Teaching English Through Art

Description

Incorporating art into English - particularly writing - can be both a motivational tool and useful for increasing a student's understanding and retention. Teaching English Through Art provides solid coverage of all aspects of writing for middle schoolers - parts of sentences, kinds of sentences, sentence structure, paragraph structure, types of paragraphs, story-writing, dialogue, literary devises, creating mood, letters, poetry, and biographical sketches. Rather than detailed instruction in each of these areas, art examples are provided that illustrate or stage a situation and the student is encouraged to expand from the example into original composition. Take for instance, the lesson on caricature. Visually, as an art example, we're familiar with this type of cartoon-like drawing of a person's face. However, a character in a story can be a caricature as well, exhibiting an extreme of personality or behavior. While people with exaggerated personality traits exist in real life, it's in writing that they're most prevalent, and learning to identify caricatures as well as produce them can be a valuable skill.

The author, Sharon Jeffus, is both an art instructor and a former English teacher. The student is expected to compile a Writing Portfolio based on suggestions/assignments from the course. Coverage is broad in terms of writing, covering all the essential strands of writing plus a smattering of mechanics. This 90 page course could be used as the writing component of an English/Language Art course or it could be used as a once a week or occasional supplement to your traditional program. It would be a good break from a traditional program and could be used with several children at one time. ~ Janice

Teaching Method
Traditional
Teacher-centered curriculum commonly used in classrooms that may include a text, teacher manual, tests, etc.
Charlotte Mason
A methodology based on the work of a 19th century educator who maintained that children learn best from literature (Living Books), not textbooks.
Classical
A methodology based on the Latin Trivium (three stages of learning), including the grammar stage (memorization and facts), logic stage (critical thinking), and rhetoric stage (developing/defending ideas).
Unit Study
A thematic or topical approach centered around one topic that integrates multiple subject areas.
Montessori (Discovery)
A methodology based on the work of a 20th century educator that emphasizes student and sensory-driven discovery learning and real-life applications.
Religious Content
Christian/Religious
Faith-based or including instructional religious content.
Neutral
Avoids religious or theoretical topics or presents multiple viewpoints without preference.
Secular
Contains content contrary to common Christian beliefs (i.e. evolution).
Learning Modality
Auditory
Learns through listening, talking out loud or reading out loud.
Visual
Learns through seeing, prefers written instructions and visual materials.
Kinesthetic/Tactile (Hands-On)
Learns through moving, doing and touching.
Multi-Sensory
Curriculum that employ a variety of activities/components.
Presentation
Sequential
Curriculum progresses through well-defined learning objectives. Emphasizes mastery before moving to the next topic.
Spiral
Topics and concepts are repeated from level to level, adding more depth at each pass and connecting with review.
Conceptual/Topical
Focus is on the “why,” often with a unifying concept as well as specific skills; coverage may be broader.
Teacher Involvement
Low Teacher Involvement
Student-led materials; parent acts as a facilitator.
Medium Teacher Involvement
A mix of teacher-led time and independent student work.
High Teacher Involvement
Teacher-led lessons; may utilize discussions, hands-on activities and working together.
Additional Materials Required
No other materials needed
Everything you need is included.
Other Materials Required
There are additional required resources that are a separate purchase.
Other Materials Optional
There are additional resources mentioned or recommended but are not absolutely necessary.
Consumable
Consumable
Designed to be written in; not reusable.
Non-Consumable
Not designed to be written in; reusable.