STEM should be STEAM

I just want to put this out there, in hope to continue the conversation.  I have been saying it for over a year now, or maybe even two.  Every educator knows what STEM stands for (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).  The focus in the current educational trend has been concentrated on STEM.  I firmly believe this should be STEAM (Science, Tech., Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics).
See my prior post as to "Why" this is a must.

I'll let you mull it over :)

creatively your's,
Jessie

Why is Art Important?

My first week of student teaching was one ginormous "SNOW DAY!" (all week!).  I performed well; did everything the other teachers did: got the call and went back to bed, lol!

Now, I finally started.  and I am LOVING it!  I'm exhausted. Completely and utterly drained by the end of the day. But, it's a satisfied drain :)

I believe in helping the students make connections to their learning.  The number one question I get is: Why is Art important?
Well…. The answer is SO in depth, I thought, why not make that an activity!

I researched for various answers, and found this information on the NAEA website.  It said it all!  BUT, it said it in a "grown-up/teacher" jargon.  I don't believe in "dumbing" anything down, ever.  I always use the most descriptive word I can think of, and then use synonyms until they understand, or simply say "time to get the dictionary."

Here was my resulting handout:

For this lesson, I put the students into 5 groups.  Within the group they decide if they will read "round-robin" or pick a reader.  As the groups read, each student would circle the words they did not know (let them know ahead of time that the document contains many words that they will not know, and that's okay!).

Next, have each group choose 2 of the reasonings, with one containing at least one word they do not know.

Have a large group discussion, writing the words on the board, sharing each word.

Back within their groups, have them pick one reasoning and write a written explanation of it and give one example.

Finally, have each group share their explanation/example (note: while they are picking a reasoning, make sure they are not picking the same ones).

This is a great way for students to make connections with Art, while learning some new vocab. :)   So many students are told that Art isn't really important.  Help them understand "why?"





                                                                                                              Keep Creating and Inspiring!

                                -Jessie