Making Connections

     

Whether you are a visual arts teacher or not, connecting the art of a culture to the teaching of a culture adds depth to the experience, but more importantly, it adds depth to the learning. Just as many visual arts teachers I know, I've been integrating content from other areas into my lessons for years. It is amazing to watch students become very animated and excited when they start to see the connections between the art of the culture you are studying and the other aspects of that culture. 

Here is a prime example of how you can use art to help students to get a better grasp of some of the nuances of the culture of Ancient China. While my 6th grade students were learning about Ancient China in their Humanities class, I started to teach them about the importance of the Silk Road and how the Silk Road was one way in which the art of China made it's way to different cultures and became a prized commodity.

 Students learned about the Silk Road and were able to map out the routes along the Silk Road and they learned a little about the compass rose along the way. Next, students learned how to handle a brush and create the brush strokes necessary to create Chinese Characters used in Chinese Calligraphy. Once the students were adept at handling their brushes for calligraphy, they applied those skills to Chinese Brush Painting and created Chinese Brush Paintings of dragonflies and pandas. 

The students were proud of their work and they had a deeper connection with the cultural importance of self-control, self-discipline, and the patience needed to have a high degree of control in brushstrokes. Chinese culture requires an appreciation of craft that requires years of training and demands ultimate respect.