An Attack on the Tower of Babel
Beverly Levett Gerber and I co-authored An Attack on the Tower of Babel: Creating a National Arts/Special Education Resource Center Excerpt: A reciprocal relationship exists between educators of the arts and educators who work with students with special needs. Arts educators far too often lack necessary information about students with diverse special needs. Special educators and classroom teachers, meanwhile, need information both about the arts and working with teachers of the arts. This observation was a recurring and frequently discussed goal at the 2012 Kennedy Center forum,...
Read MoreAll Of Them
All Of Them is a presentation I gave at the 2010 NAEA convention. It’s an overview of the six theses my first MA Graduates wrote. PDF
Read MoreTips Toolbox for Teaching Art
1. Remember—children express themselves through art. 2. Color in the whole paper! 3. Press hard on your crayons. 4. Everyone’s “marks” are good. 5. Scan art from reproductions onto transparencies. Use them for motivation. 6. Never turn down any donated art supplies. Once I thought, “what can I do with 1,000 ping pong balls?” Now that they have been used, I wish I had more! 7. Talk art talk! 8. Call the children artists. 9. ALWAYS make an example for the children from the supplies they are using. 10. Demonstrate a technique, hang it up to talk about it and then...
Read MoreTips Toolbox for Teaching
1. Be consistent. 2. Laugh! 3. Children often tattle…he did this—she did that…and you are working at teaching a lesson and keeping 33 students in control. Time out for 20 individual he/she dids becomes a bit overwhelming. I have found that a simple “Thank you for telling me” usually works to keep all parties happy. 4. Children love to clean up. Use it as a reward. 5. Learn from your students. 6. Honestly evaluate your lessons. What could you do, say or demonstrate differently to make the lesson more productive, more exciting and more interactive? 7. Be sure to use...
Read MoreSpecial Needs Teaching Tips
12 Tips to teaching art to special needs children: 1. Create different levels of lessons since special needs kids have such a wide range of abilities. 2. Know what each student can do—who can cut with scissors, who needs help and who needs a special pair of scissors. 3. Use pre-cut shapes if needed. 4. Keep the projects under 15 minutes, since that’s their typical attention span. Plan more than one activity for each period. 5. Use different textured materials such as sandpaper, felt, fake fur, and cotton to keep the kids interested. It especially works with children who are severely...
Read MoreTraveling to Ancient Greece
Traveling to Ancient Greece is a book my 2nd graders wrote and illustrated. PDF
Read More