It's All Connected

My colleague Rebecca Martin and I recently presented, “Learning through Art: Making Connections between Art and Social Studies” at a regional service center in Texas. This was a workshop specifically designed for both elementary and middle school art and social studies teachers. My co-presenter, also an art educator, shares my commitment to presenting meaningful, engaging connections between the disciplines that presented natural and logical connections.

We decided which social studies concepts we would address, such as heritage (a mandated variety of celebrations and observances), culture (understanding how significant individuals, events, and issues shaped our state), and the land (understanding the location and characteristics of places and regions of our state), and what artworks we would use.

How did we plan the agenda for this professional development workshop? We started by looking at state-determined educational objectives for both subject areas to find concepts that presented natural and logical connections. Then we decided which social studies concepts we would address, such as heritage (a mandated variety of celebrations and observances), culture (understanding how significant individuals, events, and issues shaped our state), and the land (understanding the location and characteristics of places and regions in our state), and what artworks we would use.

These social studies objectives connected well with art objectives (demonstrating an understanding of art history and culture; developing respect for the traditions and contributions of diverse cultures; comparing and contrasting relationships that exist between a society’s art and its music, literature, and architecture).

Though these are specific to Texas, every state has the same kind of objectives that are required and available so it is easy to check your own.

Some art teachers may not always realize that they are already making natural connections between subjects, and they may not understand the value of capitalizing on that with both students and classroom teachers. Classroom teachers may not realize these strong connections exist and that the use of artworks with their classes can promote engagement and discovery, especially for students who are visual learners.

If art and classroom teachers work together, it will be beneficial for all of their students.

Interdisciplinary connections make sense. At this time, content standard six in the current national visual arts standards is “Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.” The new national arts standards, in development by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), have not been completed, but I am eager to see and use them. You can check on their progress at nccas.wikispaces.com.

Photo: I'm at Roxanne Swentzell's Tower Gallery just outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, during one of our SchoolArts/CRIZMAC seminars. In Native American culture, all concepts are connected; art is not separate.