There are so many ways to incorporate reading in the art room. These include, lesson plans, using vocabulary and arts terms in instruction and around the room, learning to talk about artwork, journaling and reading during free time. Picture books and other textbooks are a great way to read to young students and provide aid for instruction. I use picture books as inspiration for styles or ideas for a project. I also provide vocabulary terms and other literacy aids during instruction and for general knowledge in the art room. For older students, journaling at the beginning and end of class allows students expand on vocabulary and ideas discussed in class. At this age too, students are learning how to talk about artwork and exercising the connection between imagery and writing. Free time in the art classroom is another great way to support literacy. By providing word puzzles and other spelling/reading games helps encourage children to read.
Another way to incorporate literacy in the art classroom, that provides inspiration and creativity, is reading whether it be reading to the students or having them reading during their free time. Reading trade books allows students to jump into a story. Imaginations are expanded when you open a book and enter a new world. Access to trade books in the art classrooms promotes literacy and development for students.
My last post was about the bookmarking site, Diigo, and how I use it to save resources for professional development and instruction in the classroom. Another type of bookmarking site, or a more literal way to bookmark is using Shelfari. Shelfari is a site for saving and tagging books that you have read. I think this is a great way to share books with other teachers and even students and save books used in instruction. I was introduced to Shelfari in an undergraduate secondary literacy class. Our responsibilities were to read grade level and subject appropriate books and tag them on our Shelfari profile. This was easy to do because we were excited to read books that were “blessed” by our professor. The professor would stand up in front of the class and would engage the class in a certain book’s plot, details or characters that encourage us to want to read these books. This is a great way to get your students excited about reading.
I hope you find Shelfari useful in your classroom for instruction and to encourage literacy.
You have some great ideas for including reading in the art room. Students can develop communication skills as they discuss and journal artwork. I think students could also read a story and create a piece of art inspired by the story. I enjoyed looking at your Shelfari profile. I love that you can assign tags for the books. It is always fun and helpful to see what other teachers are reading.
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