Integrated Arts
The introductory session of the integrated arts module allowed me to understand how vital the arts as a part of the curriculum. The session was really interesting as it showed how people tend to focus more on curriculum areas such as literacy and numeracy, under appreciating the value that the arts can have. It made me more aware of how the arts can be used throughout a variety of curriculum areas. During both the music session and the visual arts session, we seen different ways that the arts could be introduced in the classroom.
In the visual arts session, we discussed why it is important to let the children be creative and imaginative and not limit them to what we believe to be accurate representation of objects or what we consider to be a ‘good piece of artwork’. We as teachers should value and appreciate all work produced by the children in our class as each piece of art will have a story behind it. By dismissing their work, we would be showing that child that their voice is not valued and this may affect their confidence and deter them from creating anything else. As teacher’s we want all our pupils to be able to express themselves freely using the arts without feeling judged or scared. We looked at the progression of a child’s artwork from the scribbling stage in the early years to the transitional stage just before the move to high school. Whitehead (2010) discusses the importance that the scribbling stage has on the overall development of young people. By looking at the different stages of children’s artwork it allowed me to see how much thought and hard work a child can put into a piece of art without us even realising.
In the music session, we learned how we could engage the children in the classroom using rhythm games. This is a way of introducing in a fun, entertaining way that will allow all children to get involved without feeling nervous as it is carried out as a full class. This way there is less pressure on individual pupils and they are not being taken out their comfort zone.
Overall, I found this session greatly beneficial as it allowed me to gain a more in-depth knowledge about the arts and how they can be introduced into the curriculum through art and music. I look forward to learning how further aspects such as dance and drama can be integrated into the curriculum.
References:
Whitehead, M. (2010) Language and Literacy in the early years 0-7. 4th Ed. London: Sage.
