long, tight-fitting jacket,exaggerated padded shoulders, and baggy trousers extending above the waist, then tapering down totight cuffs around the ankles.

Japanese KimonoThis traditional garb of Japan dates back 1,000 years. Kimono means “clothing,” but the word usuallyrefers to the traditional wraparound, full-length, one-piece robe worn by women and men.

Kimonos have gone through many transformations stylistically. During one period, a person wouldwear more than a dozen kimonos at a time for contrasting layered effects.

As the kimono evolved into outerwear so did its potential for creative and expressive design. Gold andsilver thread were used to embellish the garments. Various scenes were displayed in brilliant colors.Design elements from nature, such as flowers, trees, and streams, were reflected in the decorative scenesalong with bits of poetry and hand-painted characters. Men wore blue, black, brown, gray, or whitekimonos. Bright colors were only for the young.



Alwin Nikolais

Alwin Nikolais (1910/12?–93) was a dancer, choreographer, director, teacher, and composer. He beganhis professional career in the theatre as a musician, then became a puppeteer, and finally a dancer. Hisprincipal dance teacher was Hanya Holm, and he also studied with Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey,Charles Weidman, and Louis Horst. He attended Bennington College Dance Sessions (1937–39) andColorado College (1947). He had his own studio from 1938 to 1942.

In 1948, Nikolais was appointed director of the Henry Street Playhouse in New York City. He built acompany of dancers, later known as the Nikolais Dance Theater, for his very special form of abstractdance-theatre, in which lights, props, and sounds were of equal importance with the dancers. Hefrequently used electronic music, which he composed himself. The dancers themselves aredehumanized and become wonderful instruments for the formation of ever-shifting patterns.

Works of interest:

•� Tensile Involvement (1953)•� Mask, Props, and Mobiles (1953)•� Kaleidoscope (1956)•� Totem (1960)•� Imago (1963)•� Structures (1970)•� Crossfade (1974)•� Talisman (1981)



René Magritte

René Magritte was born in Lessines, Belgium, on November 21, 1898. His father was a tailor and hismother a hat maker. René was the oldest of three sons. When he was 13 years old, René’s mothercommitted suicide one night by throwing herself from a bridge into the Sambre River. The nextmorning, René and his brothers found her corpse on the riverbank, her wet nightgown drawn over herface. The image of a shrouded face would appear in paintings throughout the artist’s career.

The young Magritte took painting classes to feed his growing interest in art. At 15, he met GeorgetteBerger, who posed for many of his figure paintings. Following studies at the Royal Academy of FineArts in Brussels and less than a year of military service, René married Georgette in 1922. At that time,he worked as a graphic artist, mostly drawing patterns for wallpaper. Aside from three years in Paris,the Magrittes would stay in Brussels for the rest of their lives.

Magritte was influenced strongly by avant-garde fashions in painting. Early on, he became interested inCubism, a style of painting pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in which many sides ofobjects are rendered visible at once. Magritte was perhaps most powerfully affected by Dada, a stylisticmovement that further rejected conventions of traditional art. Indeed, Dadaist musicians, poets, andvisual artists were concerned mainly with recording the accidents of creativity that might occur on theway to making a work of art. These artists often aimed to shock, surprise, or amaze audiences, as whenMarcel Duchamp took an ordinary toilet and titled it “Fountain.”

The practice of showing something and calling it by another name is common in Magritte’s work,where extraordinary paradoxes and contrasts are the norm. For example, in a painting called “Latrahison des images” (“The Treason of Images”), an object is shown above the words “Ceci n’est pasune pipe.” The object is, of course, a pipe. Another painting, Golconde, juxtaposes ordinary images in afantastic way: Men in bowler hats appear suspended in the air like raindrops before a horizon of citybuildings. Images of men in bowler hats, resembling both middle-class businessmen of the time and theartist himself, appear throughout Magritte’s work.

Other surrealist artists include Salvador Dali, Giorgio de Chirico, Max Ernst, Frida Kahlo, PaulKlee, Joan Miro, and Dorothea Tanning. Magritte befriended many of these artists. He died in1967.

For more information on Magritte, see Alden, T. The Essential Magritte. New York: Harry N. Abrams,Inc., 1999.



Role-Play

Role-play is the act of pretending to be someone or something you’re not. This technique isan excellent way to elevate attention and focus energy in the classroom. Role-play alsomotivates students to listen, think, and speak

There are three basic aspects of a role to take into account when improvising:

•� Purpose. As you develop your role, it is helpful to keep in mind the purpose you have inthe drama. A character’s purpose may change.

•� Status. All relationships have an element of power. This means that one person has somehold over the other, some special knowledge or a higher position. We call this status.Consider your role in relation to other roles in terms of status. Will your role be ofhigher, lower, or equal status?

•� Attitude. Each character in every drama has attitudes towards the subject of the dramaand the other characters in the drama.

These aspects of role became visible through the physical, vocal, and word choices made bythe students.



Surrealism

The term surrealism, coined in the theatrical program of Parade, came to represent a major artistic andliterary movement of the early 1900s. Surrealist artists attempted to represent the world as perceived bythe conscious and subconscious mind, rather than the natural world, by presenting images that werefantastic and often juxtaposed in extraordinary ways.

The poet and critic André Breton laid much of the groundwork for surrealism in The SurrealistManifesto, which he published in 1924. He held that surrealists strive to join the subconscious world ofdreams and imagination with the conscious world of fact and reason to create “an absolute reality, asurreality.” Rather than writing in a deliberate and logical way, Breton adhered to the Dadaist notion ofallowing his poetry to appear accidental, unorganized, or unintentional, sometimes incorporatingdreamscapes and word-association exercises.

Surrealist painters adapted these approaches to visual art. Starting in 1925, surrealist painters — JeanArp, Salvador Dali, Giorgio de Chirico, Max Ernst, Paul Klee, René Magritte, Joan Miro, PabloPicasso, and Yves Tanguy — presented their works in group exhibitions in Paris, often to confused anddisapproving audiences. Early works featured techniques such as using paper to squash paint ontocanvas in random shapes and rubbing a pencil over a paper on rough wood to capture the patterns ofthe natural grain.

Like the Rorschach psychological inkblot tests that began to be used in the 1920s, these art worksinvited viewers to interpret visual data as expressions or catalysts of subconscious thought. As surrealismevolved, techniques grew more sophisticated. Subjects and images became more recognizable andlogical, though they still were linked in novel and often unsettling ways. Some artists incorporatedimages that were symbolic to them personally but were left unexplained. Dali, for example, showedgreen giraffes blazing and timepieces spilling off a tabletop — and left the viewer to guess at themeaning.

Adapted from Discovering Art History, Gerald F. Brommer, Davis Publications, Inc., 2nd edition, 1988.



Elements of the Hero’s Journey

Joseph Campbell (1904–87) was an American author who wrote extensively about mythology and itsinfluences in modern times. Campbell held that certain archetypal images, themes, and patterns arerepeated in virtually all of the world’s best-known myths and stories. Major ideas from Campbell’swork will be used as a framework in the creation of this multi-arts performance piece. In this series,participants will refer to four parts of what Campbell called “the hero’s journey.”

1. The Call — The call is the invitation to an adventure. The hero may embark on a quest willinglyor out of necessity. Sometimes, there is a sudden, shocking event, leaving the hero with no choicebut to engage in the situation. At other times, the call is a subtle invitation, and the hero has time todecide whether he/she is going to get involved.

2. The Challenges — The challenges are fears, obstacles, and trials during a journey. Having acceptedthe call and started on the journey (which may be physical, psychological, or spiritual), the heroencounters a series of increasingly difficult challenges. Assumptions and beliefs are questioned andtemptations threaten to divert the hero from the path.

3. The Transformation — The transformation is a change in way of thinking and way of viewing life.In the process of dealing with the challenges, the hero experiences a revelation about life, which changesthe way he/she thinks and behaves.

4. The Return — The return to everyday life is the final stage of the journey. The hero returns achanged person, possessing new awareness and skill. The hero seeks to share his/her newfoundunderstanding for the greater good of society. Sometimes, if people are not ready to change, the heromay face further trials, and others may be called to undertake their own journeys.



Orff Instrumentarium

The Orff approach to music education uses a variety of percussion instruments. Along with vocalexploration, instruments provide the means for students to experience musical inquiry, exploration,improvisation, and composition. The instrumentarium provides students the ideal medium for theexploration of timbre and texture in music, as well as the aural and visual reinforcement of pitchrelationships.

Unpitched percussion instruments (those that do not function melodically) engage students in a variety ofrhythmic experiences. These instruments are grouped into four categories: wood, metal, rattles andscrapers, and membrane (or skin). Playing of these parts often is prepared through body percussion.Students are first taught rhythmic phrases through word patterns that also are expressed with bodysounds like clapping, snapping, and patting. They then make the same sound patterns using percussioninstruments. Some familiar unpitched percussion instruments are wood blocks, claves, jingle bells,triangles, tambourines, hand drums, and bongo drums. The variety of unpitched percussioninstruments is vast and provides students a rich and engaging sound palette from which to make music.

The barred instruments of the Orff instrumentarium were developed in the 1920s by Carl Orff himself.These are the “melody-making” percussion instruments of the Orff orchestra, capable of both melodicand harmonic elements. These instruments are constructed for child-friendly use. They are sized forsmaller hands and arms and are designed with removable bars, enabling the students to take off barsthat aren’t necessary for a given work. Student success is instantly heightened when all the “wrong”notes are unavailable!

The xylophones have bars made of rosewood or fiberglass and are voiced in three sizes — soprano, alto,and bass — covering a three-and-a-half octave range from c to a2. These instruments are modeled aftertheir African counterparts.

The metallophones are voiced like the xylophone family, but the bars are made of metal, which likenstheir sound to elements of the Indonesian gamelan.

The glockenspiels are the smallest and highest members of the Orff orchestra. They are modeled afterOrff’s own (German) glockenspiel and are voiced in only two ranges: alto and soprano. Theircombined range covers a two-and-a-half octave range from c1 to a3.

To purchase instruments for your students’ use, see www.westmusic.com.

To learn more about the Orff approach, go to the American Orff-Schulwerk AssociationWeb site, www.aosa.org.



Developing a Unit of Study

Idea GeneratingTopic, theme, standard, or works of art selected by faculty

Enduring Idea/Understanding•� What is the larger universal understanding that you want students to know about this theme or

topic?•� Does the idea have lasting value beyond the classroom?•� Why study it?

Key Concepts Essential QuestionsWhat are the things that are important State concepts asto teach? questions to focus inquiry.What do students need to know about this topic?

Unit Goals and ObjectivesWhat will students be able to do as a result of studying this unit?

How will they demonstrate their knowledge of key concepts?How do your unit objectives incorporate the arts?

How do your unit objectives integrate mandated district and state standards?

Assessment PlanningWhat assessment strategies will be used to measure student understanding

throughout the unit?

Lesson ObjectivesWhat knowledge and skills are needed within each lesson to accomplish the

larger goals of the unit?

Adapted from McTighe, J. and Wiggins, G. The Understanding by Design Handbook. Alexandria, VA:ASCD, 1999. Used with permission.



Indicators of Enduring Ideas/Understandings and Essential Questions

Indicators of an Enduring Idea/Understanding

•� If your syllabus or program were cut in half, you would still want students to explore it in depth.•� It is key to connecting and making sense of lots of discrete knowledge — it “connects the dots.”•� It is key to understanding other important ideas.•� It is unlikely to be fully understood by studying it just once.•� It is unlikely to be understood through textbook accounts only.•� There are different ways to study it, to teach it, and to apply it.•� It is not obvious, it is often misunderstood, but it is worth the trouble.•� It involves the kind of problems, challenges, and work that adults do.•� It is significant within the arts.

Indicators That an Enduring Idea/Understanding Is Not Specific Enough

•� Different teachers cannot agree on exactly what is to be taught or emphasized in the unit.•� Different teachers cannot agree on what should be assessed.•� Students and parents cannot tell from the course or unit description exactly what is to be learned

and how “success” will be determined.•� Students do not know what to study or how to study it.

Indicators of Essential Questions

•� They have no one obvious right answer.•� They raise other important questions.•� They address the philosophical or conceptual foundation of a discipline.•� They are about concepts, not skills.•� They reoccur naturally throughout our lives.•� They are framed to provoke and sustain student interest.

Adapted from McTighe, J. and Wiggins, G. The Understanding by Design Handbook. Alexandria, VA:ASCD, 1999. Used with permission.



ENDURING IDEAS/UNDERSTANDINGS WORKSHEET

ConceptsConceptsRelated toTopicand to Each Other(draw lines for connections)

Concepts

Unit Topic:

GeneralizationsStatements Connecting Concepts

•••••

Possible Enduring Ideas/Understandings Derived from Generalizations

•••



Evaluating Performance Tasks Worksheet

Task title:

Lesson objectives:

Task criteria:


Evaluating Performance Tasks WorksheetSample

Task title: Art Historian Role-Play

Lesson objectives:

• Learners will conduct research on the history of street performers and analyze how historicalreferences to street performers make their way into Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam.

• Learners will present their research findings to the whole group using in-role dramatechniques.

Task criteria:

• Conduct research on a given type of street performance.

Key questions:

• � Where did the performance type originate?• � When did the performance type originate?• � How has the performance type changed over time?• � How has technology changed the performance type?• � In which cultures around the world can this performance type be seen?

• Identify historical references to street performance in Quidam.

• Present findings through in-role characterization:

• � Give your character a name.• � What did you do with your body and voice to communicate your character?



Performance Tasks Worksheet

Task title:

What desired knowledge and skills will be assessed through this task?

• � Knowledge

• � Skills

What is the purpose of this assessment task?

• � Formative or summative?

Task overview:

• � Goal

• � Role

• � Audience

• � Situation

• � Performance or product

Aligning unit objectives:

What student products or performances will provide evidence of desired understandings?


Performance Tasks WorksheetSample

Task title: Interview for Critic’s Corner

What desired knowledge and skills will be assessed through this task?

• Knowledge — purpose and process of criticism

• Skills — communicating in character (in-role)

What is the purpose of this assessment task?

• Formative or summative? Summative

Task overview:

• Goal — The goal is to inform others about the fantastic and realistic elements in Quidam.

• Role — The role you will take on is that of a critic.

• Audience — The audience you are trying to reach is the general public — a television-viewingaudience.

• Situation — You are a participant in a television talk show.

• Performance or product — The performance is a talk show interview.

Aligning unit objectives:

The learner will analyze and interpret elements of fantasy and reality within works of art.

What student products or performances will provide evidence of desired understandings?

The talk show will give students the opportunity to display their understanding by responding toquestions about the juxtaposition of fantasy and reality in Quidam.



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Criteria for Planning Multi-Arts Instruction

Does the instruction you have planned around a particular subject include:

• � enduring ideas/understandings?

• � measurable learning objectives?

• � correlation with national, state, and local standards?

• � clearly defined formative and summative assessment strategies?

• � appropriate use and introduction of arts vocabulary?

• � developmentally and sequentially appropriate knowledge, skills, and materials?



Ridgeway Elementary SchoolWhite Plains, New York

Instructional ChoicesRidgeway Elementary School is in White Plains, a suburb of New York City with a mixedsocioeconomic population. The school serves more than 600 students in kindergarten through fifthgrade. Effort-based education, in which students are evaluated based on the effort they show, is animportant part of the school’s philosophy, and students are encouraged to be producers of their ownknowledge. The school has one full-time and one part-time vocal music teacher and two part-timeinstrumental music teachers.

After the summer workshop, the four team members worked together all year on special arts-based instruction for the second-grade class of Joan Roberts and the third-grade class of MonicaBermiss. The school runs on a six-day class cycle, and thanks to principal Sandi Cangialosi, theteam had one planning period to work together every cycle. In addition, visual art teacherMaryFrances Perkins had teaching time with Joan and her class once per cycle and with Monicaand her class once per cycle. These sessions were in addition to the normal work with artsspecialists — two classes per week for visual arts and two classes per week for music.

The unit that the team developed took the students through a process of investigation andcreation based on the team’s enduring idea developed in Program 5: “Change is evident in allareas of our lives.”

Emphasizing the arts in the general classroom was a new idea for Ridgeway. Team membersdecided to begin by investigating the various art forms. Collaboratively or on their own, they taughtthe lessons from Program 1: “What is Theatre?” “What is Music?” “What is Dance?” and “What isVisual Art?” using the examples from the Classroom Demonstration Materials videotape. They alsowatched and discussed Quidam with their students. By using lessons that had been tested alreadyand that team members had experienced themselves, the teachers had a built-in comfort level asthey began their work with the arts. This approach — which the workshop leaders had encouragedat the end of Program 6 — is useful in any new teaching situation.

Later in the year, students worked at discovery stations created by the team members. As aculminating activity, students developed a multi-arts performance that grew out of the team’senduring idea. In choosing to have their students create a multi-arts performance, teammembers again were replicating a process that they had experienced.

To create the performance, students did research, developed staging ideas, rehearsed, andcreated costumes. To portray the life cycle of butterflies, the second-graders studiedmetamorphosis in science class, worked with MaryFrances to create large monoprints for thewings of their costumes, and worked out movements that were a challenge for some membersof the class.


The third-graders kept a running list all year long about “change.” They created a collage aboutchange made from pictures that Monica took and that the students found in magazines. Theydesigned costumes and developed the theme for their culminating performance depictingchange over time.

The new methods that the team explored (team-teaching, discovery stations, and originalperformances) helped the students to understand “change” on a number of levels — and learnabout the arts in a new context. For the teachers, these methods also spelled “change,” sincethey found new ways to explore their own skills and stretch their practice.

Role of the PrincipalThe principals at each of the Learner Team schools played important but different roles inensuring that teachers could experiment with the ideas from the summer workshop. AtRidgeway, Sandi Cangialosi worked with the school district to modify schedule patterns so thather team members could work together all year on a regular basis. This included finding timefor team members to meet for planning and obtaining release time for MaryFrances to team-teach with Joan and Monica. Sandi’s role also included supporting instruction related to theenduring idea as a worthwhile focus for several disciplines and joining the team as a fullcollaborator.

Role of the TeachersTeachers took a proactive role at all three of the Learner Team schools, understanding that theyhad to be actively and wholeheartedly involved to make the effort work. At Ridgeway, theteachers agreed to work together all year and tried several new methods as they did so. To maketheir efforts worthwhile, they felt it was important to have adequate time in their schedule forplanning and team-teaching.

Role of the SpecialistVisual art specialist MaryFrances Perkins participated in the planning and implementation ofthe work at Ridgeway on an equal footing with the classroom teachers involved. She took someof the same risks the classroom teachers did in stepping out of her area of specialty to team-teach lessons in music. The chance to be part of a group was important to her.



Drew Model SchoolArlington, Virginia

Instructional ChoicesDrew Model School is a school of choice for all Arlington residents. There are 475 students inkindergarten through grade five. The school encourages cooperation and de-emphasizescompetition. Originally created as a model school for innovative teaching methods, the focus ofthe school is now on the “Four As” — academics, accountability, appreciation, and the arts.

Students attend visual art and music classes once a week, with optional weekly instrumentallessons. Twice a week, each class goes to physical education, which usually includes movementto music and often is tied to what students are doing in social studies. In addition, at least oncea week, the classroom teachers try to include an arts activity related to the general curriculum.The school has a visual art teacher, a vocal music teacher, a part-time instrumental teacher, andone part-time and one full-time physical education teacher.

Since the arts were already a priority at Drew, Learner Team members decided that their goalwould be to create connections between the arts and other subjects. When team membersreturned from the summer workshop, they formed a study group to look more deeply at thebackward design process for curriculum development. All interested members of the facultywere invited to join the group, which met on Wednesday afternoons during time already setaside by the district for staff development. In Program 5, the Learner Team had chosen“construction” as their theme because the school was about to move into a new building. Thattheme became the starting point for explorations among study group members that wouldrange from ancient Egypt to the creation of an original opera.

The study group included the five Learner Team members — Jan Adkisson, principal; AngelaSnead, kindergarten teacher; Stephanie Ellison, fourth-grade teacher; Connie Usova, visual artteacher; and Walter McKenzie, instructional technology coordinator — as well as a Montessoriteacher of grades one through three, a second-grade teacher, a third-grade teacher, a vocal musicteacher, and two physical education teachers.

As the year progressed, the group became a forum for the creation of opportunities to integratelearning in the arts with other subjects. Program 7 shows a collaboration involving the fourth-grade teacher, the visual art specialist, and the instructional technology coordinator. Program 8includes three more collaborations involving the visual art teacher — with a third-grade scienceclass, with the kindergarten teacher, and with the music teacher.

The collaboration in Program 7 focuses on Virginia history, a priority for fourth-grade teachersbecause of a statewide test on the topic. Over several months, the architecture unit exploredvarious aspects of architecture as they related to social studies topics involving places, events,and people. Connie’s exploration of Virginia architecture, supplemented by Walter’s Web site,gave Stephanie’s students a variety of perspectives for understanding the lives of Virginians bothfamous and humble.


Role of the PrincipalThe principals at all of the Learner Team schools played important but different roles inensuring that the teachers could experiment with the ideas from the summer workshop.Principal Jan Adkisson saw her role as a supportive facilitator — bringing people together,putting forth ideas, and offering encouragement as participants planned and implemented newapproaches to instruction.

Role of the TeachersTeachers took a proactive role at all of the schools, understanding that they had to be activelyand wholeheartedly involved to make the effort work. At Drew, the classroom teachers workedwith the visual art specialist and the technology coordinator to find ways visual art instructioncould inform their work. These collaborations resulted in instruction that helped students feelmore connected to history and science. To make this happen effectively, classroom teachers andspecialists had to find common goals, a common language, and time to plan and teach together.Energy and commitment helped them find ways to overcome their challenges as they came upwith new ways to engage their students.

Role of the SpecialistsTeam members began to recognize visual art specialist Connie Usova as a kind of hub aroundwhich work was organized. For example, in Stephanie’s class, Connie engaged students inhistorical inquiry about the architecture of the times being studied. She helped studentsexamine the culture of the times so they could learn why certain architectural styles werepreferred. Students created artworks incorporating elements of colonial architecture and wroteabout them to show what they had learned.

Connie worked at becoming a resource to the classroom teachers and demonstrating how thearts could be incorporated into their learning designs. Ultimately, she increased the comfortlevel of the teachers in integrating the arts into their classrooms and supported a moreprominent place for the arts in the school curriculum.



Kingsbury Elementary SchoolMemphis, Tennessee

Instructional ChoicesKingsbury Elementary School, located in a low-income section of Memphis, has almost 600students in kindergarten through grade six. The school has a longstanding relationship with theCenter for Arts Education, which is part of the Memphis Arts Council. At the center of thispartnership are “works of art” that are used as the basis for instruction. Professional teachingartists create hands-on, exploratory lessons around these works of art, which include musicaland dramatic presentations from several genres. Teachers work collaboratively with the artists tointegrate the concepts explored in the works of art into their curricula.

During the summer workshop, the Kingsbury team focused on the first work of art that theirschool would be attending, an opera version of Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham. Later in theyear, Principal Brett Lawson decided to bring the entire faculty together to develop units ofstudy around a ballet that the children would be seeing — the Ballet Memphis performance ofGiraffes Can’t Dance. The ballet is based on a children’s book of the same name and is set tomusic by Igor Stravinsky.

Program 7 shows the faculty developing an enduring idea around which to organizeinstruction. They use the backward design process of curriculum development explored inPrograms 5 and 6. Program 8 includes three classes exploring different aspects of the ballet:kindergartners researching animals to design costumes for them, third-graders exploringmovement and vocabulary as they relate to the animals in Giraffes Can’t Dance, and a fifth-grade music class exploring a theme by Stravinsky. In this way, the multi-arts nature of a balletis explored through lessons from a variety of perspectives.

Role of the PrincipalThe principals at each of the Learner Team schools played important but different roles inensuring that the teachers could experiment with the ideas from the summer workshop.Principal Brett Lawson took an active role in deciding how the work of the summer wouldapply at Kingsbury. He brought the whole faculty together to create an enduring idea thatwould guide student learning for the ballet. He facilitated and coached the faculty’s design ofunits through the backward design process. He participated with the teachers and students inone of the lessons given by a visiting dance artist. Brett’s vision of the importance of the arts isthe guiding force behind the role they play in his school.

Role of the TeachersTeachers took a proactive role at all of the schools, understanding that they had to be activelyand wholeheartedly involved to make the effort work. At Kingsbury, the endeavor becameschoolwide, as teachers dealt with the challenge of designing arts-based units that would berelevant to their classroom goals. Together, the teachers worked through the process ofdeveloping an enduring idea and essential questions related to the ballet. They then dividedinto groups containing grade-level teachers, specialists, and special education teachers todevelop performance tasks suited to their students’ individual needs.


Role of the SpecialistsKingsbury has only one arts specialist, music teacher Thomas Raphael, who was a member ofthe Learner Team from his school. But he is not the only expert in the arts that the childrenat Kingsbury meet. For the work on Giraffes Can’t Dance, visiting artists played a vital role.Dance artist Anne Delautre and other visiting artists from the Center for Arts Educationcame to the school to work with each class three times over a period of about one month toprepare students for what they would see in the ballet. She returned to the classes after thestudents saw the performance to discuss what they had seen and help them reflect on theirexperience.



Roles of Arts Specialists and Classroom Teachers

Arts specialists are teachers hired specifically to teach a particular art discipline (dance, music, theatre,or visual art).

In elementary schools with comprehensive arts education programs, the responsibilities and priorities ofarts specialists expand:

• � In addition to their role as discipline experts, specialists become valuable resources and facilitatorsfor classroom teachers.

• � Instead of operating independently as itinerant teachers, specialists necessarily interact withclassroom teachers, serving as resource experts.

• � In their planning, specialists have to be creative, inventing solutions and gathering information thataccommodates the needs of students and of classroom teachers involved in thematic units of study.

Comprehensive arts education also transforms the role of the classroom teacher.

• � Necessarily, classroom teachers are involved with the entire curriculum and are familiar with thegoals and objectives for all subjects their students are required to master.

• � With experience, classroom teachers are able to meaningfully integrate the arts into the non-artsgoals and objectives for these other subjects.

Arts specialists also are able to integrate non-arts subjects into their classes effectively. Collaboration ofthis type ensures that the arts no longer are isolated but become part of the total school curriculum.

For more perspectives on the roles of arts specialists and classroom teachers, see The Arts in EveryClassroom video library programs:

• � Expanding the Role of the Arts Specialist• � Teaching Dance• � Teaching Music• � Teaching Theatre• � Teaching Visual Art



Comprehensive Arts Education

Comprehensive arts education (also known as discipline-based arts education) is a conceptual approach,not a prescribed curriculum. It is taught as an essential component of general education and as afoundation for specialized arts study.

The goal of comprehensive arts education is to develop students’ abilities to understand and appreciatethe arts by:

• � exploring the nature and meaning of the arts (aesthetics),• � responding to the arts (criticism),• � discovering contexts of art works (history), and• � creating works of art (production and performance).

Curriculum is:

• � written with sequentially organized content at all grade levels,• � developed around enduring ideas and works of art from Western and non-Western cultures from

ancient to contemporary times,• � structured to provide creative inquiry from four perspectives (aesthetics, criticism, history, and

production), and• � organized to increase student learning and understanding while recognizing appropriate

developmental levels.

Full implementation of a comprehensive arts education program is marked by:

• � systematic and regular arts instruction, arts education expertise, administrative support, andadequate resources, and

• � student achievement and program effectiveness, which are confirmed by appropriate evaluationcriteria and procedures.

Blending teaching practices often thought of as separate, comprehensive arts education expectsinstruction in the arts — and in any art form — to:

• � include knowledge and skills in creating or performing, aesthetics, criticism, and history andculture;

• � integrate with other subjects around important themes or big ideas; and• � use the set of practices that have come to be called “constructivist” or “inquiry-based” and that

adjust to the diverse learning styles of students, especially those at risk of educational failure.

For more information, see:

• � ArtsEdNet, the J. Paul Getty Trust, www.getty.edu/artsednet.


• � Southeast Center for Education in the Arts, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga,www.sceaonline.com.

• � Stephen Mark Dobbs, Learning In and Through Art: A Guide to Discipline-Based Art Education, J.Paul Getty Trust, 1998. ISBN 0-89236-494-7



Factors for Arts Education Success

Many critical factors work together throughout a school district to bring about an effective artseducation program.

• � Community — The community (broadly defined as parents and families, artists, arts organizations,businesses, and local civic and cultural leaders and institutions) is actively engaged in the artspolitics and instructional programs of the district.

• � School Board — The board of education provides a supportive policy framework and environmentfor the arts.

• � Superintendent — The superintendent regularly articulates a vision for arts education.• � Continuity — There is enough continuity in the school and community leadership to implement

comprehensive arts education.• � District Arts Coordinator — The district arts coordinator facilitates program implementation

throughout the school system and maintains an environment of support for arts education.• � Cadre of Principals — School principals collectively support the policy of arts education for all

students.• � Teachers as Artists— Effective teachers of the arts are encouraged to continue to learn and grow in

mastery of their art form as well as in their teaching competence.• � Parent/Public Relations — School leaders seize opportunities to make their programs known

throughout the community to secure support and funding for them.• � Elementary Foundation — Strong arts programs in the elementary schools are the foundation for

strong systemwide programs.• � Opportunities for Higher Levels of Achievement — School leaders provide specialized arts programs as

part of their broad strategy for securing and sustaining community support for the district’s overalleducation goals.

• � National, State, and Other Outside Forces — The district employs state or national policies andprograms to advance arts education.

• � Planning — School leaders advise the adoption of a comprehensive vision and plan for artseducation but recommend its incremental implementation.

• � Continuous Improvement — The school district promotes reflective practices at all levels of theschools to improve quality.

From Gaining the Arts Advantage: Lessons from School Districts That Value Arts Education, President’sCommittee on the Arts and the Humanities and Arts Education Partnership, 1999.

For more perspectives on teaching music in elementary schools, see these The Arts in Every Classroomvideo library programs:

• � Three Leaders at Arts-Based Schools• � Leadership Team



Research on Arts Education

Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social DevelopmentThis 2002 report is a compendium of research in arts education with more than 40 summaries ofstudies in the disciplines of dance, drama, multi-arts, music, and visual arts, along with essays andperspectives by leading scholars. Published by the Arts Education Partnership, with funding from theNational Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Education, Critical Links explorescurrent practices in arts education, examines the impact of the various arts disciplines on students’achievement and personal growth, and recommends future lines of research.

To see the report online, go to www.aep-arts.org/CLTemphome.html.

Champions of Change: The Impact of the Arts on LearningThis 1999 report compiles seven major studies that provide new evidence of enhanced learning andachievement when students are involved in a variety of arts experiences. Champions of Change wasdeveloped with the support of The GE Fund, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,the Arts Education Partnership, and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

To see the report online, go to www.aep-arts.org/Champions.html.

Gaining the Arts Advantage: Lessons From School Districts That Value Arts EducationThe first national study to examine the generation and sustenance of strong arts education throughoutentire school districts, this study• � discusses the interrelating factors — educational, social, and economic — that enhance arts

education;• � provides valuable lessons from the field — from superintendents, school board members,

principals, district arts coordinators, arts teachers, students, parents, and other communitymembers — including strategies for overcoming obstacles to districtwide arts education;

• � examines in depth eight school systems that were observed on site by experienced teams thatincluded school district superintendents as well as arts educators; and

• � presents the creative solutions of 83 additional school districts participating in this study, selectedfrom the more than 500 districts recommended.

To see the report online, go to www.aep-arts.org/Gaining.html.

Transforming Education Through the Arts Challenge (TETAC)TETAC was a project of the National Arts Education Consortium, formed by six regional artseducation institutes in California, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas in 1996. Thirty-fivepartner schools in eight states engaged in a five-year project to place arts education at the core of thecurriculum and assess resulting student achievement. TETAC consortium members explored, assessed,and documented ways in which intensive professional development, comprehensive arts education, andsystemic school reform could transform schools and their extended communities.

TETAC was funded by the Walter H. Annenberg Foundation and the Getty Education Institute forthe Arts. The project was completed in June 2001.

To see the report online, go to www.arts.ohio-state.edu/NAEC


Survey Resources

These resources can help you build on your understanding of the arts that you identified in the survey used at thebeginning and end of this workshop. The two sections in this list correspond to the two sections of the survey,About the Arts and The Arts in Your Classroom.


The Different Art FormsEach of the four art forms addressed in this workshop—dance, music, theatre, and visual art—has its own con-cepts, processes, and methods of inquiry. As a teacher, you do not need to be an expert in any art form to bring itinto your classroom, but a knowledge of the basics will help to make your experience with the arts—and that ofyour students—more enjoyable and effective.

Web SitesHere are some Web sites where you can find information on basic concepts in the four art forms. We also have pro-vided examples of arts experiences in the classroom that teach some of these basics to students.

Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC)

(www.ccsso.org/intaspub.html#arts)

At this site you can download a PDF file containing the Model Standards for Licensing Classroom Teachers and Specialists in the Arts. This contains a summary of basic arts knowledge and skills for beginning classroom teachersand specialists.

National Standards for Arts Education

(http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/professional_resources/standards/natstandards)

The Kennedy Center Web site has a copy of the National Standards for Arts Education, which detail what everyyoung American should know and be able to do in the arts.

Related Programs in The Arts in Every Classroom Video LibraryIntroducing Arts Education

Three short programs that explore three questions: What is arts education? What are the arts? And how do youknow your students are learning?

Teaching Dance

Two dance specialists with different backgrounds and approaches bring rich dance experiences to students attheir arts-based schools.

Teaching Music

Two music specialists demonstrate different approaches to serving diverse student populations.

Teaching Theatre

Two theatre specialists work on basic theatre skills with children of various ages and use theatre education as agateway to other kinds of learning.

Teaching Visual Art

Two visual art specialists use contrasting interpretations of the human face to explore inquiry-based instructionand techniques in visual art.

About the Arts


Classroom ExamplesThe following examples suggest how teachers might engage students in learning about an art form. These class-room examples are from Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (2002, June) Model Standardsfor Licensing Classroom Teachers and Specialists in the Arts: A Resource for State Dialogue, Washington, DC, Council ofChief State School Officers (CCSSO) and are used with permission.

Dancing Opposites

In dance, to help the students embody the concept of “opposites,” the teacher may use word pairs of antonymsthat lend themselves to movement (e.g., jagged/smooth, fast/slow, vertical/horizontal). She /he guides studentsin exploring each word fully with their bodies. She/he then has students compose a dance using one pair of oppo-sites, explaining that the structure for a contrasting dance form is called “AB.” Students create a movement phraseor sentence based on the first word, which becomes the “A” section of their dance. They then create a “B” sectionusing the second word, being sure to contrast it to the “A” section in as many ways as possible in space, in time,and with dynamic force. Students perform their dances for the class, and the class responds by identifying move-ments that are opposites and the word pair being demonstrated.

Creating Characterizations

The teacher may use Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak to inspire elementary students to create a forestof wild things. The teacher guides the class in a discussion of the characteristics of the creatures in the story. Theteacher then divides the class into small groups and has each group create an imaginary creature for the classforest, using a variety of media (pencil, paper, paint, glue, etc.) and tools (scissors, staples, etc.). The teacher andstudents then create an exhibit of their creations. The teacher guides the students in a discussion of how theircreatures are alike and different from the creatures in Sendak’s story.

The Importance of the ArtsIn the classroom, the arts involve students as active learners in a multitude of challenging and evocative experi-ences. Students and teachers work collaboratively in various roles to solve intellectual, creative, communicative,and evaluative problems. Engagement with dance, music, theatre, and visual art helps develop students’ languageand communication abilities, their higher-order thinking skills, and their creativity. This helps to develop thewhole person—physically, intellectually, and emotionally.

Web SitesAmericans for the Arts

(www.artsusa.org/public_awareness)

Americans for the Arts is the nation’s leading arts information clearinghouse, with a 40-year record of objectivearts industry research.

Arts Education Partnership

(www.aep-arts.org/Publications&Resources.html)

The report, Champions of Change, compiles seven major studies that provide new evidence of enhanced learningand achievement when students are involved in a variety of arts experiences.

Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network

(kennedy-center.org/education/kcaaen)

The Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network is dedicated to the support of policies, practices, andpartnerships that ensure the arts are woven into the fabric of American education.

About the Arts, cont’d.


Related Programs in The Arts in Every Classroom Video LibraryBorrowing From the Arts To Enhance Learning

Teachers use arts-based techniques to engage their students’ minds, bodies, and emotions, adding vitality andcontext to day-to-day learning experiences.

Three Leaders at Arts-Based Schools

Administrators of three successful arts-based schools share their insights and practical management strategies.

Leadership Team

A principal works closely with a team of classroom teachers and arts specialists on curriculum and policy decisions.

Classroom ExamplesThe following examples suggest how teachers can use the power of the arts. These classroom examples are fromTransforming Ideas for Teaching and Learning the Arts, U.S. Department of Education.

Arts in Life

The Magnet Arts School in Eugene, Oregon, is an elementary school that places the arts in the center of its cur-riculum in the belief that they represent an effective way to learn. This magnet program does not require studentsto demonstrate talent in to enroll. The curriculum is concept-driven, with the arts employed in reading, math, lan-guage arts, science, social studies, physical education, and health. In an environment infused with the arts, thechildren learn their own arts heritage, the importance of the arts in the structure of all cultures, and the skills andattitudes on which to build a lifelong appreciation for beauty.

Inspiration

Robert was a fifth-grader who often missed several days of school at a time. He “tuned out” both his teacher andhis classmates but made a connection with 16th century printmaker Albrecht Durer, on seeing a self-portrait thatDurer had painted at age 13. That night Robert went home and drew his own self-portrait. His teacher suggestedthat he begin keeping a sketchbook. Thereafter, three or four times a week, Robert shared his sketchbook with theteacher and class. His identity was in his artwork. His school attendance improved, and he looked more confidentin the way he carried himself. In Robert’s case it was through the historical exploration of art that he received hisinspiration to be an artist. His self-esteem improved with his growth and experience as an artist.

About the Arts, cont’d.


Arts in EducationThe arts can provide opportunities for different kinds of learning by recognizing and encouraging the use of mul-tiple intelligences. By fostering different kinds of learning, the arts have been shown to help students use analyt-ical thinking and problem-solving skills, including the ability to pose questions, analyze evidence, considerhypotheses, and defend a point of view.

Teaching the arts in isolation—in separate periods during the week or in special performances once or twice ayear—is not enough, however. Experiencing the arts apart from each other or apart from other subjects canseverely limit children’s appreciation of the place of the arts in their lives. Effective arts education integrates theart forms, bringing dance together with theatre, for example, or music with visual art. Similarly, instruction andstudents benefit when teachers integrate the arts across the curriculum as well as teach the value of the arts fortheir own sake.

Web SitesArtsEdge

(www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org)

This organization supports the place of arts education at the center of the curriculum through the creative andappropriate uses of technology.

ArtsEdNet

(http://www.getty.edu/artsednet/)

A program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, ArtsEdNet provides a variety of resources and services for K–12 teachers.

Arts for Learning (A4L)

(www.arts4learning.org)

A4L (developed by Young Audiences, Inc.) is a professional development resource for teachers and artists. Itincludes a Web site and companion CD that provide access to model programs, research, lesson plans, advocacy,and discussion groups.

Planning an Arts-Centered School

(www.dana.org/books/press/artshandbook/artsbook.pdf )

This handbook published by the Dana Foundation contains conceptual and practical advice for creating an arts-centered school.

Related Programs in The Arts in Every Classroom Video LibraryDeveloping an Arts-Based Unit

A team of first- and second-grade teachers plans and implements a year-end project that lets students show whatthey have learned in science, math, English, and the arts.

Students Create a Multi-Arts Performance Piece

A kindergarten class and a fourth-grade class study various aspects of Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam. Their studies cul-minate in an original performance piece that traces the story structure of the classic “hero’s journey.”

The Arts in Your Classroom


Classroom ExamplesThe following examples suggest how teachers might engage students in discovering the existence of the arts inall cultures. These classroom examples were developed by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and SupportConsortium (INTASC) and are used with permission.

Indigenous Arts

The classroom teacher may design a unit of study on Native Americans that includes the study of homes and shel-ters. The teacher helps students explore and make models of varied types of Native American shelter: grass andmud homes, adobe homes, teepees, cliff dwellings, etc. They research the various types of shelter that NativeAmericans used and then use authentic materials (sticks, cloth, hide, clay, etc.) to build their models. Studentsstudy the structures, symbols, and designs as well as the materials of various shelters, then report on why certainexamples were used by particular tribes or settlements. Through this unit students learn about form, function, andconstruction techniques for various materials and how they are influenced by the use of indigenous materials.

Universal Stories

In preparation for a performance, the theatre specialist may have two fifth-grade classes research the story of Cin-derella. During their research, the students discover there are hundreds of cultural variations of the story,including the French folk tale that features a fur slipper rather than a glass one. They also uncover versions fromKorea, Appalachia, Egypt, and Zimbabwe. Together, the specialist and students decide that each class will take oneof the versions, study the cultural setting and symbolism, and dramatize Cinderella’s story for the other class.

Community ResourcesMost communities offer a variety of resources to enrich and support arts programs in the schools. These includemuseums, music groups, and theatre and dance companies. Local arts agencies provide access to performing artsevents as well as to artists and performers who can collaborate with teachers to bring the arts into the classroom.

Web SitesNational Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA)

(http://nasaa-arts.org)

NASAA provides a state arts agency directory.

National Gallery of Art

(www.nga.gov/education/tpmain.htm)

The National Gallery of Arts provides links—by state or subject—to museums around the country that have edu-cational resources.

Young Audiences

(www.youngaudiences.org)

Through its network of 31 chapters, Young Audiences works with individuals, education organizations, the artscommunity, and the private and public sectors to make the arts an essential part of children’s education.

The Arts in Your Classroom, cont’d.


Related Programs in The Arts in Every Classroom Video LibraryBringing Artists to Your Community

A visiting theatre artist and a visiting musician work with teachers and students to enhance learning and provideaccess to the arts at a small rural school.

Working With Local Artists

A first-grade class profits from successful, ongoing collaborations that its school has with an African dance troupeand a writers’ collaborative.

Classroom ExampleThe following example suggests how teachers might take advantage of community resources. This classroomexample was developed by INTASC and is used with permission.

Community Connections

Classroom teachers may collaborate with visual art specialists and local museum educators to identify museumsand art exhibitions that connect with units of instruction they are planning to teach. Together, the collaboratorsdetermine what instructional packets and related materials might be available and how to use these effectively inthe classroom. Arts specialists also might design pre- and post-museum activities for students to maximize theirarts learning.

CollaborationAs teachers try to bring diverse student populations into contact with a growing world of information, theyshouldn’t expect to rely solely on their own skills and talents. There is much to gain by drawing on the expertiseavailable from colleagues and the community at large.

Collaborations can range from seeking another’s advice on curriculum content to actual team- teaching. The Websites below will refer you to information about some of the ways teachers work collaboratively. The examplesshow ways that collaboration can take place in the classroom.

Web SitesProject SUMIT (Schools Using Multiple Intelligences Theory)

(http://pzweb.harvard.edu/SUMIT/COLLAB.HTM)

In Compass Points, there is a discussion of formal and informal forms of teacher collaboration, with examples.

Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium

(www.ccsso.org/intaspub.html#arts)

INTASC discusses the possibilities for collaboration between specialists and classroom teachers.



Coalition of Essential Schools National Web

(http://ces.edgateway.net/cs/resources/query/q/977?x-r=runnew)

This site contains several discussions of collaborative reflection and assessment.

Related Programs in The Arts in Every Classroom Video LibraryCollaborating With a Cultural Resource

A fourth-grade teacher teams with a museum’s curator of education on a unit of study based on the work of localartist Will Henry Stevens.

Expanding the Role of the Arts Specialist

Three arts specialist teachers practice in their own art forms with students and share their skills and ideas withteachers in other subject areas.

Classroom ExampleThe following example illustrates how teachers might collaborate for integrated instruction. This classroomexample was developed by INTASC and is used with permission.

Historical Context

A music specialist who is preparing students to attend a local opera production may invite the theatre specialistto collaborate in a unit on the principles of blocking and stage design. The specialists consult with a historyteacher to prepare lessons on the historical context of the opera plot and the era in which it was written. Afterattending the opera, students prepare individual or small-group presentations in which they share their criticalassessments of the music, the staging, and the historical accuracy of the performance.

Professional DevelopmentYou can learn more about the arts by talking with other teachers, including arts specialists, through personalreading and research, and by participating in local and national workshops and conferences.

Effective professional development is ongoing and sustained, engages educators in the pursuit of answers togenuine questions, helps them reflect on their teaching, and builds collegial relationships.

If you are not participating in The Arts in Every Classroom workshop, you can learn more about this valuable pro-fessional development opportunity by visiting the About This Workshop section of the workshop Web site,(www.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom). You can learn more about receiving college creditfor taking this workshop at www.learner.org/channel/workshops/artsineveryclassroom/xxx).

Web SitesThe following organizations provide instructional materials, workshops, and conferences related to arts education.

American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE)

(www.aate.com)

AATE disseminates quality practices in theatre and theatre education; connects artists, educators, researchers, andscholars with each other; and provides professional development opportunities in theatre education.



ArtsEdge

(www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org)

This organization supports the place of arts education at the center of the curriculum through the creative andappropriate uses of technology.

ArtsEdNet

(www.getty.edu/artsednet/)

A program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, ArtsEdNet provides a variety of resources and services for K–12 teachers.

Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development (ASCD)

(www.ascd.org)

ASCD offers conferences and meetings on emerging issues and professional training opportunities for educators.

MENC–The National Association for Music Education

(www.menc.org)

MENC advances music education by encouraging the study and making of music by all.

National Art Education Association (NAEA)

(www.naea-reston.org/index.html)

NAEA promotes art education through professional development, service, advancement of knowledge, and lead-ership.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS)

(www.nbpts.org)

NBPTS promotes high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do andprovides a national voluntary system certifying teachers who meet these standards.

National Dance Association (NDA)

(www.aahperd.org/nda/template.cfm)

NDA’s mission is to increase knowledge, improve skills, and encourage sound professional practices in dance education.

Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts

(www.wolf-trap.org)

Regional programs provide arts-in-education services for children ages 3–5 and their teachers and familiesthrough the disciplines of drama, music, and movement.



Production Team

Lavine Production GroupVideo Production and Project Management

Lavine Production Group, based in New York City (www.lavinegroup.com), produces documentary films and tele-vision programs on a variety of topics. It specializes in education and the arts.

Kaye Lavine, project director and series producer

Miriam Lewin, producer

Susan Perlman, associate producer

Gary Bradley, supervising editor

Laura Young, editor

Theresa Liberatore, segment producer

Claudia Mogel, segment producer

Reynelda Muse, workshop host

Jeff Williams, additional editing

David Hogoboom, director of photography

Carl Anderson, series animation

David Sherman, series theme music

James Krieger, post production sound

Carol Stein, post production supervisor

KSA-Plus CommunicationsPrint Materials and Web Development

KSA-Plus Communications, based in Arlington, Virginia (www.ksaplus.com), helps educators, public interestorganizations, and businesses communicate more effectively with their many publics. The company provides arange of services including strategic communications planning, communications training, and Web and printmaterials development.

Adam Kernan-Schloss, project team leader

Bonnie Jacob, project manager

Geoff Camphire, production manager, Web and print

Steve Kramer, production manager, Web and print

Susan Gillespie, production manager, Web and print

Mina Habibi, Web and graphic design

Maria Nicklin, series logo, Web and graphic design

Michael Smith, financial officer

Sarah Hope Zogby, production editor, Web and print

Production Credits

Complete Printable Guide - Annenberg Media

Documents

Transcript of Complete Printable Guide - Annenberg Media