When I was young, the school day seemed to drag on and on. I went to a small school where art was not a part of the curriculum and rote memorization ruled the day. One of the most important roles I think art can play in the school day is to create balance for students and refresh their minds.
Kids need an opportunity to relax their brains throughout the day – just like a programmer needs to step away from the computer or a writer needs to look up from their pages once in a while. Art can help kids clear their minds and tap into some bits of their brains that can get turned off with books, tests and worksheets. Art can also be a great spring board for learning new material. Thinking creatively and being successful in an art project can give students a confidence boost to tackle the next lesson.
In today’s lesson plan for National Arts in Education Week, we’ll start out by introducing the concepts behind journalistic reporting – the who, what, where, when and why of a news article. Sharing examples of good reporting and fun articles provide context for the students.
Then, they get to prepare to write their own news article by making an oogly. If you haven’t seen how to make an oogly yet, check out our video. In just two and a half minutes, you’ll be a pro. You’ll also see that anyone can make an oogly and be successful.
From one success it’s time to build another. Students get to write a news article about their oogly – it can be a sports story, a political story or a weather report. Let each student decide why their oogly is newsworthy. What better way to learn to report than by creating a story about something fun like an oogly. Plus, their ooglys give students a spring board to create a news article with a creative twist. A great combination of visual arts and language arts in one activity.
To view the lesson plan, click Newsworthy ooglys.
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