By Sam Green, Schools Program Manager
What is the best way to spend a Wednesday morning? Visiting Curtis Bay Elementary to see amazing arts educator, Ms. Hofmann in action! Ms. Hofmann invited me to join her class as she taught the arts integrated lesson she planned during our Summer Arts Integration Workshop this past August. As a former arts educator myself, I love to take any chance I can to visit and support the educators we get to work with!
Immediately as you enter Curtis Bay, it is clear that this is a school full of artists! On my walk to the art room I got to admire students’ projects proudly displayed down the hallways:
Excitingly, GAL educator Ms. Somogyi was able to join Ms. Hofmann to co-teach today’s lesson with 3rd grade, helping to further strengthen the cross curricular connections. This is another thing I love about visiting Curtis Bay–it is so clear how much care and intention staff put into creating a supportive and collaborative community for students, families, and staff.
The lesson began with a quick art warm up, sketching cookies in their sketchbooks, to help students warm up and transition into class. After this, students read the objective for the day:
I can create realistic clay cookies using texture, shape, and form while connecting the story The Doorbell Rang to mathematical division, equal sharing, and kindness.
With this objective in mind, students read “The Doorbell Rang” by Pat Hutchins. Students reflected on the lesson of the story and made connections between how dividing the cookies equally in the book allowed all the characters to share with each other.
After a quick movement break, students looked at the work of Claes Oldenburg, another artist inspired by food, and talked about the art elements of shape, form, and texture to help them start to sculpt their own cookies.
Now with 3 handmade art cookies each, students put on their mathematician hats to think through how they could divide their cookies equally among the people at their table. Ms. Somogyi wrapped up the day’s lesson by having table groups share what strategies students used to divide their cookies equally.
Thank you so much to Ms. Hofmann, Ms. Somogyi and the Curtis Bay community for such a great morning!
Something I love about my job at Arts Every Day is that it allows me opportunities to see some of the many great things happening in City Schools every day–our city is full of creative, thoughtful educators working hard to make meaningful learning happen for students!