Improving Reading Skills through Elementary Art Experiences
Author(s): Becky Van Buren
Source: Art Education , Jan., 1986, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Jan., 1986), pp. 56+59+61
Published by: National Art Education Association
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3192943
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Improving Reading Skills Through
Elementary Art Experiences
Becky Van Buren like asking questions, searching for them solve problems (1966). As many
structure and order, and putting infor- of us have already observed, technical
mation together to discover new re- knowledge is not requisite for a child to
lationships. Instead of waiting to be experience deep satisfaction from self-
In this article . . . fed answers, could students be taught expression in art. Even a young child's
to search for answers themselves? scribbles express feelings. Children
Van Buren tells how Lowenfeld and Brittain would answer develop self-confidence as they work
art experiences can a resounding "Yes" and that art can through satisfying art experiences.
help children develop inquiring, They articulate a part of their inner
be used to improve
answer-seeking thinking. When selves. This belongs uniquely to them
reading skills. children choose to begin an art activity, and cannot be judged right or wrong.
"Communication they are self-motivated. From the very Although encouragement or praise
beginning, they make choices about may be welcome, children do not re-
and self-expression size, colors, and composition. They quire external reinforcements to know
are two goals decide how big to make a drawing, their work is satifying. The value of the
common to both art whether to use pencils or paint, and work is in the process (Greenberg,
how many animals to include on their 1966).
and reading." paper. Clearly, there is not only one set A central concern for art in the
of answers for an art activity. school curriculum is to define, expand,
* believe that art classes should be Art enrich, and respond to the need for ex-
. . .
* part of the regular curriculum for Children absorbed in an art activity are presslng one s experlences.
a all elementary school children. I continuously gathering ideas and bits
am concerned about the eighties' of information. They listen to signals The goals of art education have to en-
back-to-basics movement and the from within, feel interactions between compass all of the feeling and thinking
resulting pressures that threaten art themselves and their environment, and ottributes of people. (Kaufman, 1966,
classes with possible elimination. Often the work of art evolves. These abstract, p. 27).
people believe that arts are irrelevant, intellectual processes are characteristic
costly "frills". I hope to demonstrate of flexible, creative human beings. Kaufman suggests that in order to
that art is an essential part of educa- What a sharp contrast to the child who help an individual or group of children
tion. Art experiences can help children is locked into memorizing facts, unable achieve their full potential, there must
learn to explore their inner selves as to apply what he or she is learning, and be an intimate relationship between the
well as teach them how to discover and lacks opportunities or encouragement aesthetic elements of consciousness
develop ideas both in art and reading. to utilize inner resources. and the overall instruction of a cur-
There are many similarities between While art for the adult is usually riculum. Children happily dripping
education's goals for art and for concerned with aesthetics, art for paint on pieces of paper are experienc-
reading. Learning to communicate and children is essentially a means of ing learning just as much as when they
acquiring an articulate use of symbols dynamic expression; dynamic because painstakingly copy letters together to
are just two. If art and reading teachers as children grow their expression make a word.
would recognize each other's impor- changes and grows. It is Lowenfeld
tance and collaborate to improve how and Brittain's conviction that creative Art is a language, a visuol longucxge,
they teach their students, children processes of the child are more impor- that can be read and understood by
would learn with greater ease, more tant than the quality of final products. children. (Erdt, 1962, p. 7).
depth, and deeper enjoyment. Art's purpose should be to encourage
In attempting to understand the children to develop ways to express Erdt feels that art is a natural ex-
position of art in American education, their feelings and emotions without perience for young children. Children
Lowenfeld and Brittain (1982) looked concern for making beautiful objects. do not feel they need years of training
at how knowledge generally is trans- Ideally, an art teacher will be a before expressing themselves with
mitted in American schools. They resource person who can facilitate ex- paint or clay. Art materials themselves
claim that current methodology seems plorations as children seek and find stimulate children to explore their ideas
to feed children bits of information their own answers. (Lowenfeld and and feelings (Erdt, 1962).
and requires them to repeat facts on a Brittain, 1982). The art teacher should be concerned
test. This method of instruction ad- Pearl Greenberg agrees that art ex- with expanding each child's ability to
dresses only one aspect of human periences give children opportunities to communicate. Art is an important way
development, the ability to do well on make choices and important state- for children to express themselves as
fact-oriented tests. It neglects qualities ments, they acquire techniques to help individuals. When children can draw
56 Art Education January 1 986
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§1 | lDetrolt.
245 EastMlchlgan
Karby48202
upon their sens
smell, taste, an
- -
their learning, the art process has
meaning (Greenberg, 1966). It seems
- -
that art has the ability to synthesize
4 _ m4% CCS - COLLEGE OF ART
reason and information from the
physical senses with emotions and in- _ \g CEI9TER FCR C9EAT#VE STlJDlES
tuition. Art enriches the individual
with a unique vitality that is different
from ordinary existence. Art, then, has
a two-fold nature. First, it is an exter- The College offers a Bachelor of
nal realization of an experience that Fine Arts Degree in the following majors:
someone has created. Second, art is an
Art Direction
internal quality that resides in some
Illustration
degree within all individuals.
As an educational strategy, art ex- Graphic Design
periences provide a means of expres- Fine and Applied Arts Photography
sion that other areas cannot easily af-
Medical Photography
ford. Kaufman asserts that an ex-
perience is more likely to communicate Audio-Visual Production
on a felt level if it is transformed into Product/Package Design
an artistic expression. A sculpture Transportation
depicting some strong emotion will
Interior Design
communicate more feeling than a
paragraph of words. Art brings Painting
together the emotions and the intellect, Printmaking
intuition and logic, thus creating op-
Sculpture
portunities for a fuller quality of living
(Kaufman, 1966). Fabric Design
One way that children learn com- Blown and Stained Glass
munications is by forming images from Ceramics and Metals and Jewel.
symbols in their outside world. As they
interpret experiences or concrete ob- Minor concentrations are available in:
jects and translate them into works of
Art Therapy
art, they are using creative, insightful
thinking. Children's experiences with Film and Video
art help them learn about symbolic Computer Graphics.
structure and the beauty of forms.
Might this thinking transfer to produc-
tive learning in other areas?
Reading -
Reading is often characterized as a they see. A circle with lines radiating language in the form of visual images,
basic skill necessary for learning. Upon out from its edge might be a sun; a line reading signs, and symbols of art. In
examination, however, reading, with a circle at the top could be a per- either instance, the language of art is
writing, and arithmetic are merely son. As children begin to make and an effective means of communication.
tools that can facilitate learning. Is understand symbols, they realize that We perceive visual images faster than
recognizing letters and words other people make symbols too, not we can interpret complex words and
"reading"? Is saying words out loud only in pictures, but in writing and meanings. One needs to gather many
"reading"? Or is reading the ability to reading. A child who is able to relate words to comprehend their significance
ask questions about information or to these symbols in a drawing, placing in a certain context, whereas art is
trigger thoughts and ideas? Lowenfeld them side by side or overlapping, is often immediate and direct. Art en-
and Brittain believe that an integral utilizing organizational thinking. compasses what is tangible and what is
aspect of reading is its assimilation into
Understanding complex alphabet sym- imagined, realistic representation and
the direct experience of the child. A bols is an early part of reading com- abstraction, rhythmic, balanced forms
child who reads should be able to take prehension (Lowenfeld and Brittain, and haphazard shapes.
in information and evaluate it in terms 1982). Art and Reading
of his or her own experience. Reading In the article, "Art Means Art especially relates to reading, which
is a learning, evaluating process as is Language", Richardson ( 1982) de- is thinking stimulated by visual sym-
working on an art project. scribes art as a special kind of bols. Art has the ability to pique
As young children begin to make language. It may take the form of curiosity and increase vocabulary. For
representations of the world around language as we know it, in a critical example, most children are curious
them, they develop symbols for what discussion of art, or it may be a about clay. They learn that it is com-
Art Education January 1986
59
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posed of "minerals" in the soil, should tune in to the art portion of this lesson
enhances how we think. When children
be kneaded or "wedged" before shap- and build other skills without realizingcombine visual and language arts ex-
ing, may be "glazed" with color before it. It seems likely that children who ex- periences, they learn to communicate
being "fired" in a "kiln" for per- perience art along with reading instruc-in more complex, aesthetic ways and
manence. Art projects that include tion will develop better vocabularies, they become more expressive (Rabson,
specialized vocabulary and important learn sequencing of events, and even 1982).
sequences of action set an atmosphere learn to think with more originality Communication and self-expression
conducive to improving reading skills. and creativity. are two goals common to both art and
This was demonstrated in a recent The notion of an art and a reading reading. When art instruction is com-
study (Catchings, 1984). Five hundred teacher collaborating to improve bined with reading as it was in the
Detroit elementary school students children's reading skills is still relative-
Detroit public schools' study, children
took part in a five year study. Art ly new. Most elementary educators develop more complex vocabularies
lessons were integrated with reading would separate the two areas, failing to and imaginative use of words. Expand-
classes to test whether art activities can perceive any connection between the
ing children's vocabulary for self-
influence reading skills development. two. There are, however a few schools expression with the visual language of
At the beginning of each school year, and school systems that are beginning art will permit them to describe
several fifth grade classes in different to realize how art experiences help
themselves, their feelings, and the
schools were chosen for the study. children's reading abilities. I would world in more ways than with spoken
Once a week, half the classes were like to describe one example of an and written words. Art experiences en-
given a reading and art lesson, the arts/language program thriving in New courage children to use all their senses
other half acted as the control group York City. and become "whole." Learning to
and were not given the art lessons. Learning to Read Through the Arts Read Through the Arts operates with
Standardized achievement tests were is a non-profit organization that the conviction that language instruc-
used to measure performance at the operates in conjunction with the Gug- tion is enriched and deepened when
end of each year. The children who had genheim Museum in New York. Their
coupled with art experiences. Their
the weekly art lessons consistently programs are based on the belief that programs are successfully helping
made greater gains in reading skills learning is deepened and reinforced readers who are below grade level,
than the control children! when it occurs in environments that perceptually handicapped, and gifted.
Pat Cunningham, an education pro- awaken many of one's senses. Artists A few schools are beginning to
fessor at Wake Forest University, has teach workshops in New York and develop art/reading programs that
described how she acquired the idea of New Jersey public schools. They relate work together to enhance children's
using drawing to cultivate reading different art media such as architecturereading skills. Hopefully, the idea will
skills with a collection of nine "How todrawing ceramics, and photography to
spread into other schools and districts.
Draw" books. Directions in those language development. There are dif- Mixing art lessons with reading is an
books were easy to follow, and the ferent programs for children in first excellent opportunity to utilize the
descriptive text that came with the through twelfth grades, with some for resources and abilities of several dif-
lessons offered interesting oppor- students reading several years below ferent teachers as they work toward
tunities to build children's reading grade level, some for academically common goals. From the child's point
vocabulary. gifted youngsters, and others for of view, it certainly seems that learning
It seems to me that an elementary children with perceptual handicaps that involves art experiences would
reading teacher could use information- (Rabson, 1982).
simply be more interesting and fun. ^
filled drawing lessons very effectively. Learning to Read Through the Arts
Books would not really be necessary. aims to promote creativity and learn-
An art teacher and an elementary ing, using art forms within a language
teacher in the same building could plan Becky Van Buren is an art specialist at
arts curriculum. Each artist-instructor
a unit together on a particular subject, Village East Elementary (Cherry Creek
develops a series of two to four week
Schools) in Aurora, Colorado.
such as " Insects. " The classroom art/reading/writing lessons, based on a
teacher could decide which concepts particualr theme. Students spend equal References
and new vocabulary words to in- Catchings, Y.P. (1984, October). "Art joins
time on art and language. The lessons
the reading circle. " Instructor 94, 150- 151.
troduce, while the art teacher could are planned to develop cognitive skills Cunningham, P. (1982, May). "Drawing them
plan a related project. Students, for ex- such as identification, discrimination, into reading." Reading Teacher, 35, 960-962.
ample could choose a particular insect sequencing, memory, and comprehen- Erdt, M . H . (1962). Teaching art in the elemen-
to study and plan an art project to sion. Each student keeps a journal that tary school. New York: Holt, Rinehardt and
Winston.
display the results of their study. includes original stories, vocabulary Greenberg, P. (1966). Children's experiences
Because art is innately flexible, lists, and detailed directions for certainin art. New York: Reinhold.
children would have several options. art projects. Concurrent art ex- Kaufman, 1. (1966). Art and education in con-
They could work individually or in periences help children acquire an temporary culture. New York: MacMillan .
small groups. Materials could be simp- Lowenfeld, V ., & Brittain, W. L. (1982).
awareness of relationships and events.
Creative and mental growth. New York: Mac-
ly crayons and paper, or the children Rabson notes that children who are Millan .
could create large papier-mache in- simultaneously expressing themselves Rabson, B . (1982, April) . " Reading and
sects, painted with bright tempera in art and writing projects are utilizing writing at the Guggenheim." School Arts, 81,
13-15.
paints. Very possibly some children two different symbol systems. Describ-
Richardson, A. S. (1982, September). "Art
who have difficulty with reading might ing experiences visually and verbally means language. " A rt Education, 35, 10-12 .
Art Education January 1986 61
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