2019最新托福写作素材：艺术教育

2019最新托福写作素材：艺术教育

新托福写作素材：艺术教育

Art has long been recognized as an important part of a well-rounded education — but when it comes down to setting budget priorities, the arts rarely rise to the top. Many public schools saw their visual, performing and musical arts programs cut completely during the last recession, despite the many studies showing that exposure to the arts can help with academics too. A few schools are taking the research to heart, weaving the arts into everything they do and finding that the approach not only boosts academic achievement but also promotes creativity, self-confidence and school pride.

“Higher analytical thinking and reasoning and student voice fit so well with the arts,” said Bobby Riley, the school’s principal. Teachers are seeing ways to make connections between subjects and watch asstudents find creative confidence and voice in their expression.

‘Arts integration seems to be the best form of differentiation out there because it taps into so many different interests and abilities and forms of learning.’

“Parents are interested in the arts model, interested in a different approach,” Riley said. The program is also helping connect parents from immigrant communities to the school. “Art is a big part of many of their cultures, so I think they appreciate t hat experience,” Riley said. “I

think they like the community vibe of the school.”

ART IS NOT EXTRA, IT’S INTEGRAL

“If you pick a subject area like science, social studies, math or literacy and you integrate it with an art form, what you do is connect the two and find ways to really integrate

the two so they lean on each other,” said Judy Klima, who helps ensure academic learning is happening through an art

form and visa versa.

“When you engage hands-on and you are creating your own learning, you are deepening your level of understanding about a specific topic,” Klima said. In this case, students

thought differently both about classification and characteristics, as well as about the differences between art forms.

Teachers rotate through visual art forms, music, dance

and theater. One fifth-grade class came up with dramatic renditions of the Revolutionary War. They used the facts in their social studies curriculum to build scripts and then discussed the dramatic connections through volume, tone of voice and perspective.

ART AS DIFFERENTIATING TACTIC

“I have to keep remembering and reminding myself that

this is one of the best avenues to take. Because when kids

are learning through the arts, they end up getting a deeper understanding and the concepts end up sticking much better,” Peterson said. Her strong suit is music — she used to teach piano. When she went back to the general education classroom, she thought music could bring some joy and creativity to the academics she taught. Students draw cartoons illustrating a story they’ve developed based on their interpretation of the