Peterson and Kosmicki Present at Conference on Literacy and the Arts
by C.Kosmicki
March 15, 2008
The University of Nebraska at Lincoln Teachers College was the site for NATA State Spring Conference on Saturday, March 8th. The conference opened with keynote speaker Dr. Guy Tranin, who spoke on Art and Literacy: Collaborate, Captivate and Connect through the Arts. He focused on how students benefit from graphic representations when they write and how the engagement with the visual arts provides increased motivation in other academic domains. Tranin also addressed the importance of an integrated curriculum connecting language arts, social sciences, science and the arts.
Following the keynote, three hands-on sessions were presented by Nebraska Language Arts and Visual Arts specialist from across the state; one at each level: K-5, 6-8 and 9-12. Pat Peterson and Christy Kosmicki were selected to present their cross-curricular approach to creating imagery that gives concreteness to abstract concepts. Their presentation demonstrated that visual art is a parallel path to language.
