Brooklyn
School For Collaborative Studies
NYC Region 8
Kings County
Grades 6-8 |
“Spanish
as a Living Language”
Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Inc
Jose Joaqin Garcia
Social
Studies, English Language Arts
Dance, Theatre Arts, Music
|
| Three
Spanish language teachers
and one movement/theater
teaching artist work collaboratively
to teach 30% of the curriculum
through and with movement/theater.
Natural links between grammar
lessons and theater games
engage students’
physical and social skills, rather
than relying on traditional memorization.
Five central exercises, including
“The Bodega,” “The
Four-Sentence Play,” “Dance
Routine,” and “Writing
Poems and Rap Verses,” enhance
language acquisition through
kinesthetic experience, linking
learning to physicality, emotion
and expression.
|
P373K
District 75
Kings County
Grades 9-10 |
“Teaching
Tolerance”
Elders Share the Arts (ESTA),
Pearls of Wisdom
English Language
Arts, Social Studies
Theatre Arts, Storytelling |
| Dramatic
improvisational workshops
are used for creative problem
solving around issues of
tolerance. The project addresses
issues of age and race by
bringing elder storytellers
into the classroom to share
personal stories about their
experiences during the civil
rights movement and other
social struggles. The teaching
artists guide the students
in dramatic improvisations
around the elements of the
elders’
personal history. Often-marginalized
developmentally-disabled adolescents
develop critical thinking skills
and abilities to make independent
decisions and improve socialization
and expressive skills. The program
culminates in a dramatic presentation
at the school’s annual
Multicultural Fair. |
Washington
Irving Intemediate School
UFSD of the Tarrytowns
Westchester County
Grade 6 |
“Bringing
the Ancient World to Life”
Peter Royston, Frank Ingrasciotta
Social Studies
Theatre Arts |
| The
entire 6th grade participates
in a theater arts residency infusing
the Ancient World Social Studies
curriculum. Students take part
in kinesthetic experiences that
provide them with an emotional
understanding of how people lived
long ago. Each of eight classes
focuses on a particular culture
or topic. Students do research
into historical and political
aspects of the ancient world and
skills-building theater exercises
around structure, dialog, voice
projection and diction. They then
explore improvisations or create
characters and dialogs, adapting
their factual knowledge into theatrical
form. A culminating performance
features a scene from each class
and a guided discussion afterwards. |
PS
99
District 28, Region #3
Queens County
Grade 5 |
“The
Art of Liberty”
Queens Council on the Arts
Karen Fitzgerald
Social Studies
Visual Arts, Media Arts |
| Six
murals throughout the school are
produced by teachers and students
reflecting events and aspects
of U.S. History. Students learn
to research specific individuals,
events, and periods U.S. history
by looking at artwork, reading
historical fiction, and visiting
the New York Historical Society
to examine artifacts and view
exhibits. After receiving instruction
in using computers as an image-processing
tool, they create visual narratives
that reflect what they have learned.
The murals will serve as a source
for study and inspiration into
the future. Read
more about
this project. |
PS
29
Region 8
Kings County
Grade 4
|
“The
Play's the Thing: Research
and Theater”
Carrie Stern
English Language Arts, Social
Studies Theatre Arts, Dance |
| Students
use Social Studies curriculum-based
research as source material for
a group scriptwriting and performance
project. Moving between the classroom
and the drama studio, students
extend their grasp and retention
of research, their understanding
that theatrical writing is a specific
kind of storytelling, and their
movement and acting vocabularies. |
Millard
Fillmore Elementary
Moravia CSD
Cayuga County
Grade 4 |
“Local
History and Its Expression
in Visual and Theater Arts”
Holly Adams, Tom Hoebbel &
Ginny Ruscio
English Language Arts, Social
Studies
Theatre Arts, Visual Arts, Media
Arts, Music |
| As
a way of building appreciation
for the local area’s
rich cultural, architectural,
and historical heritage,
students write biographies
of elder relatives and community
members using personal interviews
and primary documents, and
then create a bound book
out of the collected writings
and architectural drawings
of local buildings. They
also create two original
plays based on their research
into local history and people,
including designing and building
sets and learning historically
appropriate songs. Performances
of the play for the school
and larger community integrate
visual, musical and theater
arts. Throughout the process,
students document their progress
on video. The video is edited
onto a DVD, and every child
receives a copy. |
Lydia
T. Wright School of Excellence
PS 89,
Buffalo
Erie County
Grade 2
|
“FUSION:
Imagining Imagery: MUSE
in the Schools”
MUSE
English Language Arts
Music, Dance, Spoken Word |
| Three
art forms - the oral traditions
of drumming and dance, and
spoken word – convey a single theme
from different vantage points,
all focusing on the idea of imagery
in poetry. Each of three cycles
of contact sessions with the artists
starts with one of the art forms
and adds the others, one at a
time, to build the various elements
of poetry into the students’
work. A performance piece that
combines poetry, dance and music
is presented to the school and
parents at an assembly. |
Kelley
Intemediate School
Newark
CSD
Wayne County
Grade 5
|
“Coming
to America”
Young Audiences
of Rochester, Arthur Brown
English Language Arts, Social
Studies
Theatre Arts |
| The
project provides a multi-layered
experience that allows opportunities
for students to use critical
thinking skills as they create,
perform, and respond to improvisational
theatre and make decisions
leading them to a greater
understanding of the difficulty
of the immigrant’s
life and decision-making processes.
Each student researches and takes
on an immigrant identity through
writing letters, planning the
voyage, simulating the trip in
steerage in a sensory “environment
room,” and going through
an Ellis Island-type processing.
Writing projects in different
formats along the way lead students
through reflection on their experiences.
Students develop an understanding
that Americans have diverse backgrounds,
group identities, and beliefs. |
Lockport
HS
Lockport City SD
Niagara County
Grades 9-12
|
“Communicate
with Songs, Technology
and Music Project”
Young Audiences of WNY, Kevin
Huber and Bart Dentino
English Language Arts, Social
Studies
Music, Media Arts |
| Students
explore the role of music historically
and in contemporary life as a
way to record and preserve history
and to communicate feelings. Students
write lyrics based on contemporary
events. They learn how to create
sounds on the computer and set
their words to music that helps
convey the meaning of the lyrics.
After visiting a recording studio,
they digitally record their pieces
and produce a CD. |
Mt.
Morris Middle School
Mt. Morris CSD
Livingston County
Grades 7-8
|
“The
Starry Messenger”
Glenn McClure
English Language Arts, Social
Studies, Technology, Foreign
Languages
Music, Media Arts, Visual Arts |
| Students
discover the history, science,
language and politics of
the story of Galileo through
his daughter’s
letters. Regular curriculum classwork
explores Galileo’s work
from different vantage points.
Students collaborate with students
in Italy to research Galileo,
and meet with the author of Galileo’s
Daughter. After working
with the composer to understand
how mathematics, science, language,
and history shape musical composition,
they explore the composer’s
work and create their own compositions. Read
more about this project.
|
Martin
B. Anderson School #1
Rochester CSD
Monroe County
Grade 5 |
“Moving
Through the World”
Thomas Warfield
M.J. Iuppa
English Language Arts, Social
Studies
Dance, Visual Arts |
| For
nearly 25 years, School #1
has been the home of the
district’s
program for the Deaf and Hard
of Hearing, creating an environment
that emphasizes visual and
kinesthetic instruction that
has benefited both Deaf/HH
and hearing children. This
project uses visual and kinesthetic
methods, integrating arts
(dance, music, visual art)
and multi-sensory techniques
to help students cultivate
an awareness of their own
personal geography (Where
do I fit in the world?) and
a language in which to express
this (How do I feel about
that?). |
Rondout
Valley HS
Rondout Valley
CSD
Ulster County
Grade 9 |
“Digital
Imaging as a Key Tool for
Interdisciplinary Learning"
Linda Law
English Language Arts, Social
Studies, Math, Biology, Technology
Visual Arts, Media Arts |
| RVHS
already uses a team approach
to develop thematic units
that demonstrate the connections
among all the curricula.
In this project, students
create visual explorations
of these themes via digital
photography, computer graphics,
animation, digital storytelling,
and video, and become self-directed
in a process of creative
visual learning. Disciplines
include Art, ELA, Math, Social
Studies, and Science
& Technology. Students apply
technologies they are already
using outside of school to expand
the ability to express themselves
creatively, and to build skills
with practical application for
life-long learning. A project
page on the district’s website
showcases the students’
work. |
The
Heritage School
Region 9
New York County
Grade 12 |
“Theatre
of Government”
Working Playground, Inc.,
Dan Schachner
Social Studies
Theatre Arts |
| Students
create an original play based
upon historical and current
issues relating to the constitution.
They research topics, create
reports, write scenes, speeches,
monologs, poems and music,
and compile a theater piece
which looks critically at
the constitution and its
relevance to our everyday
lives. A local café provides
a venue for monthly work-in-progress
performances, exhibitions,
and art forums, helping students
connect with local artists
and the community. Read
more about this
project. |
Booker
T. Washington MS 54
District 3
New York County
Grade 6 |
“Musical
Autobiographies”
Eos Orchestra, Philip Wharton
English Language Arts, Social
Studies
Music, Media Arts |
| Students
write autobiographies and
compose music to accompany
their stories, videotaping
the process and the final
products. Using percussion
instruments, they explore
the emotions and rhythms
of their stories and use
their musical creations to
influence and revise their
writings. By writing and
composing simultaneously,
students explore how music
can become an alternate way
of communicating their stories.
They perform their compositions
for their peers, parents,
and the video camera while
a fellow student reads the
performer’s story. |
Greenbush
Academy
Questar III BOCES
Rensselaer County
Ungraded; entire school |
“Integrating
Creative Arts and Technology
in the Special Education
Curriculum”
eba, Inc., Deb Rutledge and Jason
Martin
English Language Arts, Health
and Safety, Character Ed
Dance, Theatre Arts, Media Arts |
| The
project builds on previous experiences
with the use of dance, theatre,
and video technology to address
multiple intelligences and diverse
learning styles through creative
processes for emotionally disturbed/developmentally
delayed students. All students
in this small school receive one
dance, one theatre, and one video
workshop in each of the first
four weeks. The second four weeks
are used to develop a video as
a way to work on English Language
Arts and social and character
development skills. |
PS
79 w/ MS 223 and IS 224
District 75 and Region 9
New York County
Grade 9-12 |
“Making
Curricula Connections through
I-Movie-Making”
InCollaboration, Inc./ Readers
Theatre Workshop
English Language Arts
Theatre Arts, Media Arts |
| ESL
and special education students
create short video dramatizations
that reflect Latino culture and
issues facing young people with
the i-movie Apple computer program.
Students receive instruction in
i-movie, theatre technique and
script writing and go through
the processes of scripting, re-writing,
acting, storyboarding, videotaping,
and editing. Goals include improving
communications and social skills
through theatre arts, improving
literacy through script writing,
increasing student interest in
staying in school, and making
the connection between school
work and career opportunities.
|
The
Daytop Preparatory School
private
Dutchess County
Grade 9-12 |
“Macbeth
by William Shakesperare”
The CENTER for Performing Arts
at Rhinebeck, Nancy Sans and Kurt
Pragman
English Language Arts, Social
Studies
Theatre Arts |
| To
improve language and reading skills
and promote creative thinking,
problem solving, self-esteem,
group cohesion, and cooperative
learning, students read, discuss,
edit, rewrite (interweaving street
vernacular with the language of
Shakespeare), audition, rehearse,
design, and publicly perform Macbeth.
The project is designed to be
almost entirely student-driven.
Throughout the project students
work with a primary classroom
teacher and receive mentoring
and support from a group of teaching
artists including a theatre technician,
a theatre director, and a videographer.
This is the fourth Shakespeare
production for Daytop students.
|
New
York City Museum School
Region 9
New York County
Grade 12 |
“The
Art of Sailing”
South Street Seaport Museum, Tim
Hayduk
Social Studies, Math, Physics,
Technology
Visual Art |
| Visual
arts skills and concepts
are applied to math, physics,
and maritime history as students
understand how visual arts,
science, and humanities converge
in boat design, cartography,
navigation, and sailing.
Twelfth grade students explore
principles of physics such
as buoyancy and Bernoulli’s
principle of lift, and tools
like block and tackle systems,
the compass, and shipboard
clocks. They research the
history of navigation and
mapmaking and the evolution
of ship design and style.
Under the guidance of an
architect, students develop
skills in drawing, designing,
and mapping. Students serve
as crew on six sails on Museum
fleet vessels, using navigation
tools, tying knots, and practicing
harbor etiquette, and also
take advantage of on-board
reflection time to write
or draw in journals. The
project culminates in a final
onboard project and public
presentations. See
photos from this project.
|
PS
811 M-Bellevue
District 75
New York County
Grades 9-12
|
“Urban
Word and Bellevue Workshop”
Urban Word NYC, Regie Cabico and
Jamila Lyiscott
English Language Arts
Creative Writing, Performance
Arts |
| Students
at Bellevue HS are special-needs
students with significant
problems functioning at grade
level for ELA. Working in
a Balanced Literacy classroom
structure, TA’s
and classroom teachers will improve
students’ writing and performing
skills utilizing the power and
appeal of spoken word poetry.
Students actively listen to various
texts and show comprehension
through creative writing and
performance. The project culminates
in a final performance and a
project anthology. |
