The Art of Curriculum Connections
Based on an interview with Carol Myers
Examples
Two arts educators from the Columbus Public Schools described some of the many connections they find between literacy and fine arts.
Taking the part of loyalists and patriots, fifth-graders at Duxberry Park Elementary created dances that reflected the experiences of both sides in the American Revolution. Amy Williams, a dance educator, says students wrote insightfully about life in that period.
Greg Walton, a visual arts educator at Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center, says students become more engaged with words as they design and bind books of their own stories, poems, and images.
Carol Myers is a retired Columbus music educator whi has consukted with the Ohio Department of Education
What types of connections are typically made between reading and music?
Many educators have recognized the power of thematic connections between the arts and literature. Music, as well as drama, visual art, and dance, can be used to help students engage with a story, poem, or book, as well as to help them find greater meaning in literature. Moreover, many picture books and works of literature are about artists and art works. But reading and the fine arts share a number of skills and strategies that are similar or identical, and these "authentic connections" can be powerful. Mastering a skill in one discipline may "unlock" that skill in other areas as well.
What are examples of authentic connections between music and reading?
Music and reading both use symbol systems. Learning to move the eyes from left to right is equally important in reading words and reading music. A story or poem, like a piece of music, varies pace and volume according to the action in the plot or the mood the author is trying to convey. Musical works often tell a story or create pictures through sounds, a good way to reinforce the important comprehension skill of visualizing a story. Also, both literature and the arts make frequent use of metaphor.
How can educators make connections?
The first step in integrating arts and literacy is awareness. All educators should be thinking about ways the curriculum in other areas helps them teach their part of the curriculum.
This article was published in October 2005.
Read other articles about arts integration.
Also indexed under Perspectives: Reflections by Advocates and Experts
