Feature Stories
October 2007
Moving Beyond the Bulletin Board: Producing Student Art Shows
By Tiffany Asha, M.A. in Art Education
Art Teacher
Deerpark Middle School
Austin, Texas
Art shows are the most successful way to justify any art program's existence. Even though all art teachers have a need for additional funding, the primary purpose of an art show is to demonstrate what students are creating.
There are five types of art shows in which you can participate:
- School-wide: Create an Art Department Showcase, a dedicated student gallery in an area of your school, complete with a gallery night reception.
- District-wide: Ask all of the district's art teachers to participate and display student work in a central location, such as a performing arts center or the central office for the superintendent. This display could also be judged by local artists and community members.
- Community: Network with community businesses, such as your local art supply store, coffee shop, library, or university, to display your students' work. These businesses may even give you a discount or help host an open house.
- Competitions: Encourage your students to participate in local, state, and national showcases and competitions, such as Youth Art Month.
- Virtual: Create an online gallery of your students' artwork. Enlist the help of a student who is a budding webmaster! With a colorful Web site, parents and administrators can see evidence of students' authentic experiential learning and scope-and-sequencing arc at any time. This is the most successful way to justify any art program's existence, and the need for funding, because it is always accessible.
School-Wide Art Show in Detail
We all have a bulletin board, but it's time to think outside the rectangle! Start planning your end-of-the-year art party today. Begin by selecting a week toward the end of the school year, after standardized testing is completed but before final exams start. Pick one evening during that week to have a Gallery Night for your students, their parents, and community members. Every student who takes art should select their best piece to display in the art show.
Ask student aides and volunteers to mount or mat all 2-D work. You may not have a mat cutter, but you can mount the artwork on construction paper with rubber cement. Sculpture and other 3-D items can easily be placed on bookshelves. Students should create an identification label that includes their name, the artwork's title and medium, and an artist statement. Display the artwork in the school library, office, and main hallway. Cover the walls with art! Rent portable display walls if you can. Our school's student gallery really looks like a professional gallery, which has impacted student performance. Student artists take great pride and care when they know their work is going on display for the whole school to see!
At my school, we invite another art teacher in the district to judge and ribbon the artwork. You could also ask a local artist to be a judge. A top piece is selected for each medium, as well as a Best in Show for each grade level. Every student gets a ribbon for participating. This year we have decided to team up with the rest of the Fine Arts department to transform Gallery Night into the Fine Arts Gala. So, in addition to our usual party, we will have orchestral, choir, and theatrical performances! These events are a wonderful way to celebrate every student in the art department.
We all need to advocate for our programs. There is a direct correlation between how often student work is displayed and community support received.
Visibility = Success!
Choral Programming
By Emily Crocker
Choral Director and Composer
Vice President of Choral Publication, Hal Leonard Corporation
Founder and Artistic Director of the Milwaukee Children's Choir
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
At 6:15 on a Tuesday evening, the Wood Creek Middle School choir is getting ready for its fall concert. In the gymnasium, choir risers stand incongruously beneath the basketball goal and the upright piano is wheeled across the polished floor. Sixth graders giggle as they run to the drinking fountain and the restroom, wave at their parents, and excitedly ask their teacher dozens of questions. Seventh and eighth graders chatter, look bored, and playfully flirt with each other. Families file in and take their places in the bleachers while cell phones ring and babies cry. Is this an exercise in frustration? Or is it the culmination of the educational process? How can educators make this experience more rewarding for students, families, and teachers?
Glencoe's choral music series Experiencing Choral Music is founded on the philosophy that a concert performance is the end result of a sound educational process. Students are motivated by materials and concepts that are connected to their own lives and interests, and children learn best when they are active participants in learning.
One technique to motivate students and enrich the performance is selecting a theme for the concert. This theme should not be too limiting and should allow for a variety of repertoire that spans musical eras and genres. Consider these themes:
- Baroque and Beyond (focuses on Baroque music, but allows for other selections as well)
- Peace, Freedom, and Justice (especially good for a concert that highlights spirituals)
- Celebrating Life (a broad topic that allows for a variety of music)
- In Praise of Music (a good choice to promote music advocacy)
- Earth, Sea, and Sky (texts relate to nature and can correlate with poetry, visual arts, and other curricular areas)
- Holiday Gifts (a good December theme that encompasses all winter holidays)
The following is a sample middle school choral program drawn from Experiencing Choral Music on the theme "Explore, Dream, Discover."
Grade 6 Choir
- "Yonder Come Day" (Georgia Sea Islands spiritual; arr. Judith Cook Tucker; ECM Beginning Unison 2-Part/3-Part, p. 238)
- An American Folk Song Spectacular! (American folk songs, including "The Red River Valley," "The Old Chisholm Trail," "Oh! Susanna," and "Skip To My Lou;" arr. John Leavitt; ECM Beginning Unison 2-Part/3-Part, p. 128)
Grades 7-8 Girls Choir
- "Hine ma tov" (Hebrew folk song; arr. Henry Leck; ECM Beginning Unison 2-Part/3-Part, p. 168)
- "En Roulant Ma Boule" (French-Canadian game song; arr. Cristi Cary Miller; ECM Intermediate Treble, p. 22)
Grades 7-8 Boys Choir
- "Codfish Shanty" (traditional sea chantey; arr. Vijay Singh; ECM Intermediate Tenor/Bass, p. 26)
- "Guantanamera" (Cuban folk song; arr. John Higgins; ECM Intermediate Tenor/Bass, p. 152)
Grade 8 Mixed Choir
- "Bound for the Rio Grande" (American sea chantey; arr. Emily Crocker; ECM Intermediate Mixed, p. 136)
- "The Wells Fargo Wagon" (comp. Meredith Willson; arr. Roger Emerson; ECM Intermediate Mixed, p. 227) Combined Choirs
- "America the Beautiful" (comp. Samuel A. Ward; arr. Joyce Eilers; ECM Intermediate Mixed, p. 26)
To further enrich the learning experience, work with fellow teachers in the areas of literature, visual arts, dance, and theatre to incorporate cross-curricular connections. Students may write or gather poetry on the selected theme to create a spoken narration to deliver between songs. Students can also create or select artwork that correlates with the music to project onto a screen, or they can create artwork for the program cover. Students may also create a dance for one or more of the songs, or perform a short dramatic scene that illustrates the music in some way.
These activities greatly assist in generating energy and enthusiasm for choral music, thus leading to students' creative, personal, and social growth. Plus, they're a lot of fun!
