then, is the study of how groups of people come to make and share meaning (Eco, 1976). In making sense of this bombardment of stimuli, the brain uses sign systems (language, art, music, math, dance) to placehold the meaning that was made as well as share that meaning with others. This process of “naming” our world for purposes of making and sharing meaning is what literacy and the study of literacy are all about. The signs we create – be they language, art, music, mathematics, dance or drama -- allow us to communicate with each other as well as make sense of our world. As both an artist and a literacy scholar I’m interested in understanding what art has to offer educators in terms of a deeper understanding of literacy and learning. To that end, I’m going to use the major benchmarks in my career, given the books that I have published, to share: (1) some language stories and literacy lessons, (2) some instructional strategies involving art that were created to support teachers in creating classrooms for authors and inquirers, (3) some instructional engagements created to support teachers in creating critical classrooms, and (4) some things two literacy researcher colleagues and I learned about art by taking an indepth look at ourselves as practicing artists. Language Stories and Literacy Lessons One of the tasks in our research study on what young children know about reading and writing prior to going to school (Harste, Woodward, & Burke, 1984) asked 3, 4, 5, and 6-year olds to write their name and draw a picture of themselves. While the 4, 5, and 6-year olds could do this very easily, the 3-year olds had more trouble.
then, is the study of how groups of people come to make and share meaning (Eco, 1976). In making sense of this bombardment of stimuli, the brain uses sign systems (language, art, music, math, dance) to placehold the meaning that was made as well as share that meaning with others. This process of “naming” our world for purposes of making and sharing meaning is what literacy and the study of literacy are all about. The signs we create – be they language, art, music, mathematics, dance or drama -- allow us to communicate with each other as well as make sense of our world. As both an artist and a literacy scholar I’m interested in understanding what art has to offer educators in terms of a deeper understanding of literacy and learning. To that end, I’m going to use the major benchmarks in my career, given the books that I have published, to share: (1) some language stories and literacy lessons, (2) some instructional strategies involving art that were created to support teachers in creating classrooms for authors and inquirers, (3) some instructional engagements created to support teachers in creating critical classrooms, and (4) some things two literacy researcher colleagues and I learned about art by taking an indepth look at ourselves as practicing artists. Language Stories and Literacy Lessons One of the tasks in our research study on what young children know about reading and writing prior to going to school (Harste, Woodward, & Burke, 1984) asked 3, 4, 5, and 6-year olds to write their name and draw a picture of themselves. While the 4, 5, and 6-year olds could do this very easily, the 3-year olds had more trouble.