by John Heath, Bad Wolf Press
 

"Art in Action" is an art curriculum for K-5, with twelve 45-90 minute lessons for each grade. Each lesson contains an art historical and art appreciation component, as well as hands-on art skills. Brief study and analysis of a major work of art is followed by students working on their own experiments in the style or technique of the artist. Imagine this: third-graders producing masterpieces that can fool experts and pull in six digit offers on E-Bay! Can’t imagine it? Neither can I, but that’s okay, it has nothing to do at all with the goals of the program. I’m sorry I brought it up. Here are a few things that strike me as highlights of the program:

1.Coordinated with the curriculum. The twelve lessons at each grade level can be arranged according to your needs. Kindergarden teacher Andi Dehne, who has been using the program for six years, says that she just teaches the lesson that works with whatever she’s covering in class. At Thanksgiving, for example, she does the unit with an Indian pictograph. For her "seasons" unit, the students make trees and landscapes in various media.

2.Art historical component. Students are exposed to grade-appropriate information on artists, styles and techniques, and learn to look for the "message" of the artist. They then put some of what they’ve learned with their minds into actions with their hands. For example, after looking at some French tapestries from the 18th century students then do some weaving of their own. Arts education at its best is the perfect format for exercising several "intelligences" at once. Here is the chance to put the different sides of the brain together and make, well, a whole brain.

3.Multicultural. Students not only learn about art from different cultures, they make it. The curriculum includes material from Eskimo-style sculptures, medieval tapestries, Japanese prints, Native American pots, kachina masks, Byzantine mosaics, Chinese calligraphy, and Diego Rivera style murals to the various styles of Western art from Leonardo da Vinci to Georgia O’Keeffe to Jackson Pollock. Again, it is easy to see how this can be connected to all kinds of other curricular concerns.

4.Multimedia. Students at every level are taught a variety of skills. They make sculptures from clay, weave tapestries, draw and paint with tempera, watercolor, pastels, and learn to make prints—just about anything that can get all over the carpet is included. (Although, now that I think about it, no one mentioned anything to me about welding. And what day is more joyous than the first time your child scampers up with a joyful gleam in her eye and asks if she can use the acetylene torch?)

5.Parent involvement. So far, according to Betsy Halaby, the Director of Art in Action, most of the teaching in the program has been done by parent volunteers, but that may be changing. Teacher Dehne says that some years she can turn the program over completely to the parent docents. But whether the teacher or parents are in charge, this is a great way to increase the involvement of parents who might not feel as comfortable volunteering in other areas. Claire Warner, a parent volunteer for the past six years who raves about how much her children have enjoyed the program, says that the manual provides most of the information needed, and the program includes a summer workshop to get the parents ready for the classroom.

So, do you need to buy a program like this (it doesn’t cost that much) or can you do it on your own? As in most other areas of the arts, it seems to me that with some interest and a lot of work most teachers could pull together a similar curriculum and get similar results. Certainly one of the advantages to a prepackaged and complete K-5 curriculum is that a school or district can be better assured that there is a strong developmental component to the arts program. (I think I made clay fish with melted marbles for eyes each year all the way through high school.) But one way or the other, it’s great to see kids exploring the visual arts in an intellectually stimulating and hands-on fun fashion.

For more information on the Arts in Action program, contact Betsy Halaby at 650-298-8691 or by e-mail betsyhalaby@home.com .

Bad Wolf Press was started in 1995 by John Heath and Ron Fink. They've known each other since 6th grade and have been writing songs together since high school, which was a very long time ago.

John is the word guy. He's a classics professor at Santa Clara University, which means he teaches Latin and ancient Greek, along with the literature of the period. He likes to play banjo for his dog, daughter and wife.

Ron Fink is the composer of 19 musical plays for classroom use in grades K-9. All are published by Bad Wolf Press. Ron lives with his wife and two kids near Los Angeles.

Ron does the music. He teaches piano out of his home in Southern California, and he accompanies music programs at his local elementary school. He's also the person likely to answer the phone when you call. Ron has two kids, one wife, and too many instruments.

Visit Bad Wolf Press at http://www.badwolfpress.com!