An Inclusive Early Childhood
Development Program
Using Start with the Arts™
As a resource guide, Start with the Arts™ will work with many different teaching styles and in many different learning environments. It is helpful for all users to understand the possibilities that Start with the Arts™ has to offer and to conduct activities in a way that respects the integrity of the lessons and the educational objectives. Following are some ideas for getting the most from the resource and effectively incorporating Start with the Arts™ into the early childhood curriculum.
Review this entire resource, noting all its features. Review the Family Letters and Arts Boxes found in this introductory section, plus the individual lessons organized by arts domain within each of the four themes. Also note the appendices: Teaching Tips (a list of ways to make the learning environment more inclusive), Adaptations for Including All Children. Resource List (including a list of books about children with disabilities), and a comprehensive bibliography that includes all the books mentioned in the lessons.
Select one of the lessons to review. Notice its organization.
All Start with the Arts™ lessons have the same format. Each one includes:
Lesson Title
Learning Objectives
A list of instructional objectives for childrenMaterials
A list of items needed for the lesson’s activitiesPreparation
Things to do before presenting the lesson
Including All Children
Children Ideas for modifying the room arrangement, adapting the materials, and/or adjusting teaching strategies so that children of all abilities can successfully participate
Read with Me
A list of suggested children’s literature related to the theme of the lesson
Key Vocabulary
A list of key words found in the lesson that are important for building children’s reading and communications skills
Listen Up (not in all lessons)
A list of suggested songs and recordings that are related to the theme of the lesson
Arts Experience
The main section of the arts lesson is organized into the following subsections:
Getting Started
Planning considerations that may include adjusting the lesson for your locale or population, or rearranging the classroom spaceConnecting to Past Experience
Strategies for introducing the lesson and capturing children’s interestExpressing Through Art
Steps for creating the works of artTalking About Art
Questions to help children evaluate their experiences and express their thoughts and feelingsExtending the Experience
A list of additional activities to continue exploring the lesson’s topic and concepts; may include a related activity in another art domain
Introducing an Astrist with Disabilities (not in all lessons)
A brief biography about a visual or performing artist distinguished in his or her arts discipline, written from either a historical or current perspective. Educators can use these notes as starting points for finding out more about the artist.
Learning Log
The Learning Log is designed to provide a way for children to record their views of what they have experienced in each lesson. Educators may use the reverse side of each letter home for the Learning Log so that the drawing or writing is available to share with family members.
Another approach to the Learning Log would be for educators to retain the writings and drawings and keep them in a portfolio for each child. The Family Letters would go home after each lesson, and the Learning Log would become a record of the total experience.
A third approach would be to use the Learning Log as a do-at-home assignment to be brought back to the classroom. This would reinforce the importance of continuing the learning experience at home. Educators may use the suggested titles for the Learning Logs or choose their own.
Learn Along at Home
A letter for children to take home to their families describing the class activity suggesting ways to talk about the experience, and ideas for continuing learning at home
Tips
Throughout all lessons, at various intervals, you will find side notes, reminders, or hints to help make the lesson more effective or easier to conduct.
Make decisions about the lessons, or the parts of lessons that you will use. Incorporate them into your program. There are many ways for you to do this. Consider your own preferred teaching style and the unique learning needs and requirements of your students. Keep in mind the following:
Lessons and themes are generally not sequential, although some lessons build on one another.
For example: The dance lesson “Now We Are Cooking” can be conducted at any time; there are no prerequisites.
Although “Printing Patterns” could be conducted at any time, it works well for children to experience it after creating their portraits in the section “My Portrait” so they can add patterns to their portraits’ clothing.
A school day may include an arts lesson or activity from more than one arts domain.
For example: Children could create sound effects for the story in “Storms and Sounds,” a drama lesson, and also create drawings about a stormy night, a visual arts extension to the story.
“Breezy Chimes,” a music lesson, could be combined with “Wind Effects,” a dance and movement lesson.
Lessons are most effective when they relate to a current event.
For example: “Here Come the Clouds” would be an effective visual arts lesson for a cloudy day. Likewise, the music lesson “Rain Song” would be appropriate for a rainy day.
Lessons may be conducted in segments over several days or weeks.
For example: The drama lesson “Puppet Families” could be organized into the following segments: (1) reading books and talking about families, (2) drawing portraits of family members, (3) discussing puppets and creating a puppet that represents a family member, (4) creating a puppet stage, and (5) holding a puppet show.
Lessons may be adjusted, sometimes spontaneously, to correspond with the time available or with children’s moods.
For example: Suppose children are sleepy and distracted and, therefore, not responding to songwriting in the music lesson “Yummy in My Tummy.” Switch to simply singing, perhaps to the words in one of the children’s books selections, and come back to the songwriting at a later time.
Lessons can be organized in a learning center format.
For example: Children could experience the visual arts lesson “Favorite Seasons” and its extensions by selecting and/or rotating among the following centers: (1) reading books about different seasons, (2) drawing using a wet chalk technique, and (3) creating collages about a favorite time of the year.
Lessons could start with a large group and then move to a learning center format.
For example: For the visual arts lesson “Going Places,” the discussion about travel and sculpture could take place as a large group. Afterward, the vehicles could be constructed at learning centers. One center could be for gluing; another center could be for painting.
Adjust the selected lessons based on children’s experience with the materials. If children have never played musical instruments, or if they have rarely used modeling clay, then the lesson first needs to focus only on the new materials or the new techniques. Help children discover what a medium can do. Have them experience the range of sounds that different drums can make. Encourage them to manipulate clay in different ways so they can learn all the possibilities of the medium. Continue this exploration and build familiarity over a period of time. Real comfort does not typically occur in one session. Once children know their materials and the rules and expectations for the arts experience, then they are ready for you to add another concept, such as using the musical instruments to create moods.
Add concrete experiences to the lessons, when possible. Children’s learning will be more comprehensive and long-lasting when they have firsthand experience. If children are creating murals depicting an undersea world or dancing and moving as sea creatures, start off with the “real thing.” In one classroom, the teacher brought in real crabs and had them scurry across the floor. Have children feel the scales on the side of a fish or observe guppies darting about in a fish tank.
Naturally, bringing snow to children in a warmer climate is impossible, but helping them realize the implications of it by feeling the warmth and coarseness of woolen hats is a step toward making the experience more definitive. Remember to consider children who have allergies when making decisions about concrete experiences. Refer to the individual arts lessons for more ideas.
Plan for children with disabilities. When preparing lessons, ask the following questions:
- What is a reasonable outcome of this activity for children with disabilities? Is it the same or different from the outcomes other children will experience?
- Are modifications needed in group size or the pacing of the activity in order for children with disabilities to experience the desired outcome?
- Are modifications needed in the physical space, or are materials necessary for the activities?
- Would children benefit from a modified teaching approach, such as providing a child with cognitive disabilities an opportunity to explore, in advance, the materials that will be used in the lesson?
- What adjustments need to be made to the Learning Log and the Family Letter? Do ideas for continuing the learning at home need to include accommodations for disabilities?
Build arts and literacy resources over time. The books and materials listed in this resource are comprehensive. Getting together materials, books and recordings at the last minute may be difficult. Instead, if you are generally familiar with all the Start with the Arts™ lessons, you can build your collection at a comfortable pace. In time, you will become aware of the book and recording selections in your school or public library and can discuss possible selections to order with the librarian or media specialist. Stay alert for garage sale finds for the drama corner, the prop box, and the other Arts Boxes. Save examples and take photographs of children’s work so that you can share these with later classes.
The home and school environment, and the relationships involved with both, are critical for young children and early childhood programs. Just as educators and the learning environment expand children’s horizons, families and children bring to the classroom a cultural and ethnic heritage that enriches the context for learning.
To help foster a supportive relationship, Start with the Arts™ presents Family Letters as a valuable resource. As stated previously, each Start with the Arts™ lesson concludes with a Family Letter briefly describing the activity, presenting ideas for building on the activities, and listing related children’s books available at local libraries or bookstores. Families can keep up with children’s interpretations of the arts experience by viewing and talking about the Learning Log if it has been sent home with the Family Letter.
In addition to the letters that accompany the lessons, this section provides Family Letters to introduce the overall program and the learning for each of the four arts domains. They describe the Arts Boxes and encourage families to build a collection of arts-related materials for home learning and family enjoyment.
Refer to Teaching Tips in Appendix A for more ideas for involving families.
Children creating during the 2007 Start with the Arts Family Festival in Washington, DC.
