Art Literacy Project
In service and Professional Development activities
We will continue to add to this site after department meetings on the subject of literacy or as individual staff members gather new information.
At the bottom of this web page are the responses to the Operating Assumptions in the Northport-East Northport School District, Literacy Project. These responses were created on November 3, 2003 by each respective art group and presented to the K-12 Art Department on November 4, 2003.
On November 12, 2003, art teachers met to discuss the concept of student reflective writing.
On December 10, 2003, 12 members of the K-12 Art Department met in the
On January 14, 2004, members of the art department met in the faculty dining
room of
For Superintendent’s Conference Day, March 9, 2004, members of the K-12 Art department, during the articulation meeting, worked on aligning the industry “Best Practices” with their own classroom practices. The task will continue for several sessions and be posted to this site when finished.
On March 18, 2004, Philip Yenawine was a guest speaker. He presented his views on, Visual Thinking Strategies.
As a continuation of the literacy in service, members of the art department met on April 22, 2004 for a second session of reading in the content area.
On Tuesday, November 2, 2004, Superintendent’s Conference Day, time was given for articulation meetings. During the art department meeting, staff worked on professional development dates and opportunities for the year, http://northport.k12.ny.us/professionaldevelopment/ as well as to read and discuss excerpts from, Subject Matters, by Daniels and Zemelman. After the material was read we had time to work in small groups and then to report back to the entire group on ways students read in the K-12 art department.
At the Tuesday, November 24, 2004, Professional Development meeting, we discussed, Exhibition Catalog Possibilities. Two handouts were distributed to the group who consisted of, ten members of the art department. Peter Falotico lead the discussion with Anthony Klinger-Cooley, Rich Nunziato, Lori Kepler, Pete May, Shannon Murray, Constance Wolf, Margaret Minardi, Diane Lennea and Linda Johansen. Each person talked about the special meaning of one of the catalogs they brought to the meeting. After the discussions, we examined the catalogs as they pertained to the possibilities of writing a catalog and circled all that were in each respective catalog. The last activity was to talk about ways to have students make catalogs and to look forward toward what could be achieved by the end of this year. Some will make on line catalogs, some will make a class catalog and others are still thinking about ways to create a catalog with students.
Based upon a close relationship with the Northport Public Library, on Thursday, December 3, 2004, we arranged for a two hour Professional Development workshop in the auditorium at the library. The presentation was made by staff members of the library, James Olney, Doris Gebel and Nancy Morcerf and focused on the accessing of art resources from the public library collection. There were several handouts, a PowerPoint presentation and the sharing of many books, periodicals, catalogs and ways to access material on line from the public library art collection. Those in attendance were, Peter Falotico, Peter May, Shannon Murray, Margaret Wolf, Loretta Kepler, Diane Lennea, Nancy Wine and Pam Waldroup.
As part of the series of professional development workshops on integrating literacy into the art curriculum, ten members of the art department met on December 7, 2004 from, 3:30-5:30, in room A102 of Northport High School. Those present were, Peter Falotico, Constance Wolf, Pamela Waldroup, Shannon Murray, Margaret Wolf, Linda Johansen, Loretta Kepler, Peter May, John DeRosa and Anthony Klinger-Cooley. We shared books which help art teachers teach about mediums of expression. Each person in the group presented their collection of books. After all the presentations of the books and their specific value to teaching, we circulated around the room to examine the books and had small group discussions. Before we finished the workshop a list was generated which can be used in the future when teachers are looking for specific examples of artistic mediums about the process of art.
For those who could not attend the first session of, Exhibition Catalog Possibilities, the second opportunity was presented on Thursday, April 7, 2005, from 3:30- 5:30, in the High School. Peter Falotico and Tara Amato, Tara Daverio, Monica DeJong, Chris Geres, Stacey Levin, Robin O’Neill-Gonzalez and Nancy Wine worked through all of the material presented. The Exhibition Catalog Possibilities work sheet was amended to include new categories and we discussed the ways students could write their own catalogs, with their own purpose, point of view and special moment.
Summer is a great time to have in service activities. The first of 4 in service summer activities took place on June 28, 2005. Reading Art, Art Reading was attended by 17 teachers in A106 of Northport High School. This workshop satisfied the 3 hour literacy requirement for 2005-2006. Peter Falotico offered his research and findings to Robin O’Neill Gonzalez, Billie Westerlind, Stacey Levin, Tara Amato, Linda Johansen, Michelle Rosa, Maria Randazzo, Pamela Waldroup, Shannon Murray, Margaret Wolf, Monica DeJong, Anthony Klinger-Cooley, John DeRosa, Constance Wolf, Tara Daverio, Margaret Minardi and Rich Nunziato. Reading Art, Art Reading material was distributed, modeled and discussed by the group and members were encouraged to create their own exemplary reading material using the Teachers College model used by Mary Ehrenworth.
Because we continue to have a great working relationship with the Northport Public Library, on Thursday, January 19, 2006, we arranged for another two hour Professional Development workshop in the auditorium at the library. The presentation was once again made by staff members of the library, James Olney, Lisa Herskowitz, Candy Reeder and Nancy Morcerf and focused on the accessing of art resources from the public library collection. There were two handouts, a PowerPoint presentation and the sharing of many books, periodicals, catalogs and ways to access material on line from the public library art collection. Those in attendance were, Peter Falotico, Peter May, Craig Mateyunas, , Maria Randazzo, Monica DeJong, Linda Johansen, Lori Sklar, Michael Gutheil, Kara LiCausi and Christine Driscoll.
Writing Art History was offered as a professional development opportunity on Tuesday, January 31, 2006. What is art history, how to write art history and how to keep art history alive were some of the topics of the workshop. A segment of the book, The Art of Writing about Art, by Suzanne Hudson and Nancy Noonan- Morrissey was shared with all in attendance. We examined the criteria to use, famous events, not so famous events and where to locate information about art history. Another book referred to was, The Banquet Years, by Roger Shattuck and how the author gathered the information for the book was examined. Several quotations from the book were read. Reference to the artist William E.B. Starkweather was made and he was discussed as an artist who once was relatively famous and now is not known by many.
Art and The Power of Placement, a book by Victoria Newhouse was the focus of the professional development offering on Tuesday, April 25, 2006. How, when, where and why art is displayed was the focus of the workshop. We discussed educational and installation exhibitions and how objects are displayed. Each person was asked to create a lesson for students which incorporated the 4 State Standards and the concept of placement into a unit of activities. Portions of the book were read and shared. Facts about placement and art from Ancient Greece to Modern times were shared. Each person was going to teach the concepts from the Power of Placement in the art room and report back on the effect the information had on students.
Using Quotations in Teaching Art was a workshop offered to art teachers on
Thursday, May 18, 2006 to satisfy literacy requirements and professional
development hours. We met in Kara LiCausi’s art room
in
Superintendent’s Conference day, November 7, 2006 began a year long investigation into how the art department was enhancing literacy. At the meeting, all members of the art department received copies of an excerpt of key words and terms from Bloom’s Taxonomy and a questionnaire on how is reading, writing, listening and speaking is being used through analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The tasks were broken down into what am I doing and what is my level doing to enhance literacy skills? Each individual wrote a response to the questions and then gathered into groups by grade level to continue the task. The findings are being tabulated to share at a meeting this year and we will continue to use best practices in the development of lessons on integrating literacy into the curriculum.
Literacy Meets Art was the title of our third annual professional development workshop for the 14 art teachers in attendance, presented by the Northport Public Library staff. We met on Tuesday, March 6, 2007, in the large meeting room of the Northport Public Library to view new books, review how to use the online resources and talk about all the library resources available to teachers and students. The librarians offered us a two hour inservice which had a focus on the Masters, Elements of Design, Graphic Design, Media and Style. Special handouts, fantastic books, a PowerPoint presentation and the knowledge of each librarian made the event our best literacy opportunity. Teachers will be able to use the extensive online collection from any Internet ready computer. In addition, books can be loaned from the collection by using a special interoffice pouch. Plans are already underway for the fourth annual inservice of art teachers by librarians.
The final professional development workshop for 2007 was offered on May 22,
2007 in room A106 of Northport High School. The 12 art teachers in attendance
were shown how to make a motivational presentation in the teaching of art
history. We examined the DVD by Steven Spielberg, Volume 1, Animaniacs,
No Pain, No Painting/ Les Miseranimals and Hooked on
a Ceiling/ Good Feathers. Both were viewed for their accuracy in history, facts
and fiction, research and applicability to students. After the first segment,
the focus in the workshop was on writing art history. Who writes it? How is it
written? What are the 5 types of art history? A handout was distributed from
The Writing Center,
A small group met to discuss Art and The Power of Placement, a book by Victoria Newhouse. This was an extra literacy professional development offering on Thursday, June 14, 2007. How, when, where and why art is displayed was the focus of the workshop. We discussed educational and installation exhibitions and how objects are displayed. Each person was asked to create a lesson for students which incorporated the 4 State Standards and the concept of placement into a unit of activities. Portions of the book were read and shared. Facts about placement and art from Ancient Greece to Modern times were shared. Each person was going to teach the concepts from the Power of Placement in the art room and report back on the effect the information had on students.
The development of Numeracy Literacy through art education was the main challenge given to the library staff at the fourth annual professional development workshop, on January 17, 2008. For the 14 art teachers in attendance, it was packed with multiple ways to solve mathematical concepts through art and was expertly presented by the Northport Public Library staff. Each of the staff members rose to the challenge. We met in the large meeting room of the Northport Public Library to view books which could be used by art teachers, graphic novels, how to access the online resources and talked about new library resources available to teachers and students. The librarians offered us a fast paced, upbeat three hour in service which was spectacular and above all of our expectations. Special handouts, incredible books, a PowerPoint presentation and the knowledge of each librarian made the information immediately usable for instruction. Because of the educational value of these opportunities, plans are underway for the fifth annual in service of art teachers by the Northport public librarians.
The information within these
Below
are the responses to the Art Department Literacy Operating Assumptions
1. All educational staff share the responsibility for enhancing, cultivating, teaching and developing student literacy.
Elementary:
v Using (reading and showing) literature to motivate students before, during & after lessons.
v Displaying keywords/vocabulary involved with the lesson being taught. (Art terms.)
Middle School:
v Cross-curricular lessons, projects, activities, i.e. English (poetry), social studies, science, languages, math (Escher).
v Art and Literary Magazine.
High School:
v Team teaching – i.e. Gargoyles (history of)
v Collegial circle on arts education.
v Art history sketchbook/journals.
v International Baccalaureate – workbooks/extended essays.
v Art and Literary Magazine.
v Careers in art.
v Self-evaluations.
v Being able to follow proper procedures that require paperwork, i.e. equipment checkout form.
2. Early literacy instruction enables young learners to develop strong literacy capabilities.
Elementary:
v Using books as a directional orientation tool (“open it like a book” – “turn it like a page”.)
v Teacher modeling writing key terms & words.
v Using letters to create drawings Y for trees M for hands & lips L for feet O for head
4. All students need to understand the value of literacy.
Elementary:
v Keeping dictionaries, reference books & other written sources on hand for students to refer to.
v Following directions – art contests, posters and other assignments.
v Sketch books/journals.
Middle School:
v Student evaluation/assessment.
v Using art vocabulary to properly express/critique their own work and work of others.
v Importance of visual interpretation of text, i.e. analysis, fact finding, perception.
v Understanding the role of art in: cultural/religious identity and evolution of sociology.
v Brainstorming.
High School:
v Artist’s statement/resumes – Photo 3 portfolio’s/AP.
v Current events/articles/read and reflect/gallery reviews.
v Proper use of art vocabulary.
v Journal/sketchbook assignments.
v Personal/reflective writing experiences.
v Art/film analysis – compare/contrast or comparative thinking /critical thinking.
v International Baccalaureate.
v Creating artwork titles, creative wording, explanations.
v Brainstorming.
5. All students will demonstrate effective literate behaviors in all curricular areas.
Elementary:
v Labeling and titling artwork.
v Sequencing.
v Ordering (left to right, background/foreground)
v Sketch →finished piece rough draft →final draft
v Critique- art terms only – verbalize freely
Middle School:
v Sketchbooks/journals.
v The Art and Literary Magazine.
v Student evaluation.
v Gain knowledge through reading about artists/art history, i.e. Scholastic Arts; Art & Man; New York Times.
High School:
v Research paper on: Photography, photographers, time periods/eras, artist.
v Film criticism/film analysis.
v Use of proper vocabulary terms to enhance/demonstrate art techniques/lab and classroom behaviors.
v Screenwriting.
v Visual inventory/group work.
v International Baccalaureate.
v Student proposals.
v Art regents.
v Art and Music Festival poster.
6. Increased time integrating literacy activities in all curricular areas improves literacy.
Elementary:
v Using fifth grade assessment sheet to discuss and evaluate student art experiences which fulfill state standards.
v Integrating grade level curriculum into the art program when possible.
Middle School:
v Journals/sketchbook, i.e. Bell work, brainstorming, goal for the day.
v Research papers, i.e. artist/period.
v Creative writing → reflection on artwork/projects, i.e. cooperative learning.
v Storytelling, i.e. story quilt, myths, surreal world.
High School:
v Writing →written criticism helps to allow students to be comfortable in oral critiques/interviews.
v Computer language – step by step directions – more time to learn computer programs and vocabulary.
v Website – review internet information needed for classes.
v Integrating science in photography, color theory, optics, proportion, physics in sculpture, math in photography and drawing, social studies – art history (Holocaust history in sculpture classroom).
v International Baccalaureate.
7. All school community members are partners in the literacy development of students.
Elementary:
v Creating banners displaying messages for community events and organizations.
v Displaying students work in the public libraries attracts students: families to spend time in the library.
Middle School:
v Posted art contests in community and state wide, i.e. PTSA, SADD.
v Descriptions/artist statement in display of student’s art work.
High School:
v Guest speakers/field trips/interdisciplinary class tours.
v Local competitions/gallery show – written critique/statements.
v NYSATA – Portfolio project.
v International Baccalaureate.
v Art & Literary Magazine.
v Yearbook.
v Mock client meetings.
All rights and permissions must be granted in writing
by the Northport-East Northport School District.