Last Wednesday, March 4th, our art teacher, Ms. Kuster, was very enthralled and proud to let me know that our class had a session of free draw day with her. The students were expected to complete an art assignment by drawing anything they want for the next 20 minutes. To help them narrow down their choices, she told the students to draw things that can be seen in the sky. Ms. Kuster has been in coordination with our team on our reading/ELA curriculum throughout the school year. What the students did next got Ms. Kuster very excited! She saw that the students started creating their very own “Four Square” graphic organizers (it’s a new campus-wide writing graphic organizer implemented and used by teachers). Then, she also noticed that the students started drawing things that they see in the sky. What surprised her the most, according to Ms. Kuster, is when they all started writing sentences by sounding out the words and using their two-finger finger spaces! “I was really surprised and proud to see them working with their 4-squares and their finger spaces!”
So, Ms. Kuster started snapping pictures and shared them with me. Now, I would also like to share these snapshots of this very, special day of content alignment and integration happening in a kindergarten art class. Yes to content integration! Yes to great planning! Yes to teachers, like Ms. Kuster, who provide ample opportunities for students to use and practice their daily reading and writing skills in unexpected times and places! Thank you, Ms. Kuster, and thank you to all special area teachers who support our students in every possible way!