Responding to an Year 2 Hygene Assembly Performance

Children learn best when they discover elements they need to learn on their own (Dinham, 2017). What better pedagogy for The Arts year 2 curriculum to allow the students to develop elements of singing, performing arts, composing music and visual multimedia to teach health and hygiene practices as per ACPP5018 of the School Curriculum and Standard Authority, 2018.

Following a short introduction by the teacher, the students are divided into small groups to brainstorm on the type of assembly they would want to perform in front of their fellow classmates. Each group is assigned an element of the curriculum. The assembly represents the assessment of the unit of learning, conducted over five weeks of health and arts classes.

The use of dramatic action to sequence events communicating an idea is at the centre of the making section of the Arts curriculum in Year 2 (SCSA, 2014). The students will use scaffolded literacy skills to develop a song based on good hygiene practices and they will finalise the lyrics and music with the music specialist as per ACAMUM082 (SCSA, 2014).

Wallas 1926 identified four stages of the creative process that can serve as a guide to develop the concepts outlined as goals in the unit of work. The preparation phase in which the students brainstorm on how to combine their ideas of good hygiene practices with the artistic tools at their disposals, such as songs, drama and interpretive dancing. In the incubation phase, the students will explore various possibilities arising from their own interaction, supported by teachers feedback. The illumination phase will direct the students into a consistent and coherent body of work to present to the classroom. Finally, during the verification phase, the students will produce the final work to present to the classroom.

By engaging in creative problem solving, children come up with their own solutions, using divergent thinking strategies that consolidate their learning (Guilford, 1986).

An additional strategy used in the learning process of this activity is the promotion of student participation not only during the initial planning and brainstorming phases but also during the production phase, where the audience is actively engaged by the artists on stage. Promoting more participation among learners is an important challenge that classroom teachers should embrace (Sanacore, 2005).

References:

Dinham, J. (2017). Delivering authentic arts education (3rd edition.). South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Cengage Learning.

Guilford JP (1986). Philosophical aesthetics in art education: a further look towards implementation. Art Education, 43(4). 22-24+33-39.

Sanacore, J. (2005). Increasing student participation in the language arts. Intervention in School and Clinic, 41(2), 99–104.

Wallas, G. (1926) The art of thought. New York: Harcourt Brace.