INTEGRATED ARTS: FEATURE PROJECT
During the fall of 2021, Willowwind’s 3rd-6th grade students embarked on a learning adventure that combined literacy, art and art advocacy, collaboration, and community service and engagement. The Great Iowa City Mural Hunt is the culmination of this 10 week long project
Download the mural hunt booklet below to learn more about this cool project and set out on your very own learning adventure.
INTEGRATED ARTS AT WILLOWWIND
Amplifying student learning experiences through the arts.
WHAT IS INTEGRATED ARTS?
Integrated Arts combines academic areas like social studies and literacy with the Arts. This provides students with opportunities to expand upon core curricular content and support major projects initiated in the home classroom. For example, students may use improv to get comfortable being in front of groups and learn about using their voice and expression in preparation to present their poetry at Author’s Cocoa. Students may learn about, or directly from, professional puppeteers as they work to refine their own creations for the end-of-the-year puppet show. A social studies unit makes for the perfect opportunity for students to create a painting or learn a dance in the style of the ancient civilization they're researching. Integrated Arts varies in content as class projects evolve and needs develop, but the focus is always on the arts.
Making puppets in Integrated Arts.
Practicing a puppet show stemming from their unit on kindness.
"Integrating the arts into education is my passion, and being able to be a part of Willowwind’s Integrated Arts program is a dream come true."
-Mr. Ryan, Teaching Artist & Integrated Arts Coordinator
1st graders building an ecosystem diorama.
Presenting dioramas to other students.
Planning scenes for the 3rd/4th grade puppet show on immigration.
Students have participated in every aspect of this production.
"Ryan's teamwork, collaboration, and vision with Integrated Arts has brought my students' writing and PBL projects to life."
-Ms. Lisa (Painted Turtles, 2nd/3rd)
ART & OUR COMMUNITY
Art is meant to be shared, to teach, and to inspire. Integrated Arts will do just that as Willowwinders take their learning out into the wider community through collaborations, presentations, and community events.
The Integrated Arts program also works with local creatives to bring even more art and learning to Willowwinders. Whether we're inviting muralists to come share insight into their creative process, or listening to a poet or musician share their work, we believe that providing students with regular opportunities to interact with art is imperative for both personal and academic growth.
Caleb Rainey, local writer and artist, visits to read from his book “Look, Black Boy”.
Chuy Renteria visits for a group discussion on creative movement and dance.
INTEGRATED ARTS IN ACTION
Students studying murals in downtown Iowa City.
THE GREAT IOWA CITY MURAL HUNT
During the fall of 2021, Willowwind’s 3rd-6th grade students embarked on a learning adventure that combined literacy, art and art advocacy, collaboration, and community service and engagement. The Great Iowa City Mural Hunt is the culmination of this 10 week long project which centered around the amazing art and artists in our local community.
Download the mural hunt booklet below to learn more about this cool project and set out on your very own learning adventure.
IMPROV
Being in front of a crowd can be hard, but it’s an important skill and one that Willowwind students learn and practice throughout their time here. Improv games use comedy, creativity, and fast paced shenanigans to help children of all ages feel more comfortable being in the spotlight. Mini skits encourage students to take risks and think quickly and flexibly. Perhaps most importantly, they learn not to take themselves too seriously and that it’s okay to make mistakes in learning and life; sometimes it’s even fun.
“Hey, Aadi! Here’s your suit of armor.”
Kindergartner making a cat puppet.
CLASS PLAYS AND SKITS
One of our favorite ways for students to demonstrate learning is through class plays and skits. These major projects span several weeks as students explore a topic of interest, and write and revise scripts that share what they’ve learned. Students conduct research, collaborate with peers, create sets, puppets, and props before presenting their learning to our school community. This kind of learning asks students to look at a topic through many different lenses, and to share information in a variety of ways.
In 2021 3rd -6th grade students presented plays on topics like disability rights, racism, the climate crisis. Kindergartners wrote skits on some of the values they learned this year like kindness, integrity, and responsibility. Performances were shared across the grades allowing the students themselves to become the teachers.
