Integrated arts inspire pupils to communicate their feelings through words and/ or gestures in multiple forms, and can enable them to discover and improve their own potentials in other areas such as literacy. (Thomas, S.) We discussed today how children of todays generation are not as familiar with distinguishing the difference between a piece of text and a picture as they are so dependent on everything being modern and through the use of technology (touch screens). This explains the deterioration of libraries, as many people, access books online now which defeats the purpose of abstracting your mind from the constant usage of technology. (Flood, A.)
Carrying on from our previous session in art, today we had to write words on our paintings to symbolise our memories of the Highlands. Proven to be quite difficult- as this was a very long time ago for me. I then began to research poetry associated with the Highlands to embark on new ideas. Eventually, settling on the idea of relating song lyrics into my landscape, special to me, as my Grandad always used to sing this to us: ‘’ Donald Where’s Your Troosers’’ by Andy Stewart. Now, having a deeper insight into the meaning behind the lyrics it is actually very comical to listen to again. A poem/ song can create an entire landscape in a few short/ precise lines which demonstrates we are not bound by text. This particular pedagogy can be very useful for learners having difficulties with formal academic writing pieces. This provides a new theory to try and develop in the classroom as teachers of the future generation.
Microteaching- in drama today, my peers led their own pre-planned lesson. Everyone was to incorporate all conventions taught within previous sessions. This activity emphasised how important planning is as a teacher. We can’t rely on the use of technology to get us through as it can glitch at any point. Therefore, plan B is always necessary in order to be prepared for upcoming barriers. I liked getting involved in the organised activities of our peers- it became apparent everyone was nervous about the same issue- performing in front of a group within the same age range. Observing everyone else allowed us to identify what we had to do to overcome barriers. Equally split up the parts and ensure each person speaks for an appropriate length of time. Also, encourage everyone who hasn’t worked together to work collaboratively in order to familiarise yourself with others. The next workshop will highlight if we were successful or not and reflect on next steps.
Each workshop today was very interactive as we brought a piece of art to life through the use of words in visual arts and adapted to various characters surroundings throughout different plays in drama.
References:
Flood, A. (2016) Library use in England fell dramatically over last decade, figures show [online] available: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/aug/16/library-use-in-england-fell-dramatically-over-last-decade-figures-show [Accessed: 10th October, 2019]
Thomas, S. (N.D ) Help your child develop literacy skills through arts [online] available: http://www.peelschools.org/parents/helpyourchild/Documents/6-8/Literacy/Help%20your%20child%20develop%20literacy%20skills%20through%20the%20arts.pdf [Accessed: 10th October, 2019}
