Fox Cities P.A.C. & AASD to Offer Educator Workshops

The 2015-16 school year marks the fourth year the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and Appleton Area School District (AASD) are participating in the Partners in Education program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. This partnership allows the Center and AASD to create professional development opportunities to help teachers use the arts as a catalyst for creative energy in every curricular area. The Classroom Connections Teacher Workshops are open to all Wisconsin educators on a first-come, first serve basis.

Classroom Connections Teacher Workshops prepare educators to integrate the arts into their classroom, resulting in more effective and engaging lessons. Even for educators who have never been trained in the arts, these hands-on workshops are presented in a way that makes educators confident and comfortable to use the arts to teach core curriculum.

This year's roster of professional teaching artists will encourage educators to get creative. Topics include songwriting, movement, language arts and engaging students with autism through the arts.

2015-16 CLASSROOM CONNECTION WORKSHOPS

Sing to Freedom: Music of the Underground Railroad
Date and Time: Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015 4-7 p.m.
Workshop Leaders: Kim and Reggie Harris
Suggested for Teachers of Grades 3-8
Fee*: $40 or $35/AASD Staff

"Follow The Drinking Gourd" is one of the many secret code songs used by runaways from slavery and their allies during the time of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. In this participatory workshop, educators will learn to decode and sing this song and other traditional songs of the Freedom Train. Led by musicians Kim and Reggie Harris, teachers will learn songwriting strategies to update period songs and compose new songs on freedom themes to bring history to life for students. *This fee includes a copy of the CD, "Steal Away: Songs of the Underground Railroad."

Reaching Students with Autism Through The Arts: Implications for Inclusive Arts Classroom
Date and Time: Monday, January 11, 2016, 4-7 p.m.
Workshop Leader: Ryan Hourigan
Suggested for Teachers and Administrators of all grades
Fee: $30 or $25/AASD Staff

Many teachers have noticed an increase in the number of students on the autism spectrum included in their classrooms. In this session, participants explore questions about what autism is, how it affects people, and how some strategies are utilized to help students with autism learn and experience the arts. Ryan Hourigan, Associate Director of the School of Music at Ball State University, addresses communication, emotional, socialization, cognitive and sensory challenges faced when working with students with autism in music, art, theater and dance classrooms and offers practical suggestions for teachers to use.

DanceTalk: Creative Movement and Language Development
Date and Time: Thursday, March 3, 2016, 4-7 p.m.
Workshop Leader: Kate Kuper
Suggested for Teachers of Grades PreK-K
Fee*: $40 or $35/AASD Staff

In this workshop, participants discover ways to teach essential reading, writing, speaking and listening skills through creative movement. Teachers explore how expressive body shapes and actions can deepen letter and word recognition as well as phonological awareness, how to use various pathways and levels to trace letter shapes and how to combine these components to create simple dances. Throughout this dynamic workshop, participants will build language and dance vocabulary and learn practical strategies for space, time and behavior management. Creative dance educator Kate Kuper, will also model several activities from her popular CD, AlphaBeat, which participants take home at the end of the workshop. *This fee includes a copy of the CD "AlphaBeat."

Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies Through Visual Arts
Date and Time: Tuesday, April 19, 2016, 4-7 p.m.
Workshop Leader: Sandi Hammonds
Suggested for Teachers of Grades 5-12
Fee: $30 or $25/AASD Staff

How can students gain skills in questioning and making inferences from a text? In this workshop, the "text" is a work of visual art. Beginning with a visual image allows students to learn the skills that they will apply later to more abstract texts (language). In this workshop, led by Sandi Hammonds, teachers examine techniques for helping students develop their questioning strategies-posing relevant questions to gather information and progressing to more in-depth inquiry about the artwork. Teachers will be able to help students engage in higher levels of thinking as they guide them in examining unfamiliar objects and making inferences about the people and the culture that produced them.

Educators may learn more about Classroom Connections and register for workshops online at foxcitiespac.com/educators. AASD educators will be able to count the workshops as continuing education and receive district points. For more information about the Partners in Education program, visit kennedy-center.org/education/partners.

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