Fifth Grade Smithtown Elementary Student, Steven, was Awarded for His Design for the Suffolk County Reading Council Art Cover Contest for Elementary School Students
2011
Suffolk Reading Council (S.R.C.)
Source: http://www.suffolkreadingcouncil.org
Who We Are
Founded in 1956, Suffolk Reading Council is an organization dedicated to the advancement of universal literacy throughout our community. Having worked alongside various organizations to help promote literacy, we are presently working with the Long Island Education Opportunity Council, (LIEOC) where underprivileged single parents are given the opportunity to further their education. LIEOC is SUNY affiliated. Suffolk Reading Council provides literature for both the children and the parents. We also work with participating schools of Suffolk County to promote literacy and artistic expression: Honor School Program, the Creative Writing Contest, Art Cover Contest, and the Suffolk County Annual Awards Celebration. Each year, Suffolk Reading Council also provides a diversified program for educators (professional development) that introduces innovative materials and current teaching practices designed to help students achieve and hopefully surpass the New York State Learning Standards. SRC is an official branch of the NYS Reading Association & the International Reading Association.
Our Mission Statement
Suffolk Reading Council's mission is to help promote and advance literacy throughout our community. We believe our reading council should inspire all those living within our communities of Suffolk County to become lifelong learners and to develop the knowledge and awareness required to achieve their goals. Suffolk Reading Council joins with our communities, educators, schools, students, parents, organizations, community businesses, and of course our members to assist those living in Suffolk County in obtaining the literacy skills necessary to become independent, self-sufficient, resourceful, responsible, expressive, ethical citizens who succeed and contribute responsibly in our evvolving society. Our aim/mission is to provide a diverse education that is current and applicable, literacy programs that aid those less fortunate, and various initiatives that inspire profound thought and self expression through literature and art, all in a safe, comfortable environment that promotes self-discipline, empathy, motivation and excellence in learning.
Who We Are
Founded in 1956, Suffolk Reading Council is an organization dedicated to the advancement of universal literacy throughout our community. Having worked alongside various organizations to help promote literacy, we are presently working with the Long Island Education Opportunity Council, (LIEOC) where underprivileged single parents are given the opportunity to further their education. LIEOC is SUNY affiliated. Suffolk Reading Council provides literature for both the children and the parents. We also work with participating schools of Suffolk County to promote literacy and artistic expression: Honor School Program, the Creative Writing Contest, Art Cover Contest, and the Suffolk County Annual Awards Celebration. Each year, Suffolk Reading Council also provides a diversified program for educators (professional development) that introduces innovative materials and current teaching practices designed to help students achieve and hopefully surpass the New York State Learning Standards. SRC is an official branch of the NYS Reading Association & the International Reading Association.
Our Mission Statement
Suffolk Reading Council's mission is to help promote and advance literacy throughout our community. We believe our reading council should inspire all those living within our communities of Suffolk County to become lifelong learners and to develop the knowledge and awareness required to achieve their goals. Suffolk Reading Council joins with our communities, educators, schools, students, parents, organizations, community businesses, and of course our members to assist those living in Suffolk County in obtaining the literacy skills necessary to become independent, self-sufficient, resourceful, responsible, expressive, ethical citizens who succeed and contribute responsibly in our evvolving society. Our aim/mission is to provide a diverse education that is current and applicable, literacy programs that aid those less fortunate, and various initiatives that inspire profound thought and self expression through literature and art, all in a safe, comfortable environment that promotes self-discipline, empathy, motivation and excellence in learning.
Art and Literacy
Source:
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/education/school-educator-programs/learning-through-art/research-studies/teaching-literacy-through-art
http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/education/school-educator-programs/learning-through-art/research-studies/teaching-literacy-through-art
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TEACHING LITERACY THROUGH ART
Guggenheim Program: Learning through Art (LTA) In 2003, Learning Through Art was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to examine the impact of the Guggenheim's pioneering program, Learning Through Art, on third grade students' ability to describe and interpret art, and to apply these skills to understanding written text. The study was conducted in partnership with Randi Korn and Associates from 2003–06. The primary question that guided this study was: Does looking at and making art teach students how to be better critical thinkers? Methodology The study focused on a sample of over 500 students from four schools in New York City. Two of the schools served as the control group and did not receive LTA programming and two of the schools were the treatment students who received LTA programming. Professional evaluators conducted observations, case studies of students, rubric-based interviews, and looked at student scores on the New York Citywide ELA test. Primary findings were determined by a rubric-based interview that captured student responses to both works of art and literature excerpts. Findings The study found that LTA helps students become better learners and thinkers, and findings indicate that those who participated in the program performed better in all six categories of the following literacy and critical-thinking skills
In June of 2007, former Guggenheim Senior Education Manager Rebecca Shulman Herz spoke about the Teaching Literacy Through Art research findings as a participant in the Smithsonian’s G. Brown Goode Education Lecture Series.Watch the web cast of her presentation, “Fostering Critical Thinking in Schools and Museums.” ART OF PROBLEM SOLVING In 2006, Learning Through Art was awarded an AEMDD grant from the United States Department of Education to study the links between participation in LTA and the development of problem-solving skills among fifth-grade students. The study was conducted in partnership with Randi Korn and Associates in 2006–10. The primary goals for the study were to identify skills associated with problem solving in the arts, to identify the habits and practices of teaching artists that encourage the development of problem-solving abilities in their students, and to measure the extent to which LTA enhanced students’ problem-solving abilities. Methodology The skills of the students and habits of the teaching artists were identified by an advisory team of education, psychology, and arts specialists over the course of a year spent examining research from the field, observing LTA residencies, and testing out preliminary rubrics of the skills. The study focused on a sample size of approximately 400 fifth-grade students in six New York City public schools. Nine classrooms in three schools served as a control group and did not receive LTA, and nine classrooms in three schools served as a treatment group and did receive LTA. Students were measured through observations, interviews, and a culminating activity in which they “designed a chair” using a variety of materials. Students were scored on a rubric based on six problem-solving areas: imagining, experimentation, flexibility, resource recognition, connection of ends and aims, and self-reflection. Teaching artists were measured through observations and were scored based on the degree to which they exhibited teaching practices that supported four areas: using multiple approaches, seeing mistakes as opportunities, following curiosity, and making deliberate choices. Findings The study found that students who participated in LTA exhibited more sophisticated problem-solving abilities in three out of the six areas measured:
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Students participating in the Guggenheim's Learning Through Arts program P.S. 8, New York City
Photo Credit: Enid Alvarez FACILITATING CREATIVITY STUDY
In the spring of 2007, Dr. Michael Hanchett Hanson and his students in the Master’s concentration in Creativity and Cognition at Columbia Teachers College completed a study of the ways in which LTA teaching artists and classroom teachers encourage creativity among participating students. In addition to observing the ways that art projects, teaching styles, and school contexts contribute to creativity in LTA, the study was designed to help develop tools for professional development and recommendations for future, more in-depth studies of creativity. Methodology Four LTA residencies containing a range of teaching styles and projects were selected for the study. The research team conducted structured classroom observations, pre- and post-interviews, and analysis of student artwork over the course of the residencies. A range of criteria were developed to mark and track teaching artists’ behaviors, use of language and questions, use of physical space, and other aspects of the LTA program hypothesized to promote creative development. Findings The research team compiled the analysis, observations, and interviews to determine where there was consensus of the best creativity-focused practices of the LTA program. Teaching artists were found to consistently use the following methods in their practice:
Source: Excerpt from NAEA
Kathy Danko-McGhee and Ruslan Slutsky present a compelling look at the link between children's artwork and literacy development in this easy-to-read, indispensable primer for parents and educators alike. By providing a range of art experiences and alternative ways to teach children critical thinking and visual perception skills, Danko-McGhee and Slutsky paint a vivid picture of the role that the visual arts play in early childhood development. The two examine the need for new thinking and a departure from traditional literacy exercises: "It is clear that a pedagogical shift must take place in our homes and schools if we are to meet the literacy needs of today's young learners. This requires thinking 'out of the box' and coming up with new ways to deal with an old problem." The Impact of Early Art Experiences on Literacy Development lays the foundation for rethinking the way that we engage young children in early literacy learning. 
Source: Excerpt from Amazon Books
Using Art to Teach Reading Comprehension Strategies: Lesson Plans for Teachers will provide both classroom and art teachers with an overview of six different reading strategies and integrated reading and art lessons that they can implement in their own classrooms and schools. Addressing specific National Visual Art Standards, Common Core Standards for Reading, and National Reading Standards, this book is designed so that classroom and art teachers work either in collaboration in schools where there are visual arts teachers, or independently if school staff does not include a visual arts instructor. This teacher friendly, easy-to-use book offers background information on the strategies and lessons that allow teachers to copy student materials and begin implementing this approach in their classrooms right away. Art can be a critical tool in helping students’ develop and refine reading strategies. When reading strategies are presented in the context of art first, the students are better able to incorporate these tools into their reading. Stuart and Klein prove that art provides the scaffolding children need to move from a text-free environment to a text environment. |
