While both article present novel and new ideas, they also share certain similarities in terms of allowing students to create their own meaning and understanding of concepts and the world around us. As can easily be argued, each student learns differently, and if we consider that the average elementary class is composed of twenty-six students, the diversity of needs in one classroom is immense, therefore, it is important to integrate all types of learning strategies. As maintained in both articles, art is an effective, and well-received method used by students to create meaning. The first article by authors Trent and Riley, entitled: Re-Placing the Arts in Elementary School Curricula: An Interdisciplinary, Collaborative Action Research Plan, speaks about how an art-integrate curriculum can have a positive impact on student success in the classroom. As I read this article, I could not help but to think of my grade 3 and 4 class at Pinecrest Public School, and the importance that a vast majority of the students accord to art, and the ability to be creative. In my experience, in elementary school, every week, we would have two lessons dedicated to art, however, as maintained in the article, children in urban schools are “receiving less instruction in the arts and have fewer opportunities to engage arts and humanities curricula, socio-economically lower children receive less arts content than their wealthier peers, and when they do receive art infused curricula, poor children receive lower quality forms of art integrated education” (14). For the students at Pinecrest, art lessons take place at art club, during the second nutrition break, as a substitute for recess. Because space and time is limited, and being creative can be messy, only a limited amount of children are allowed to participate in art club. As mentioned in the article, however, art-integrate curricula is not limited to craft-making or drawing. As opposed to common beliefs, art-integrated curricula can be as simple as allowing children to use white boards and dry-erase markers to solve a math problem, or using clay to make different types of rocks such as sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. As in the math example, dry-erase boards and markers are very cost effective, and easily accessible by teacher, and by having a visual representation of a problem “allows students to construct their own unique understanding” (15). Furthermore, as exemplified in the article, and subsequently in the article title: From Tourist to Storyteller: Reading and Writing Science, personal journals can also be an effective way to integrate art-related curricula in the classroom. As per claimed by authors Dawn Abt-Perkins, and Gian Pagnucci, through the use of personal journals during their time at the Summer Science institute, students were able to create a narrative that eased their understanding of certain scientific text. As mentioned in the article, and according to Bruner, who is cited in the article, “we acquire and grow in our ability to communicate our experience in language through applying narrative structure” (100). Often, through the privacy of their own journal, students feel comfortable to create their own meaning or understanding of a text or work. As exemplified in this article, some students read the scientific text as a narrative or story, other personally identified with the main characters, and other posed questions about the text. Either way, weather it was right or wrong, students were learning and creating an understanding that appealed to their strengths and weaknesses. Briefly, journals are a great tool for teacher to utilize in the classroom because not only is it an interesting learning tool, it is also fun for students, and it can also act as an assessment of/for leaning. Additionally, art-integrated curricula, as per seen in the second article by Abt-Perkins and Pagnucci, can be integrated in numerous subjects. The second article, speaks about the use of personal journals to understand science. As can be understood from the article, students, by using art and literacy, were able to create a new meaning and subsequently understand a perhaps difficult piece of work. As previously maintained, art includes but is not limited to arts and crafts. In this context, it can be argued that art-integrated curricula can be integrated across a variety of subjects such as language arts, as per seen the article. Teachers can use art in geography, math, literacy and science, however, the ideas of imposing art and creative learning strategies can seem daunting for some teachers. But, in my opinion, everyone is artistic in their own individual ways, and children, especially in elementary school, are extremely resilient and strive on new experiences. By allowing students, to focus on a subject area that requires imagination and creativity, students’ self-confidence may rise, as a result, and furthermore teachers may see a rise in the classroom atmosphere as well as the overall success of the students. If we consider the benefits of art-integrated curricula, it has been noted “Arts integration uses teaching practices that have been shown in brain-based research to improve comprehension and long-term retention” (Nabori, n.p.). In the same vein, it can be argued that art-integrated curricula can be beneficial for English Language Learners because it would help students express themselves in a way that is universally understood. Overall, both articles, while different, were similar in terms of creative approach. We can conclude that art reinforces student’s interests, and allows students to make personal connections.
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