Arts Integration Programs

When the arts are brought into a classroom, learning takes on a new life. Working Playground Artist Educators work with classroom teachers to co-plan and co-teach arts integrated lessons that create connections between curricular subjects and the arts. The arts infuse typical academic subjects - Math, English, Science and History - with the vitality to engage and propel students to approach intellectual ideas and academic principles from new and multiple perspectives.

Studio Programs

Teaching art for art's sake provides young people with the skills to express themselves creatively and to think critically and abstractly. Our studio programs also offer students the opportunity to build relevant pre-professional skills and gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of an art form.

After School Programs

Working Playground provides engaging, relevant after school programming that focuses on building community, addressing socio-emotional youth development issues and building pre-professional skills in the arts for middle and high school students.

Dance

Professional dancers train students in classical and traditional forms of dance as well as free improvisation and choreography. Students learn the basics of movement technique including alignment, balance, stretch, elevation, turn and body discipline. They also develop strength, greater body awareness, and self-confidence. With an accompanist playing drums or piano, this program creates an exuberant, disciplined team of dancers.

Art Integration Example:

Students in Earth Science explore dance as a means to illustrate movement in geology and climate systems. They choreograph individual and group dances.

Studio / After School Example:

Students work with a dancer to explore the cultural roots of Hip Hop or African dance.

Design

The Design program introduces students to the way designers work in the world. Students are taken through a seven-step design process including: problem seeking, data gathering, brainstorming solutions and models, informal presentations and critical feedback, project creation, final presentations, and reflections and self assessment. The Design program may include design history, technical drawing (including architectural elevations), 2D & 3D model exploration, artist renderings, graphic design, web design, and environmental design.

Art Integration Example:

A WP Design Educator collaborates with a Science teacher to create 3-D designs of an urban garden that explores issues of bio-diversity.

Studio / After School Example:

Students work with a sculptor/designer to create a free-standing sculpture as a tribute to a regarded member of the local community.

Digital Media and Video

Students learn the technical and cultural art of video production and use this to develop documentaries, animated sequences, video poems and public service announcements that interpret themes from the curriculum or current events, personal issues and other relevant topics. Students study standard cinematic composition, camera movements, camera shooting, sound, and editing. They practice different roles and responsibilities of a film crew, critique video work, write film reviews, explore the difference between passive and active viewing, and analyze content, production values and varied cinematic styles.

Art Integration Example:

A Digital Animator collaborates with a Math teacher to create a 5-minute animated video exploring geometric shapes.

Studio / After School Example:

Working with an animator, students write, explore, and film short, animated conflict resolution videos.

Theatre

The Theatre program focuses on acting, improvisation, playwriting, and musical theatre and play production. Students learn how to express their ideas and feelings by participating in theatre games, reading and dramatizing plays, analyzing characters, and creating original pieces of work. Students culminate the program with a presentation of monologues, scenes, or short plays.

Art Integration Example:

Students in a Government class dramatize issues focused around voting and elections. Using an inquiry-based approach to creating their own presentational speeches, students create a theatre piece that highlights issues that arise in local, state or national elections.

Studio / After School Example:

Student work with a drama teacher to create an issue-based AIDS awareness play that explores the myths surrounding the disease.

Visual Arts

In the Visual Arts program, students work to create murals, sculptures, collages, paintings, masks, or public art installations. Students work with a particular medium to create their own means of visual expression by experimenting with different materials, observing and analyzing the art of different artists and periods, and discussing their own work with other students. They are encouraged to draw on their personal experiences, culture, and knowledge as a source of inspiration for creative expression.

Art Integration example:

Students work with a visual artist to explore Native Son, by Richard Wright. Students create self-portraits that explore the questions: How do I see myself? How do others see me? How would I like to be seen?

Studio / After School Example:

Students work with a visual artist to create a mural that honors the culture of the local community.

Literary Arts

Students learn about language as a tool for creative self-expression from a professional writer. They experiment with varied poetic forms and dramatic structures. Students study the shape and structure of texts by acclaimed writers and are introduced to exercises that help them find their own voices.

Art Integration Example:

A Playwright collaborates with a Language Arts classroom teacher to write original scenes based on the themes of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Studio / Afterschool Example:

A spoken word poet works with students to create original poems to be performed at school or community events.

Learn more about Professional Development Programs

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