Down the Hall in Room 177: Integrating the Arts into the IUs

Connecting the Arts to the Interdisciplinary Units

This year, Concept Schools, through the new K-3 director Jennifer Sajovec, introduced interdisciplinary units. As explained in an earlier blog post, interdisciplinary units relate one or more content areas into one unit of study. The beginning of each unit begins with a lesson hook which has typically focused on at arts connection, making HSA-DE and other Concept Schools more of a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, ARTS, and math) focused school rather than a STEM school (science, technology, engineering, and math).

Taking this one step further, at HSA-DE, the third graders (and other grades) often complete art projects in Ms. Breining's Art class that have a special tie-in with the interdisciplinary units. One such project was completed that bridged TWO interdisciplinary units. The Folk Art Landform Zentangles featured in this post connected the theme of pioneer life from the first IU titled Value with the learning of landforms in the second IU titled Interdependence. Students worked on this project over a period of several weeks.

A Little Bit about Zentangles

The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. A Zentangle is an abstract drawing created using repetitive patterns according to the trademarked Zentangle Method. True Zentangles are always created on 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) square tiles, and they are always done in black ink on white paper. The invention of the Zentangle was intended to make the act of drawing pleasurable, meditative and accessible to all.

Almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. It increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being. The Zentangle Method is enjoyed all over this world across a wide range of skills, interests and ages.

To learn how to make a Zentangle, click here.

Folkart

Folk Art is characterized by a naive style, in which traditional rules of proportion and perspective are not employed. Other terms that overlap with folk art are naïve art, primitive art, popular art, self-taught art, and working-class art/blue-collar art.

Folk art expresses cultural identity by conveying shared community values and aesthetics. It encompasses a range of utilitarian and decorative media, including cloth, wood, paper, clay, metal and more. If traditional materials are inaccessible, new materials are often substituted, resulting in contemporary expressions of traditional folk art forms. Folk art reflects traditional art forms of diverse community groups — ethnic, tribal, religious, occupational, geographical, age- or gender-based — who identify with each other and society at large. Folk artists traditionally learn skills and techniques through apprenticeships in informal community settings, though they may also be formally educated.

Folkart Landform Zentangles

In Ms. Breining's Art class, third graders drew repetitive patterns on landform drawings of hills, mountains, plains, and valleys. Using watercolor pencils, they colored their Zentangles. Finally, they added water to create the watercolor painted effect.

Ms. Breining thought that a nice added component to this project would be for students to create their own home made scratch art. Originally, it was planned that a piece of this scratch art would be cut and inlaid into the Zentangle. However, due to student excitement, dedication, and detail to their scratch art pieces, it was decided to leave the scratch art whole and add it as a side piece of art.