Building a Foundation
In order to create a healthy learning environment for children, specific emphasis should be placed on the analysis of learning techniques and communication purposes that teachers observe (Blecher and Jafee 3). In particular, educators should pay specific attention to the development of a sense of belonging among children. It is also important to create a program that encourages diversity issues and produces efficient ways of communication.
Employing collaborative work, ongoing dialogues, and shared understanding contribute to a better understanding of what techniques should be used to invite children to active learning. Aside from teaching and learning techniques, parents’ engagement is another important dimension that should be integrated to facilitate the academic process.
Poetry Immersion
The chapter introduces the power of poetry in the curriculum, as well as its functional purposes. The author asserts that children can communicate their opinions and beliefs by making up verses. Further, the chapter focuses on the importance of reading the poem aloud because it contributes positively to enlarging imagination and developing fluent speech (Blecher and Jafee 46). The beauty of poetic language also improves the visual and auditory memories of childhood. Moreover, it provides greater perspectives in mastering oral reading. While reading the poetry in classes, children can have a brilliant opportunity to set out on a journey to personal thoughts and feelings through the immersion process. In such a way, they can express their unique outlooks on certain concepts and ideas.
Art as a Visual Response
Developing visual memory is an important condition for children to create a pictorial representation of their thoughts. Moreover, it is an important technique through which it is possible to render various meanings and interpretations of a certain thought. Thus, drawing helps children to reflect on their beliefs and reproduce their visual experiences. Using sketchbooks is another important technique that students use to make interesting discoveries.
Teachers also have the possibility of tracing students’ discovery to make conclusions about students’ growth and development. Moreover, academic learning through drawing involves pictures as visual responses to the ideas that they need to explain.
Introduction to Art and Music Immersion Workshops
Engaging children in art creates multiple opportunities for discovering and redefining children’s individualities. Art, therefore, should be integrated into a learning process for children to advance the tools through which they can operate in an academic environment (Blecher and Jafee 72). What is more important is that various workshops, including music, painting, or poetry, meet the purpose of diversity issues and accept an individual-centered approach to learning. As creative activities positively influence the writing and reading skills of children, academic skills can also improve students’ creative thinking as well. Specifically, integrating both intellectual and creative dimension is a step forward to an advanced academic curriculum.
Artist Workshop
Engaging art worship into an educational process can widen children’s opportunities for personal growth and development. For instance, the instructors encourage children to try on various artistic styles while painting to find the one which fits their capabilities and preferences. Thus, integrating artistic influences into reading, writing, and mathematics allows children to apply a wider variety of tools to resolve a specific academic issue.
Science integration is also an interesting dimension because two opposing spheres interact to create efficient approaches to learning and development. At the end of the chapter, the author emphasizes that combining various learning styles can make it easy for children to adapt to new learning environments.
Works Cited
Blecher, Sharon, and Kathy Jaffee. Weaving in the Arts: Widening the Learning Circle. US: Heinemann, 1998. Print.