Engaging Students through Image and Word

The equal importance of both wordand image is evident in this lessonthat seamlessly combines languagearts and visual arts; by integratingthe two, students' experience andaccomplishment in each is enhanced.

Engaging Students Through

vABBYINEWLAND

I wish I could say th*the picturescome first or the worcis come first.But no, it is not that simple. It is the idea whichcomes first in pictures and in words.

—Eric Carle'

IThe elementary art classroom provides unique

opportunities for student engagement withimage and word. Central in my teaching is mybelief that one responsibility of art educators isrecognizing and advocating for the Arts' abilify toenhance student achievement across disciplines.This article focuses on the connection between thevisual arts and language arts with the manyteaching and learning possibilities that may arisefrom an art curriculum infused with languagearts. As a K-5 art specialist in a rural Georgiapublic school, I feel passionately about theimportance of interdisciplinary art education foroverall student success. Support from myadministration and general classroom colleagueshas allowed me the opportunity to explore theconnections between the language arts curriculumand the visual arts curriculum in my classroom.Together we have explored and implemented acurriculum that fully incorporates both the VisualArts and Language Arts Georgia PerformanceStandards.

Creating an InterdisciplinaryArt Curriculum

Within the art classroom I use a parallelinstruction model of interdisciplinary instructioncentered on concepts of visual arts and languagearts (National Art Education Association, 2002).In parallel instruction, multiple teachers simulta-neously focus on a key concept in their respectiveclassrooms. Each teacher uses the strengths of his/her distinct discipline to illustrate the concept,allowing students to make deeper connections andto explore the idea further. Drake and Burns(2004) reference this type of interdisciplinarycurriculum model as "parallel disciplines" wherestudents study a selected concept or theme inmultiple classrooms simultaneously (p. 10). Thismethod helps students recognize that thesegregation of subjects within a school day is notindicative of what happens in life outside ofschool. I chose to focus on four themes that arecentral to my interdisciplinary art curriculum:visualization, visual idioms, narrative, andmetaphor. These four themes represent four unitsfrom my yearlong art curriculum.

March 2013/ART EDUCATION 47

VisualizationThe primary focus in my elementary art

classroom is developing authentic connec-tions between art and literacy. RudolfArnheim (1980) advocated for the impor-tance of visual thinking, acknowledging thevalue of both verbal and visual literacy.Similarly, the National Council of Teachers ofEnglish and the International ReadingAssociation (1996) declared that studentsshould practice "spoken, written, and visuallanguage" to communicate information (p.38). It is for these reasons that the Arts canbe used to reinforce visualization skillsnecessary for improved readingcomprehension.

Visualization is "the formation of mentalvisual images" (Visualization, n.d.). Theability to visualize text is a crucial aspect ofliteracy development; without the ability tovisualize, written text holds no meaning forstudents. WooUey (2010) contends thatthose students who lack the cognitive abilityto create "mental models" of text are thosewho suffer most in reading comprehension(p. 108).

To encourage this type of visual thinkingat an early age, kindergarten and lst-gradestudents have been strengthening theirvisualization skills through art. In one unit ofinstruction, I read the story The Three BillyGoats Gruff (n.á.) for my students, deliber-ately withholding the images. I had studentsimagine what they thought was happeningwhile I read. As I read the story, manystudents closed their eyes to remove anydistractions. Next, students drew what theyfelt was the most important part of the story.I encouraged students to include as manydetails as they could remember and torecount the section of the story they felt waspivotal. Then students shared their drawingswith their classmates. We discussed that wecould make many reasonable interpretationsfrom the same text: some trolls were green,some trolls had horns, some goats werebrown, and some goats were black.Recognizing multiple interpretations hasimportant implications for both the visualarts and language arts. The idea of encour-aging multiple answers ties directly to ElliotEisner's (1992) belief that the Arts encouragethere are no single, correct answers to everyproblem.

Visual IdiomsAnother lesson, involving 4th- and

5th-grade students, focused on the teachingof idioms in correlation with their unit onidioms in their language arts class. Studentsreflected on the use of idioms found inliterature and in everyday life. After I wasconfident that students had a technicalunderstanding of idioms, we pursued a moreembodied understanding of idioms byexamining idioms from an alternativeperspective. Ultimately, students chose anidiom and illustrated what the idiom saidinstead of what it meant. We discussed theoddities of idioms and imagined ourselves asEnglish language learners. For example, howmight one react when hearing the phrase"hold your horses" for the first time? Thisdiscussion helped students develop a sense ofempathy toward their many classmates whowere English learners.

Through making connections betweendisciplines, students had a greater under-standing of figurative language, as well as abetter understanding of one way to showmeaning within their artwork. Verbal reportsfrom 4th-grade teachers suggested thatstudents made greater gains on their idiomsassessment after the inclusion of the visualart unit. One 4th-grade teacher requested Iuse this lesson with the 4th grade next year.She indicated that her students betterunderstood idioms this year after the idiomsunit in art.

NarrativeA third art and literacy unit with 4th and

5th grades focused on the following types ofnarrative: personal narrative, narrative inartwork, and narrative in literature. Eourth-and fifth-grade Language Arts GeorgiaPerformance Standards list narrative as oneof four writing styles in which studentsshould be skilled by the end of the gradelevel. The instructional unit on narrativebegan with a verbal response to artwork,moved into artmaking, and concluded withnarrative writing.

First, students responded verbally to afinished clay figure, which I had created,paying specific attention to emotions and toactions that may be conveyed. Responding tothis tangible object, students came up with

numerous responses, including "frustration,""contemplation," and "experiencing loss."After the completion of this exercise,students began brainstorming exercises toaid in creating their own clay figure thatwould convey an emotion or action. Studentstook turns posing for one another and usedgesture drawings to decide on their plan forthe upcoming figure construction.

Students spent one class periodconstructing their clay figures. After studentscompleted their clay figures, they began abook-making lesson where we discussednarrative further. Prior to working in theirhandmade books, students participated in anacting workshop, with each student takingturns posing as their figure while otherstudents volunteered to act out theirinterpretation of the surrounding story. Ireminded students that all narratives have abeginning, a middle, and an end. To aid inthe construction of a narrative, the figureeach student created would represent amoment frozen in time from the middle ofthe story. Students developed what happenedbefore and after that moment and wrote theirstories from the perspective of their figure. Iencouraged students to stand and embodytheir artwork; participating in an actingworkshop, they were no longer passiveobservers but active participants (Seidel,1999). At times, a holistic interdisciplinaryapproach to teaching art means steppingoutside of my discipline to aid students inachieving a higher level of understanding.

I found that students were sincerelyengaged in the writing and the artmakingportions of this unit. I knew my studentswere genuinely engaged when they willinglyworked well beyond the stated objectives,asking if they could stand up and read theirstories for the class even before I suggestedsharing. I expected enthusiasm with theartmaking aspects of this unit, but I wastaken aback by the students' engagement inthe writing exercises. I attribute this successboth to the notion that students work harderwhen there is an emotional connection totheir artwork, and to the idea that the simplepride in creating with their hands spurred aninterest in delving deeper into their ideas andputting them on paper (Sanacore & Palumbo,2009). Students took pride in both their clayfigures and their handmade books.

48 ART EDUCATION/March 2013

Surprisingly, many students viewed theirwritten and illustrated books as more of acoveted piece of artwork than their clayfigures.

Some of the most important aspects of thenarrative unit were the emphasis on freechoice and the focus on embracing mistakes.Students were allowed free choice in almostall aspects of the book-making process. Allart media in the classroom were open tostudents, and I gave very few guidelines forthe content of the book. I threw standardapproaches to writing out the window,encouraging students to write on unlinedpaper with a plethora of writing materials.Students had free choice to move betweenverbal and visual portions of the book as theyfelt necessary. The intentional removal ofrules places the focus of this unit onembracing mistakes.

The book-making portion of the unitbegan with the frustration many studentsexperienced when they received their firedfigures. They noticed imperfections in theirwork, focusing on the difference betweenwhat they had intended and how the figurescame from the kiln. They became discour-aged. I asked students to use those uniqueirregularities as inspiration for their stories.Soon, stories became rich with detail asstudents recounted the shark attacks,collisions, and falls that occurred to explaintheir figures' irregularities. This act of"flexible purposing" allowed students todeviate from their original ideas and to openthemselves to the rich possibilities thatwould arise (Dewey, as cited in Eisner, 2002,p. 77).

MetaphorIn a final unit on art and literature, 4th- and

5th-grade students completed a unit onmetaphor in correlation with the study ofmetaphor in their language art classes.Students reviewed the definitions of metaphorversus simile and discussed the possiblereasons for using metaphors in written orspoken language. To further illustrate theidea that metaphor is in everyday life,students listened to and analyzed the Simonand Carfunkel song "I am a Rock" (1966).Initially, I was unsure about their ability tointerpret music but was quickly surprised asthe 4th graders seamlessly explained themeaning of the two metaphors in the song—"Iam a rock" and "I am an island." One studentrelated the metaphor to the personal experi-ence of her friend being two-faced and talkingabout her at school. She recounted that itmade her want to not have friends and to bealone like an island.

Students created their own personalmetaphor as inspiration for their artwork.Students began by hsting three words thatdescribe themselves (example: hard-working,artistic, and enthusiastic). Later, they pairedeach word with an animal the student feltmost exhibited that characteristic (example:hard-working/beaver; artistic/spider;enthusiastic/Boston terrier). Erom that liststudents chose the pair of words they felt bestdescribed themselves (example: artistic/spider). The chosen animal helped studentscreate their metaphor: "I am a spider."Ultimately, students created a large-scalepainting of their selected animal and titledthe finished piece with their createdmetaphor.

The Benefits of an Inter-disciplinary Art Curriculum

Elliot Eisner (2008) proposed the idea thateverything interacts and that "there are noseparate parts in a whole" (p. 2). I see the roleof the art specialist as more than just theteaching of art. One important educationalobjective for the art teacher is helpingstudents understand connections betweendisciplines. Education should be viewedholistically Art has the potential to act as anumbrella hovering over all subject areas andconnecting them in a single space. One goalof my interdisciplinary curriculum is toreach a point where students no longer makecomments such as "We've already donewriting today" when they visit my classroom.Students should understand the worldoutside of the school building is notsegmented into 45-minute blocks. Studentsneed to see connections between subjects.The unit on figure and narrative was the firsttime in my classroom that students wrotewithout complaint or without inquiry aboutthe minimum requirements.

Empirical Research toSupport the Connections ofArt and Literacy

Beth Olshansky (2008), Director of theCenter for the Advancement of Art-BasedLiteracy at the University of New Hampshire,believes in the integral role the Arts can playin strengthening reading and writingachievement in grades kindergarten througheight. Through "Artist/Writer Workshops,"Olshansky helps students discover theirpotential as both artists and writers (p. 30).Olshansky realizes the ability the visual artshave to inspire creative, descriptive, anddetailed writing.

ecause students used their artwork as a tool tofather information for their writing, they beganto include more detail within their artwork. Therelationship between art and literature istinstantly building and improving.

March 2013 / ART EDUCATION 49

The incorporation of language arts into myart curriculum results in more meaningfulixperiences for my students in both their

art and language arts classes.

Olshansky's methods are supported byLinda Hoyt's (1992) and Beth BerghofT's(1998) ideas concerning sign systems andtransmediation. Sign systems—such as art,music, drama, mathematics, and language—are modes of communication. Trans-mediation is the notion of transference ofinformation from one system of communica-tion to another. This movement between signsystems allows those who are weak in onearea of communication to feel successfulusing another mode of communication, thusin time strengthening weaker systems (Hoyt,1992). Both Hoyt and Berghoff suggestoptimal student achievement can be reachedby allowing students the opportunity to learnfrom multiple sign systems.

Using Olshansky's model, students movefreely between visual and written signsystems to create meaning within both theirartwork and their written text. Olshanskyobserved that those students who createdtheir artwork first often yielded moreadvanced writing results than those studentswho started with the written story and thenmoved to the visual. Through observationand student feedback, Olshansky observedstudents "read" the pictures they created as away to work through the writing process.This method of searching for details withinthe artwork was especially helpful for thosestudents who were lacking in writing ability.One student in Olshansky's (2008) studydeclared, "I learned that after you paint yourpictures, it is much easier to write becauseyou have all the details right in front of you"(p. 19). Olshansky's model of teachingpromotes student advancement in both artsand literacy. As students continue toparticipate in Artist/Writer Workshops, theirability to include rich detail in both theirartwork and writing became obvious.Because students used their artwork as a tool

to gather information for their writing, theybegan to include more detail within theirartwork. The relationship between art andliterature is constantly building andimproving. As a teacher, my greatest desire isfor my students to become successful in all oftheir academic efforts. Connections betweenart and literacy help build student achieve-ment in both subjects.

Resources for Developing anInterdisciplinary Curriculum

Jan Burkins, Executive Editor andPublisher of Literacy Head, believes inauthentically teaching literacy through thevisual arts. Burkins created www.literacy-head.com as a resource for teachers whoshared an interest in the unity betweenverbal and visual forms of communication.Literacy Head uses artwork to illustrate keyliterary concepts and to generate creativewriting prompts. Literacy Head is a strongresource for seeing connections betweenreading, writing, and visual arts.

Considerations for anInterdisciplinary ArtCurriculum

Elliot Eisner (1998) warns against theancillary outcomes of arts education. Eisnerproposes a three-tiered system for identi-fying rationales for teaching arts education.First, the arts-based outcomes of arteducation refer to the outcomes of the artprogram that are explicitly taught and can beassessed. Identification of elements andprinciples of art within a painting would beconsidered an arts-based outcome. Thesecond tier, art-related outcomes of arteducation, refers to outcomes that pertain toperception of aesthetics in everyday life. Anaesthetic experience with nature is consid-ered an arts-based outcome. The third tier.

ancillary outcomes of art education, refers tothe claim the Arts can affect studentperformance in core curriculum areas (math,reading, science, and social studies). Eisnerhas expressed strong views against the use ofthe Arts to support ancillary outcomes.Eisner fears that if the sole purpose of theArts becomes bettering achievement in otherdisciplines, the Arts will be dismissed assoon as another suhject can make equalgains. Instead, Eisner argues the Arts shouldvalue those benefits that are unique to theArts.

While I agree ancillary outcomes shouldnot be the sole purpose of art, the curriculumI have developed for my classroom fitsequally into all three tiers presented byEisner. As an art educator teaching in astandards-based system, I must be diligent increating lessons that address the visual artsstandards, thus resulting in arts-basedoutcomes. An overarching theme within myteaching is allowing my students to makemeaningful connections with their artwork,with the artwork of others, and with theirenvironment. I strive to present opportuni-ties to make my students more aware of thebeauty of the world around them. It isobvious throughout my teaching that I placea great emphasis on the ancillary outcomesof art. This focus does not diminish the valueor quality of the art instruction in any way,but exalts the subject of art for its manyunique qualities. I feel confident I am notfocusing solely on what art can do for otherdisciplines, but what the inclusion of otherdisciplines can add to my art instruction. Asa teacher I have noticed the many parallelsbetween the visual arts and language arts,and I wish to make those connections visibleto my students.

50 ART EDUCATION/March 2013

ConclusionArt educators have a unique opportunity

to engage students in meaningful ways.

Teachers who open students' eyes to see the

deep parallels and connections between

disciplines will not only help their students

grow as inquisitive individuals but undoubt-

edly will make themselves more perceptive

teachers who notice connections to art in

everyday life. The incorporation of language

arts into my art curriculum results in more

meaningful experiences for my students in

both their art and language arts classes. For

this reason, I will continue to experiment

with ways to create engaging, interdisci-

plinary art curricula for my students each

year.

Abby Newland is an Art Teacher at Gomer

Elementary School in Madison Gounty,

Georgia. E-mail: [email protected].

ga.us

I am not focusing solely on whatart can do for other disciplines, v rhut what the inclusion of other * 'disciplines can add to my artinstruction.

Arnheim, R. ( 1980). A plea for visualthinking. Critical Inquiry, 6(3),489-497.

Berghoff, B. (1998). Multiple signsystems and reading. The ReadingTeacher, 51(6), 520-523.

Drake, S., & Burns, R. (2004). Meetingstandards through integratedcurriculum. Alexandria, VA:Association for Supervision andCurriculum Development.

Eisner, E. W. (1992). The misunder-stood role of the arts in humandevelopment. The Phi Delta Kappan,73(8), 591-595.

Eisner, E. W. (1998). Does experience inthe arts boost academic achieve-ment? Art Education, 51(1), 7-15.

Eisner, E. W. (2002). The arts and thecreation of mind. New Haven, CT:Yale University Press.

REFERENCES

Eisner, E. (2008). Lowenfeld lecture:What education can learn from thearts. NAEA National Convention,

New Orleans, LA.

Hoyt, L. (1992). Many ways of knowing:Using drama, oral interactions, andthe visual arts to enhance readingcomprehension. The Reading

Teacher, 45(8), 580-584.

National Art Education Association.(2002). Authentic connections:Interdisciplinary works in the arts.Retrieved from www.arteducators.

org/research/InterArt.pdf

National Council of Teachers of English& International ReadingAssociation. (1996). Standards forthe English language arts. Retrievedfrom www.ncte.org/standards

Olshansky, B. (1994). Making writing awork of art: Image-making withinthe writing process. Language Arts,71(5), 1.

Olshansky, B. (2008). The power ofpictures: Creating pathways toliteracy through art. San Francisco,CA: Jossey-Bass.

Sanacore J., & Palumbo A. (2009).Understanding the fourth-gradeslump: Our point of view. TheEducational Eorum, 73, 67-74.

Seidel, S. (1999). Stand and unfoldyourself: A monograph on theShakespeare and company researchstudy. In E. B. Fiske (Ed.) Championsof change: The impact of the arts onlearning (pp. 80-90). Cambridge,MA: Shakespeare & CompanyResearch Study. Available at: http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/champions/pdfs/Shakespe.pdf

Simon, P (1966). I am a Rock.[Recorded by Simon & Garfunkel]On Sounds of Silence [album]. NewYork, NY: Columbia Records.

Three Billy Goats Cruff, The. (n.d.).Norwegian folk tale. Retrieved fromhttp://ah_coo.tripod.com/billy_

goat_gruff.htm

Visualization (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved fromwww.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/visualization

Woolley, G. (2010). Developing readingcomprehension: Combining visualand verbal cognitive processes.Australian Journal of Language andLiteracy, 33(2), \O8-125.

ENDNOTE

^ As cited in Olshansky, 1994, p. 1.

Call For Nominations for 2013 ArtsUp Award:$1000 in Art Hanging EquipmentGallery System Art Display's 2013 ArtsUp Award will award $1000 worth of

art-hanging equipment to a community-oriented arts program in the US.

Schools, arts associations, and other community-oriented programs are eligible;

seif-nominations accepted. The award seeks to improve the display capabilities of a

deserving program (such as a school, arts association, or arts education program)

that provides exceptional support and nurturing for the arts in its community.

Nominations accepted until 11:59 pm on March 31, 2013, via the website (http://

gallerysystem.com/ideas-inspirations-news/artsup-award-2013/), where

complete details on the nomination and judging process can be found.

March 2013/ART EDUCATION 51

Copyright of Art Education is the property of National Art Education Association and its content may not be

copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written

permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.