Ms. M answered her fourth and final question for my observation class: How do you incorporate other cultures into your lesson plans? Ms. M had a hard time with this question. She found that she likes to theme her sections in art class. She went through the jungle and outer space this fall already. She told my partner and I that she doesn't incorporate other cultures as much as she does artists. Ms. M likes to emphasize artists and movements rather than specific multicultural lesson plans. Art itself reflects the culture it was created in, but isn't often taught as a "multicultural" emphasis. Ms. M said that she doesn't think her curriculum is lacking because of it. The one way that she does incorporate a true cultural plan is when the first graders are traveling around the world in their general education curriculum. She often works with the teachers to do a project that incorporates her colleague's completion of a trip around the globe. A few weeks ago they were in Canada and the children couldn't stop saying "Eh?" at the end of every sentence.
The first graders travel each continent throughout the entire year, which is a school-wide curriculum for all first graders. It allows Ms. M to pick and choose which place she would like to use for her inspiration and which artist she can emphasize. For example, she could emphasize Pablo Picasso for Spain, and has done Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera for Mexico.
In the future, I think I would like to plan a trip around the world with my students that would encompass the entire semester. I like the idea of emphasizing a specific artist from one country, or to travel in a time line around the world and start with ancient cave art and move on from there. I am excited to work with more teachers and hear the way that they incorporate other cultures into their lesson plans.
Even if it isn't multicultural, I did want to share this awesome way of incorporating artists and art history into a curriculum! This creative art teacher did an amazing job!
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