Children first learn to respond aesthetically to their environment through touch, taste, sound and smell, and their natural curiosity suggests a need for sensory experience. Visual arts education helps to develop sensory awareness. Each child possesses a range of intelligences and he/she needs a variety of learning experiences in order to develop them fully. Visual arts activities enable children to make sense of and to express their world in visual, tangible form. The development of the child cannot be complete without exposing her/him to art and music especially, which are the basic forms of aesthetic appreciation.
Learning through the arts Fosters integration of a student’s sensory, cognitive, emotional, and motor capacities. For example, hands-on materials and activities can challenge students to move from the concrete to the abstract, and students can develop ideas. Is enjoyable, fulfilling and also intellectually rigorous disciplines, Stimulates and develops the imagination and critical thinking, and refines cognitive and creative skills. Develops fine motor skills of children. Repeating stories, poems, and songs strengthens memory.
Help to level the learning field across socio-economic boundaries. Strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, increasing academic achievement. Provides a natural source Of learning. Child development specialists note that play is the business of young children; play is the way children promote and enhance their development. The arts are a most natural vehicle for play. Develops a sense of craftsmanship, quality task performance, and goal-setting skills needed to succeed in the classroom.
Teaches children life skills such as developing an informed perception; articulating a vision; learning to solve problems and make decisions; building elf-confidence and self-discipline; developing the ability to imagine what might be; and accepting responsibility to complete tasks trot start to finish. Nurtures important values, including team-building skills; respecting alternative viewpoints; and appreciating and being aware of different cultures and traditions. Provide a natural vehicle through which students can explore and express themselves and discover and interpret the world around them.
Reduces children’s negative attitudes toward school and develop confidence and enjoyment as motivation. Dance helps build motor control, body relationships, and a sense of direction. Drawing, sculpting, and other visual arts develop spatial acuity. Group activities, such as learning dance steps or singing songs, build social skills. As children describe people and things in their world using pictures, body moments, and mime, they enhance their descriptive, nonverbal, cognitive capabilities.
Expand and deepen the attention span and powers of concentration of pupils, their ability to listen, observe closely, interpret what they see and enables them to become more self-aware and self-confident. Enhances intellectual and emotional development tot children. Encourages innovative and yeoman ways of thinking, spontaneity, intuition and improvisation. Develop students’ ability to think creatively and critically. Nourish and stimulate the imagination of students and help them gain insights into the overloud around them and to represent their understandings in various ways.
Encourages them to take risks, to solve problems in creative ways, and to draw on their resourcefulness to build on new ideas. Provides opportunities for differentiation of instruction and learning environments. Identify common values, both aesthetic and human, in various works Of art, and increase their understanding of others. Encourage students to be responsible and critically literate members of society and citizens of the world. Learn to approach issues, create and present ideas, thoughts, feelings and points view in new ways.
Use of current and emerging technologies (e. G. , video, multimedia) is integrated in the four disciplines as means of recording enhancing, communicating, and reinterpreting ideas. Deepen their awareness and appreciation of the nature of the arts and understand what artists, musicians, actors, and dancers do as individuals and as a community Help to reflect record, celebrate, and pass on to future generations the arsenal and collective stories, values, innovations, and traditions that make us unique.
Broaden young minds and exalt our spirits; they help us understand What it is that makes us human. Learn to link with the study of a variety of subjects and topics such as history, geography, language, culture, and human interaction. Encourages them to develop a personal voice. Fostering a love of the arts in students, even if they do not intend to he professional artists, will enrich their future experience as audience members. Part 2 Lesson plan Activity 1: Fabric Collage Class: Standard 6 Duration: 75 minutes
Aim: give children the opportunity to experiment with different materials in terms of color, shapes and texture to produce a fabric collage. Learning objective At the end of the lesson, pupils should be to: [l] cut out shapes from fabric to suit their drawing. [2] glue cut-out shapes. [3] Decorate work using sequins. Materials Paper, fabric remnants with floral patterns, scissors, glue, woolen yarns, ribbons, sequins, pieces Of lace… Pre-requisites: children should have the required skills to use scissors.
Step 1: the Stimulus Children are encouraged to bring in and handle a wide variety of materials: fabrics – flowered, stripped, squared, dotted. Pupils talk about the fabrics and what they like best. Teacher explains activity Step 2: Activity Pupils cut out floral patterns from fabric remnants. Select appropriate cut)TTS and make an arrangement on paper. Teacher may show a finished work for pupils to have a better idea, pupils glue their cut-outs Decorate with sequins/lace/woolen yards.
Step 3: Evaluation Teacher observes pupils at work, Teacher assesses the choice of design, materials and tools to obtain the effects desired. The children show their completed work to each other. They talk bout what they were trying to convey and what they like about their work and the Work Of the Others Safety measures Else Of scissors – do not play With scissors Use of glue Share materials among friends in the group. Do not walk in the class during the activity Activity 2. Print Making Duration: 75 min Aim: to give pupils opportunities to experiment printing with vegetables and leaves.
Learning outcome At the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to 1. Make patterns using lead Negotiable prints Resources: leaves of different shapes, vegetables, newspaper, foam, water- eased paint, liquid soap, newspapers to cover table surfaces Teaching strategies: demonstration, direct instruction, Pre-requisites pupils should have developed his/her fine motor skills Step I the Stimulus Show pupils colorful eye-catching printed images in advertising packaging fabrics and picture books.
Step 2 the Activity Select leaves of different shapes or vegetables. Pour thick paint on a piece of foam. Press a leaf on the foam and print on paper. Pupils experiment With Other prints. Then, pupils work out a pattern using the prints. Step 3 Care should be taken not to touch the fresh paint print out with their hands. The material should be removed carefully so as to obtain a good print-out. Children should be reminded that the material is printed in reverse. Take turns to use the colors in the provided tray: don’t spill paint.
Evaluation Observation tot pupils at work pupils display their work. Children talk about their work and describe what they wanted to show. Teacher looks at the use of appropriate materials pupils chose, Teacher looks for the ability to create/design, the patterns and textures created. Report Planning & implementation Good preparation helps to keep eyes on the students and their needs just like an able driver keeps his eyes on the road, not on the car, lest it may crash.
Planning include choosing materials and tools for the tasks, to develop awareness of their creative potentials. Children’s understanding and expression are observed and recorded, both during and on completion of the work. The stimulus should be planned through open-ended questions and visuals to stimulate and generate ideas, feelings, images and experiences. While planning, care should be taken so that children manipulate materials and tools With joy and safely. A display corner should be organized to put exhibit pupils’ work for motivation.
Assessment & Areas for assessment would include: the child’s ability to choose and use materials, tools and media for a particular task or project, effectively and with originality the child’s expressive use of visual media in compositions and in developing form the quality of the child’s responses to art works, and his/her ability to make connections between his/her own work and the work of others the child’s approach to and level of involvement with a task the child’s contribution to group activity, Reflection pupils were able to use scissors and glue properly without spilling. They cut UT shapes fairly well. Newspapers were put on the tables to facilitate cleaning. However, for a composition, pupils need lots of practice and exposure. It was an enjoyable experience both for the teacher and the pupils. I knew the lesson would be assessed, so I thought more about my teaching and prepared more. My presentation attracted the students and fired their imagination. They paid attention and gave active response. I felt good. Believe that preparation is the key to a successful lesson.
Conclusion Creative Education forms part of the primary curriculum but it has been totally selected, particularly after Standard Ill, because Of the COPE examination. A regular and adequate supply Of materials and tools is essential for building on staff interest and enthusiasm. It is also important to plan for ancillary resources, such as cleaning materials, drying facilities and display and storage space. The knowledge and skills developed in the study of the arts can therefore be applied in many other endeavors.
Appendix (Quotes on importance of Arts) The arts can play a crucial role in improving students’ abilities to learn, because they draw on a range of intelligences and learning styles, not just the linguistic ND logical-mathematical intelligences upon which most schools are based. (Eloquent Evidence: Arts at the Core Of Learning, President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, talking about Howard Gardeners Theory of Multiple Intelligences, 1995) The Physical and Sensory Impact Of Arts Education A student making music experiences the “simultaneous engagement of senses, muscles, and intellect.
Brain scans taken during ironical performances show that virtually the entire cerebral cortex is active while musicians are playing. ” (Learning and the Arts: Crossing Boundaries, 2000, p. 14) “Dramatic play, hymning games, and songs are some of the language-rich activities that build pre-reading skills. ” (Young Children and the Arts: Making Creative Connection, 1 BIB, p. ) “Preschoolers who were given music keyboard lessons improved their spatial-temporal reasoning… Used for understanding relationships between objects such as calculating a proportion or playing chess,” (Education Leadership, November, 1998, p. 38) “Creative activity is also a source tot joy and wonder, while it bids its students to touch, taste, hear, and see the world, Children are powerfully affected by storytelling, music, dance, and the visual arts.
