"This unique contribution is both a wonderful source of teaching ideas and a reminder that authentic learning involves engaging experiences that encourage inquiry." -Dan Thompson, Assistant Professor of Education Penn State University "Educators are always looking for interesting activities that challenge students to think beyond the ordinary. The authors have done a great job of compiling a variety of activities for different subject areas." -India Meissel, Social Studies and English Teacher Lakeland High School, Suffolk, VA Encourage critical thinking while teaching meaning through learning experiences! Learning in secondary school classrooms involves much more than students reciting the "right" answers on high-stakes tests. This activity-packed book encourages educators to move beyond traditional models of teaching and learning and provides them with the tools for getting started. 100 Experiential Learning Activities for Social Studies, Literature, and the Arts, Grades 5-12 focuses on using active learning to engage students in critical thinking and reflection about complex content knowledge in the humanities and the arts. Through easy-to-use matrices, the authors link lessons investigating history, economics, literature, music, and visual arts to McREL, NCTE, and NCSS standards. The 100 activities address significant social issues, including social justice, culture, language, and diversity. Teachers can emphasize comprehension, encourage creative thinking, and promote transfer across disciplines to help students: Explore primary sources to uncover practical and relevant information Construct careful arguments to integrate new learning with prior knowledge Question deeply held assumptions to arrive at authentic understandings Approach new ideas with confidence Take your students through meaningful learning experiences and make knowledge come alive!
"This unique contribution is both a wonderful source of teaching ideas and a reminder that authentic learning involves engaging experiences that encourage inquiry." -Dan Thompson, Assistant Professor of Education Penn State University "Educators are always looking for interesting activities that challenge students to think beyond the ordinary. The authors have done a great job of compiling a variety of activities for different subject areas." -India Meissel, Social Studies and English Teacher Lakeland High School, Suffolk, VA Encourage critical thinking while teaching meaning through learning experiences! Learning in secondary school classrooms involves much more than students reciting the "right" answers on high-stakes tests. This activity-packed book encourages educators to move beyond traditional models of teaching and learning and provides them with the tools for getting started. 100 Experiential Learning Activities for Social Studies, Literature, and the Arts, Grades 5-12 focuses on using active learning to engage students in critical thinking and reflection about complex content knowledge in the humanities and the arts. Through easy-to-use matrices, the authors link lessons investigating history, economics, literature, music, and visual arts to McREL, NCTE, and NCSS standards. The 100 activities address significant social issues, including social justice, culture, language, and diversity. Teachers can emphasize comprehension, encourage creative thinking, and promote transfer across disciplines to help students: Explore primary sources to uncover practical and relevant information Construct careful arguments to integrate new learning with prior knowledge Question deeply held assumptions to arrive at authentic understandings Approach new ideas with confidence Take your students through meaningful learning experiences and make knowledge come alive!
Activities and Projects That Enrich Classrooms and Schools
"Professionals who want to build authentic parent and community involvement in their schools will find a champion in this book." -Wendy Caszatt-Allen, Teacher, Mid-Prairie Middle School, Kalona, IA "An invaluable resource full of fun and relevant plans that are most assuredly teacher-, student-, and parent-friendly. The best I have read!" -Ilona Anderson, Principal, Flagstaff Middle School, AZ "Schools that utilize techniques from this book will benefit not only from an increase in student engagement and achievement. Beautifully written." -Marscha Greenfeld, Senior Program Facilitator, National Network of Partnership Schools Create a rich cultural arts program that inspires parent involvement! Research has shown that parents play an enormous role in their children's school success. However, principals and teachers struggle to find ways to get parents more involved. Educator and consultant Michael Sikes shows principals and teachers how to create an arts-rich school that enthusiastically welcomes families and community members, promotes diversity and multicultural appreciation, develops cognitive skills, and engages parents through a myriad of creative activities. This exciting resource explores all types of creative art programs, including dance, theater, folk art, literature, visual arts, and music. An extensive toolkit, this book not only explores why but how to design and implement an arts program that brings families back to the classroom. Ready-to-use features and strategies are packed into this practical guide: Sample lesson plans and worksheets, including materials lists, step-by-step instructions, and roles for parents and families Dozens of project and activity ideas tied to national standards Project assessments and evaluations "How-to's" for finding community resources and funding Templates, forms, checklists, surveys, and much more School administrators and teachers can use this essential guide for welcoming families into their schools and creating a friendly place where student work is celebrated and parent contributions are embraced and valued.
Activities and Projects That Enrich Classrooms and Schools
"Professionals who want to build authentic parent and community involvement in their schools will find a champion in this book." -Wendy Caszatt-Allen, Teacher, Mid-Prairie Middle School, Kalona, IA "An invaluable resource full of fun and relevant plans that are most assuredly teacher-, student-, and parent-friendly. The best I have read!" -Ilona Anderson, Principal, Flagstaff Middle School, AZ "Schools that utilize techniques from this book will benefit not only from an increase in student engagement and achievement. Beautifully written." -Marscha Greenfeld, Senior Program Facilitator, National Network of Partnership Schools Create a rich cultural arts program that inspires parent involvement! Research has shown that parents play an enormous role in their children's school success. However, principals and teachers struggle to find ways to get parents more involved. Educator and consultant Michael Sikes shows principals and teachers how to create an arts-rich school that enthusiastically welcomes families and community members, promotes diversity and multicultural appreciation, develops cognitive skills, and engages parents through a myriad of creative activities. This exciting resource explores all types of creative art programs, including dance, theater, folk art, literature, visual arts, and music. An extensive toolkit, this book not only explores why but how to design and implement an arts program that brings families back to the classroom. Ready-to-use features and strategies are packed into this practical guide: Sample lesson plans and worksheets, including materials lists, step-by-step instructions, and roles for parents and families Dozens of project and activity ideas tied to national standards Project assessments and evaluations "How-to's" for finding community resources and funding Templates, forms, checklists, surveys, and much more School administrators and teachers can use this essential guide for welcoming families into their schools and creating a friendly place where student work is celebrated and parent contributions are embraced and valued.
In any area of the curriculum, children need to learn concepts, facts and skills through first-hand experience. In art, such learning depends on exploring and experimenting with the visual language through which artists communicate, and the visual elements such as line, colour and shape. The National Curriculum places strong emphasis on experimenting with and applying the visual elements. Understanding Art systematically explores the basic knowledge needed to do this effectively. Martin Wenham deals with the visual elements of art, their properties and how they are related, and especially about how children's knowledge of each can be developed through simple but creative activities. Each element is placed in context, with extensive cross-referencing. Wenham shows how these elements can be observed in the children's environment and provides examples of how they have been used in works of art and craft. This accessible book does not assume any specialist knowledge or experience. It is essential for teachers at primary and secondary levels, art co-ordinators and for undergraduate and postgraduate level students of art education. Martin Wenham is an artist, calligrapher and stone carver who has exhibited at the Craft's Council. He has taught at the University of Leicester and has over twenty years' experience of teaching in primary and secondary schools.
