By Jennifer Oxman, Education Director, L/A Arts
Artists-in-Residence
Farwell School: May 5-16
Dancer Louis Gervais will work with kindergartners through sixth graders at Farwell School this spring. A former dancer with Ram Island Dance, Gervais has since focused on his own dance and work in the schools. The focus of his residency will be on movement and modern dance. Through a planning session will all teachers, Gervais will determine a theme for a dance performance that will involve all students on the final day of the residency.
Lewiston Middle School: April-May
Visiting music teacher Steve Grover is working with a core group of musical students on a number of Wednesdays during April and May. This residency provides music students with a unique opportunity to explore their musical interests beyond regular classroom time. The students performed in a jazz/blues performance as part of a unified arts celebration on the evening of April 28. Grover teaches music at the University of Maine at Augusta.
Longley School: October 7-29
Maine author Lynn Plourde worked with grades K-6 at Longley this year. After visiting the school for an assembly last year, Plourde returned to help children create their own picture books. She spent three sessions with each class; younger students worked together to write a piece, while the older children created and illustrated their own books. Plourde works closely with teachers to ensure that her approach to the writing process parallels what the students are learning in their language arts classes. Students who created books shared their work with younger “buddies.”
Martel School: May 5-29
Singer/songwriter Anne Dodson will be visiting Martel School this year, working with third and fourth graders to refine their language arts and musical skills. Students begin by brainstorming thematic ideas with Dodson, and then translate these thoughts into lyrics. They will spend several sessions refining their written work, narrowing their topic down, and creating a sequence of events. The method that Dodson uses to create music with the students parallels the methods that classroom teachers use with students to create pieces of literature. Using the processes of brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing in different subject areas helps to form a truly integrated and interdisciplinary learning experience. Students will put their lyrics to music and perform their songs at a school-wide assembly.
McMahon School: Nov. 12-Dec. 8
Pettingill School: January 6-28
Poet Martin Steingesser visited grades 3 and 4 at McMahon School and grade 3 at Pettingill School. Working in blocks of time almost two hours long, Steingesser encouraged students to find their voice and express themselves via poetic form. A variety of poetry styles were introduced, and students also focused on the poem as a medium for telling a personal story.
Montello School: Jan. 28-Feb. 6
Sixth-grade teachers at Montello this year were looking for an artist who could help their students write and present with voice. What better teacher than local storyteller Michael Parent! Parent encourages students to explore voice and expression through their creative writing. The second part of the residency focused on presentation; students learned how to express themselves with emotion and to enunciate with meaning.
Visual Literacy
McMahon School: March-April
The visual literacy program encourages students and teachers to use visual arts as a primary source. Students learn how to look at artwork and understand its meaning, and to articulate what they see and how it makes them feel. This year, fifth-grade students at McMahon participated in a program based on colonialism and colonial portraiture. Using the American Paintings exhibition at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, students were introduced to the conventions of portraiture, and they learned how to “read” paintings for meaning. Students participated in drawing and writing exercises that developed their observation skills and required them to draw conclusions and justify their answers. Students also created their own portrait paintings. Jennifer Oxman, education director for L/A Arts, facilitated the museum visits, while Anthony Shostak, museum education coordinator for Bates College, taught the studio component.
Special Performances
Lewiston Middle School: Oct. 21-25
The Looking Glass Theatre works to promote a love of reading. In their series, There’s Nothing To Read!, this Providence-based theatre group presents excerpts from children’s novels representing a host of different topics and styles. Using minimal props and sets, and letting the power of language speak for itself, the troupe presented six shows at the Lewiston Middle School. The actors performed excerpts from Holes, by Louis Sachar; The Great Turkey Walk, by Kathleen Karr; A List of Ten Things, by student Loubel Cruz; and The Nauga Hunters, by student Matthew Cheney to live musical accompaniment. Study guides and curriculum connections complemented each performance.
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