Incorporating Incorporating Aesthetics into Aesthetics into

Literacy LessonsLiteracy Lessons

Ashley Porter Ashley Porter

Literacy and LearningLiteracy and Learning

What does the word What does the word aesthetics mean?aesthetics mean?

Aesthetics can be defined as the Aesthetics can be defined as the ability to perceive and respond to ability to perceive and respond to beauty through our senses.beauty through our senses.

In the classroom this means creating In the classroom this means creating and responding to beauty through and responding to beauty through audible, visual, tactile, and audible, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic means. kinesthetic means.

Aesthetic use in the Aesthetic use in the classroomclassroom

Some of the Some of the aesthetic tools aesthetic tools used in the used in the classroom classroom environment environment include: include:

1. Drama1. Drama

2. Visual arts2. Visual arts

3. Media resources3. Media resources

4. Learning centers4. Learning centers

The effects of aesthetic The effects of aesthetic use use

By using techniques such as drama, visual By using techniques such as drama, visual art, music, and other hands-on activities, art, music, and other hands-on activities, students will derive personal meaning and students will derive personal meaning and experience from their literacy lessonsexperience from their literacy lessons

The use of these activities will stretch The use of these activities will stretch students and cause them to think on a new students and cause them to think on a new levellevel

By being actively involved student interest By being actively involved student interest and achievement will riseand achievement will rise

Students will have a new intrinsic Students will have a new intrinsic motivation for learning and for their motivation for learning and for their personal use of literacypersonal use of literacy

The use of drama in The use of drama in literacyliteracy

Drama is one of the Drama is one of the most affective tools in most affective tools in literacy developmentliteracy development

Drama actively involves Drama actively involves children in the learning children in the learning experience causing experience causing them to be more them to be more interested in the interested in the subject at handsubject at hand

Drama incorporates Drama incorporates numerous learning numerous learning styles including visual, styles including visual, aural, and kinesthetic aural, and kinesthetic meansmeans

Drama and verbal Drama and verbal developmentdevelopment

When students are involved in drama When students are involved in drama activities they are putting into practice activities they are putting into practice the vocabulary and literary parts learned the vocabulary and literary parts learned from literaturefrom literature

By publicly speaking and acting, students By publicly speaking and acting, students develop verbal fluency and therefore, develop verbal fluency and therefore, confidence in reading abilityconfidence in reading ability

Drama is a non-threatening way for Drama is a non-threatening way for students to exercise vocabulary, word students to exercise vocabulary, word order, and phrasingorder, and phrasing

Drama and life Drama and life connectionsconnections

Drama creates real-life connections Drama creates real-life connections between students and textbetween students and text

If literature “comes to life” for students If literature “comes to life” for students they will be more interested and have a they will be more interested and have a higher level of achievementhigher level of achievement

By hearing and seeing the vocabulary By hearing and seeing the vocabulary and literature acted out students will and literature acted out students will derive meaning and purpose from the derive meaning and purpose from the texttext

Drama also means group work which Drama also means group work which causes students to communicate, causes students to communicate, compromise, work with and learn from compromise, work with and learn from one anotherone another

Ideas for incorporating Ideas for incorporating drama into literacy lesson drama into literacy lesson

plansplans Have students act out stories that were read Have students act out stories that were read

in classin class Use passages of literature from different Use passages of literature from different

time periods and have students adapt them time periods and have students adapt them to modern day language and style, write the to modern day language and style, write the adaptations, then act them outadaptations, then act them out

Use vocabulary words to have students Use vocabulary words to have students practice speaking or acting out in different practice speaking or acting out in different tenses, styles, emphasistenses, styles, emphasis

Take a theme or lesson learned from a story Take a theme or lesson learned from a story in class and have students relate it to a in class and have students relate it to a personal experiencepersonal experience

Visual arts and literacyVisual arts and literacy The incorporation of visual arts in literacy The incorporation of visual arts in literacy

is one of the easiest ways to involve is one of the easiest ways to involve aestheticsaesthetics

For young children storybooks are full of For young children storybooks are full of visual images that help spur their interest visual images that help spur their interest and understanding of the story’s meaningand understanding of the story’s meaning

The creation of visual art enhances The creation of visual art enhances personal meaning of a piece of literaturepersonal meaning of a piece of literature

Students can create the underlying Students can create the underlying significance, feeling, and themes of significance, feeling, and themes of literature through visual artliterature through visual art

Visual literacyVisual literacy By creating a visual image of a book or By creating a visual image of a book or

literacy lesson students have a high literacy lesson students have a high chance of remembering what they readchance of remembering what they read

Visual arts can be incorporated into the Visual arts can be incorporated into the literacy of nearly all subject areas literacy of nearly all subject areas

Visual art works to provoke thought and Visual art works to provoke thought and conversation hence developing conversation hence developing vocabulary and speech skillsvocabulary and speech skills

Visual art helps students to make the Visual art helps students to make the connection between what they see in connection between what they see in every day life and what they have read every day life and what they have read or written in literacy lessonsor written in literacy lessons

Ideas for incorporating art Ideas for incorporating art into literacy lesson plansinto literacy lesson plans

Students create images Students create images from stories they have readfrom stories they have read

Connect famous works of Connect famous works of art to children’s storiesart to children’s stories

Create an abstract piece of Create an abstract piece of art depicting how a poem art depicting how a poem or story made the student or story made the student feelfeel

Have students create a Have students create a comic strip about a funny comic strip about a funny life storylife story

Media resources and Media resources and literacy literacy

Children today watch more television than Children today watch more television than ever before, however, all the effects are not ever before, however, all the effects are not negativenegative

Educational television programs have proven Educational television programs have proven to be beneficial to students’ literacy to be beneficial to students’ literacy developmentdevelopment

Incorporating television into literacy lessons Incorporating television into literacy lessons can actually improve achievement and can actually improve achievement and motivationmotivation

Students have also shown an increase interest Students have also shown an increase interest in computers and other multi-media resourcesin computers and other multi-media resources

How to incorporate media How to incorporate media into literacyinto literacy

Give students task Give students task variability in their variability in their literacy lessonsliteracy lessons

Allow students to Allow students to respond to reading respond to reading through creating through creating power point power point presentations, a presentations, a video, musical video, musical compilation, or a compilation, or a media slideshowmedia slideshow

Learning centers and Learning centers and literacyliteracy

Learning centers Learning centers help to make help to make literacy seem useful literacy seem useful and purposefuland purposeful

Centers incorporate Centers incorporate different styles and different styles and uses of literacy uses of literacy while creating an while creating an enjoyable, enjoyable, education education atmosphereatmosphere

Ideas for learning centers Ideas for learning centers and literacyand literacy

Create a center where students work Create a center where students work together to form a short story by going together to form a short story by going around a circle adding once sentence at a around a circle adding once sentence at a timetime

Have a center for vocabulary words in which Have a center for vocabulary words in which students have to play a matching game students have to play a matching game (memory) with the words and definitions(memory) with the words and definitions

Students read poems aloud to the group at Students read poems aloud to the group at that center practicing their aural skills and that center practicing their aural skills and sense of rhyme and rhythmsense of rhyme and rhythm

Have a music center where students sing Have a music center where students sing songs about the parts of speechsongs about the parts of speech