Museum Creates Art Lessons for Schools

Cincinnati Art Museum develops an art curriculum that meets national standards

By Debra Lau Whelan -- School Library Journal, 8/1/2007

In this era of high-stakes testing, few librarians have time to teach art. That’s why the Cincinnati Art Museum created a curriculum designed to engage young students in the subject—and improve their literacy skills.

“Through a Child’s Eyes” is possibly the first series of lessons created by a museum that meets national standards in language arts, visual arts, social studies, science, and math, as well as the standards set by Head Start, says Emily Holtrop, assistant curator of education for school and teacher programs.

Developed by the museum’s education staff and local teachers, the curriculum kit offers seven units for kids ages three to eight. Each lesson matches a work of art from the museum’s collection with a children’s book, and includes a series of classroom activities. One lesson, for example, matches Eric Carle’s award-winning Rooster’s Off to See the World (Scholastic, 1972) with The Red Rooster by Marc Chagall. Students engage in a discussion about the painting as an introduction, and the lesson focuses on the interaction between humans and animals in a rural community, strengthening students’ visual perceptions and reinforcing their language skills. Classes can also visit the museum. “The real goal wasn’t to teach art or about community,” says Holtrop. “It was to build literacy skills.”

Schools and museums as far away as Miami and San Francisco have ordered the kits, which cost $75. And because the lesson kit is aligned with national standards, librarians can justify buying it, Holtrop says. For those who can’t afford it, there’s a free Web component that lets educators create the same lessons by downloading artwork and lesson plans. All they have to do is find books to match the artwork.