The Arts

 Introduction

The Arts explore, challenge, affirm, and celebrate unique artistic expressions of self, community, and culture. Learning in, through and about the Arts stimulates creative action and response by engaging and connecting, thinking, imagination, senses, and feelings. By participating in the Arts, students’ personal well being is enhanced.

At Carlton School we value every aspect of learning and exploration, and provide students with opportunities that enable them to have an understanding of the Arts and the confidence to express themselves creatively. The Arts contribute to the development of the whole person.

Delivering the Arts Programme:

Each discipline is broken down in to contexts through which the strand objectives are delivered. Planning shows the level and strand objectives most appropriate to the level being taught.

• Visual Art has a twelve folder resource in each class to support staff with planning and preparation.
• Music is supported with the Music resource ‘Music Room’ which enables Teachers to teach a complete cross section of music with appreciation and participation as the focus.
• The major resources to support the Dance programme are the MOE resource and Spectrum.
• Drama is delivered through a variety of resources including MOE School Journals and the Spectrum programme.

Outside providers are used to support teaching, motivate, stimulate and expose students to a broader appreciation of the Arts.

Providers used regularly are:-

• Strike Percussion Group
• Graham Braddock visiting Artist
• Y WE Act, Y WE Dance.
• Sergeant Art Gallery
• Beth and Brian Stewart: Ballroom dance teachers.

Opportunities are always sought for other visiting Artists with two a term being the goal.

Students are given opportunities to show case their talents by participating in:-

• The Talent Quest
• The Choir
• Primary school Visual Arts exhibitions
• School assembly items
• Public displays
• School spirit days
• School wide weekly singing.

Key Competencies and the Arts

The Arts provide a rich and meaningful context for the development of the five Key Competencies. They make a unique contribution to meaning making and the development of Arts thinking.

Thinking: Enables students to synthesise cognitive, emotive and sensory forms of thinking. The Arts enable students to think and reflect in their response to the world and the creation of alternative or imagined worlds of sound, movement or image.

Managing Self: Students learn patterns of management as they strive to complete an artistic work. Our students are supported to develop a ‘can-do’ attitude and to know they are capable. They need to be dedicated and focused on a time based activity.

Relating to others: The Arts provide students with opportunities to learn in more relaxed, and accepting environments which are reciprocal.

Using Language, Symbols, and Texts: The Arts are meaning making processes. Students create meaning and interpret the meaning of others.

Participating and Contributing: The teacher and students are engaged in the co creation of the arts. The Arts enable students not to be spectators but creators and participants. Students are able to gain an understanding of their potential to be a member of many different communities.

Learning Areas and the Arts

To provide real contexts and connections for learning in the Arts opportunities for integration with the other learning areas is sought. Term and weekly planning will show the links being made.

Some examples are:-

• Reading –reading about famous performers, reading plays, reading lyrics
• Writing - writing plays, recording assessments, journaling, story boards
• Speaking - performing plays, oratory, story telling
• Numeracy – timing musical beat, geometric patterns, tessellation
• Social Sciences – role play, cooperating as groups, cultural expression through the Arts
• Science – dioramas/murals/collages depicting natural world phenomena, study of sound waves, properties of matter (paint, crayon, clay etc)
• Technology – methods of recording performances and art works, production and process
• Health & P.E. – how the human body moves, portraiture, pulse (beat)
• Learning Languages – sign language related to mime

Assessment and Evaluation

The purpose of assessment and evaluation of the Arts is for students to be able to demonstrate the understanding, practical knowledge and ideas they have, and the interpretations they have made, in the four disciplines.

Appropriate forms of assessment are:

1. Work samples
2. Self assessment against a set of agreed upon criteria
3. Peer assessment against a set of agreed upon criteria
4. Teacher observation
5. Journaling
6. Performance

Forms of recording assessment tasks can include:

• digital photos of work samples
• video record of performance
• student portfolio entries
• self/peer assessment sheets
• Journaling –e.g. publish a record of a procedure (how to….)
• sound recording