Help Us Make Connections!

As an elementary art teacher in a public school, I am constantly searching for new ways to teach concepts, "grab" my students' attention, and reinforce regular classroom learning. During the 2006-2007 school year, I began using books to introduce some of my kindergarten art lessons. The students enjoyed being read to and looking at book illustrations. In teaching kindergarten art this year, I would like to incorporate even more books into my lessons. I want to help my students make connections between the visual arts and literacy. After researching appropriate kindergarten themes, I have chosen nine units of study. I would like to be able to purchase 24 books which focus on the following topics of study for my kindergarten art students: shapes, apples, circus, birds, bugs/insects, transportation, seasons, Dr. Seuss, and plants/flowers. The books will be shared with all kindergarten classes each school year. Even though the school has a library, I sometimes have difficulty finding appropriate books to use with my kindergarten students or the books I need will be checked out at the time I need to use them. By having copies of these books in my art classroom, I will have access to them any time I need them. Here is an example of one of my kindergarten units: I have requested several books about birds. During this unit, students will learn to draw birds using basic shapes. Students will create a paper owl from constructions paper--cutting and tearing shapes. Last, students will create a clay owl from a slab(flat sheet) of clay, learning how to manipulate the sheet of clay with their hands and create textures with common objects such as popsicle sticks. I think literature is a powerful tool to use in the art classroom. Through literature, my students will begin to see connections between art, literature, and the world around them. Thank you for reading my proposal. I hope you will find it to be a project worthy of funding.