for Little People: Literacy Connections and The track “Literacy Making the VSA arts: Early Meaning” has been developed from Childhood Educational Program Start with the Arts model. Literacy for Little People is an instructional resource for early childhood and special education teachers that uniquely combines literacy, family involvement and strategies for integrating the arts visual arts, drama and creative – dramatics, dance and movement, and music into all curriculum areas. – Using the language and vocabulary found within children’s stories participants will go through the process of creating a literacy collage and mural of original poetry and visual art images that will inspire the development of improvised creative movement, drama and music activities. The and units “All About Me” “The World Around Me” presented in the track will allow participants the opportunity to examine aspects of their physical and emotional selves and the surrounding world. These arts encounters will translate into curriculum lessons of language arts, reading, science, math, social studies and character development. Although developed for young children the lessons can be easily adapted for older students. The focus is early childhood education, because these are the formative years when establishing literacy and a love for learning is crucial. There is also the underlying premise that all children can learn and, regardless of ability and age, should be treated with dignity and respect. This unit is designed to provide lessons that give children of all abilities opportunities to participate successfully in the arts and classroom learning. The lessons focus on what children can do, rather than on what children can not do and provides educators with ideas for modifying the environment, adapting materials and developing appropriate teaching strategies with a focus on literacy.
The track “Literacy for Little People: Literacy Connections and Making Meaning” has been developed from the VSA arts: Early Childhood Educational Program Start with the Arts model. Literacy for Little People is an instructional resource for early childhood and special education teachers that uniquely combines literacy, family involvement and strategies for integrating the arts – visual arts, drama and creative dramatics, dance and movement, and music – into all curriculum areas. Using the language and vocabulary found within children’s stories participants will go through the process of creating a literacy collage and mural of original poetry and visual art images that will inspire the development of improvised creative movement, drama and music activities. The “All About Me” and “The World Around Me” units presented in the track will allow participants the opportunity to examine aspects of their physical and emotional selves and the surrounding world. These arts encounters will translate into curriculum lessons of language arts, reading, science, math, social studies and character development. Although developed for young children the lessons can be easily adapted for older students. The focus is early childhood education, because these are the formative years when establishing literacy and a love for learning is crucial. There is also the underlying premise that all children can learn and, regardless of ability and age, should be treated with dignity and respect. This unit is designed to provide lessons that give children of all abilities opportunities to participate successfully in the arts and classroom learning. The lessons focus on what children can do, rather than on what children can not do and provides educators with ideas for modifying the environment, adapting materials and developing appropriate teaching strategies with a focus on literacy.