Arts News for Teachers
- In the News
- Summer Arts Academies (regional)
- WKU Workshop with Malcolm Dalglish (Bowling Green)
- Fellowships to National Gallery Institute (Washington, DC)
- World War II Museum Middle School Art Contest
- Actors Theatre 2007/08 Season (Louisville)
- Stage One 2007/08 Season (Louisville)
- Books as Bridges Project
- Arts Toolkit News
- Music Arts Toolkit Shipping!
In the News
Summer Arts Academies Accepting Applications
The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts is now accepting applications to attend regional Arts Academies this summer. Six academies will be held in June, three in Dance and Music (in Hebron, Princeton, and Danville) and three in Drama and Visual Arts (in Bowling Green, Ashland, and Hazard). Participants spend a week working with master artist-educators and then go home with new arts teaching resources, including two Arts Toolkits. Each teacher selected also receives a stipend of $500 from the Kentucky Department of Education.
The academies are open to any K-12 Kentucky public school teacher who has not previously attended more than one Arts Academy. Preference is given to teachers who attended a 2007 Arts Academy. Each regional academy will accept up to 40 teachers.
Applications must be received by April 1. To apply, submit the online application form from the Kentucky Center web site. For more information, contact Jeffrey Jamner at jjamner@kentuckycenter.org or (502) 562-0703.
WKU Offers Folk Music Workshop with Malcolm Dalglish
Malcolm Dalglish is a world-renowned American folk artist and hammered-dulcimer player. Kentucky teachers may be familiar with him through his video performances in the Arts Toolkit and in the KET series Old Music for New Ears. Now the Western Kentucky University Department of Music is offering an opportunity to work directly with Dalglish at a professional development workshop on Thursday, April 17 at the WKU Downing University Center in Bowling Green. The workshop will be held from 3:00 to 5:00 pm CT. There is no fee to attend, and each participant will receive two hours of professional development credit.
To register, contact Deloris Trammel at deloris.trammel@wku.edu before April 1. Please include your mailing address, the name of your school, and an e-mail address. For additional information about the workshop, contact Dr. Robyn Swanson at robyn.swanson@wku.edu.
Fellowships Available to National Gallery Seminar
Through funding provided by the Sara Shallenberger Brown Fund, Kentucky K-12 teachers can receive fellowships to attend a summer seminar on “Dutch Art in the Golden Age” at the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Two six-day sessions will be offered, July 14-19 and July 28-August 2.
The seminar will focus on the National Gallery’s collection of works by artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Judith Leyster and will include gallery talks, lectures, and hands-on activities. Teachers selected for fellowships will receive stipends of $2,000 each, along with waiver of the $200 seminar fee.
Applications are due March 15 and must be submitted online. To apply or for more information, visit the National Gallery of Art web site.
World War II Museum Sponsors Middle School Art Contest
The national World War II Museum invites students in grades 5-8 to submit works of art around the theme of teamwork during World War II. Winners will receive $100 and a museum baseball cap. Winning entries and honorable mentions will be displayed online.
For more information and a submission form, visit the World War II Museum web site. Up to 500 entries will be accepted; entries must be submitted no later than March 28.
Actors Theatre 2007/08 Season Includes Student Matinees
Actors Theatre of Louisville’s 2007/08 season includes Fire on the Mountain, a Kentucky roots musical; The Underpants, a comedy by Steve Martin; Spunk by Zora Neale Huston; Shakespeare’s The Tempest; Doubt by Patrick Shanley; The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl; and the Humana Festival of New American Plays. A variety of school performances, free workshops, and free professional development sessions are offered to accompany the season, and tickets are now on sale for student matinees. The Actors Theatre web site has more information about student matinees as well as other educational workshops and camps.
Stage One 2007/08 Season Under Way
The 2007/08 season of Stage One, Louisville’s professional theater company for young audiences, features The Giver (February 14-March 28, grades 5-12), The Little Prince (March 3-28, grades K-5), and If You Give a Pig a Party (April 10-25, grades pre-K-2).
Each play is accompanied by an online resource guide. For more information about the plays and student matinees, visit the Stage One web site or call (502) 562-0161.
Books as Bridges Project Connects Classrooms Worldwide
The Lexington-based International Book Project has been distributing books to those in need, both within the United States and abroad, since 1966. Now the IBP is offering the Books as Bridges Project to connect Kentucky classrooms to other cultures through Peace Corps volunteers or classrooms in other countries.
Each participant in the project is given contact information for a Peace Corps volunteer or teacher, a disposable camera to take pictures of the participating class, information about the country where the contact is located, and $25 to offset expenses.
If you are interested in participating, e-mail Lynda Jeffries at ibpdirector@alltel.net, or visit the International Book Project web site for more information.
Arts Toolkit News
Music Arts Toolkit Is the Biggest Yet!
The Music Arts Toolkit from KET includes nearly 12 hours of video segments,
including professional and student performances, demonstrations by educators
and artists, cultural music, and artist profiles. You’ll also find
a CD-ROM called A World of Music, with music and social studies
information on 25 countries around the world; a set of 10 posters spotlighting
musical periods and styles; a binder with lesson plans, glossaries, and
other informational materials; and a set of Idea Cards. All materials
address Kentucky’s Program of Studies and Core Content for grades
K-12.
The cost of the Music Arts Toolkit is $99 for the DVD version or $125 for the VHS version. Quantity discounts are available.
To order any of the Arts Toolkits, call KET Duplication Services at (800) 945-9167, or fax or mail the online order form.
On the Web
Some Cool Web Sites
Arts Research/National News: The Americans for the Arts site includes everything from arts news from around the country to events, opportunities and resources, and research and information.
Visual Arts: NGA Kids from the National Gallery of Art provides fun activities for children and resources for teachers.
Visual Arts: The Artist’s Toolkit enables students to explore the tools artists use to create works of art. The web site is a project of the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Dance: American Ballet Theatre has a wonderful interactive Ballet Dictionary featuring dancers illustrating key terms.
Multi-Arts: PBS Teachers provides access to the amazing resources that accompany such signature cultural series as Great Performances, American Masters, and Masterpiece Theatre. You can also sign up for a weekly e-newsletter.
Arts and Academics: Recent Studies
National Endowment for the Arts Releases Study on the Arts and Civic Engagement—A large-population survey from the NEA has found links between arts participation and community health. People who participate in the arts are people who help make communities thrive, according to “The Arts and Civic Engagement: Involved in Arts, Involved in Life.” It reveals that people who participate in the arts also engage in positive civic and individual activities—such as volunteering, going to sporting events, and participating in outdoor activities—at significantly higher rates than non-arts participants. The report shatters the stereotype that art is an escapist or passive activity, showing instead that it is associated with a range of positive behaviors. The study also reveals that young adults (18-34) show a declining rate of both arts participation and civic activities. Visit the NEA online newsroom for the full press release.
Critical Evidence: How the Arts Benefit Student Achievement—This new advocacy brochure describes in non-technical terms what the research says about how study in the arts contributes to academic achievement and student success. This eloquent case for the arts can be ordered in bulk from the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies for distribution to school boards, school-based councils, administrators, and other decision makers. The information is based on Critical Links—Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development, a study released in 2002 by the Arts Education Partnership and funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Status of Arts Education in Kentucky Public Schools Survey—In an effort to gauge the status of arts education in Kentucky public schools, the Kentucky Arts Council contracted with the Collaborative for Teaching and Learning to conduct a comprehensive statewide survey of school districts. For years, Kentucky arts educators and others have feared that the state of arts education in the schools has been on a downward trend, but these suspicions have remained largely untested. The survey is providing baseline data which the KAC and other state-level partners in the project, as well as local arts and cultural organizations, can use to design education outreach efforts focusing on the identified needs.
Project SMARTArt—A Case Study in Elementary School Media Literacy and Arts Education—The Center for Media Literacy, the Music Center Education Division, AnimAction Inc., and the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Leo Politi Elementary School recently designed and implemented Project SMARTArt (Students using Media, Art, Reading, and Technology) through a federal grant sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts. The aims of the project are to achieve a new understanding of media literacy and to develop new guiding principles for integrated programs involving the arts, media literacy, and other academic content areas.
Reading at Risk—The National Endowment for the Arts has released Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a research report presenting the results from the literature segment of the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts.
