The Art of Writing: Turning words, sentences & stories into student-created art books 

an Arts in Inclusive Learning workshop led by Deborah Stuart
for educators at all grade levels, including classroom teachers, arts & SPED educators, teaching artists, out-of-school providers & parents
 

Friday, August 24,  9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Presented by the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire & VSA New Hampshire
as part of their Arts in Inclusive Learning collaboration, under a contract with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Fee: $25 plus $10 materials fee, with discounts for Arts Alliance members (both schools & individuals), teams of educators from a district, and college students. Partial scholarships are available if needed. Professional development credit is offered. Please bring a lunch.

Register now to reserve your space!
This workshop is also being offered August 15 at RSEC Academy in Amherst and August 23 at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester.

Please note that we are unable to offer refunds on registration. (In the event the workshop is canceled, you will receive a refund.)

Register Now

 

About the workshop:

For many students, particularly those struggling with language and self expression, writing of any kind is challenging; these students often feel defeated and frustrated and consider themselves failures in this critical area. Yet students who are challenged writers – and those limited in oral expression – often are very excited about working with the colorful, varied materials used in making art books.  Very often their strengths emerge in these creative activities, as the use of multiple modalities inspires a new level of engagement and connection. This motivation brings a new excitement and commitment to writing.

This workshop is designed to introduce ways to motivate young writers on any academic level so that they can gain skills in the process of writing through appealing exercises in poetry, imaginative expression and journaling. Attention will be given to differentiating and adapting the lessons to fully include students with learning differences and disabilities. Various ways to capture self-expression will be demonstrated, including use of poet-scribes and oral expression; work with a range of colorful teacher-made letter and word manipulatives; and satisfying writing activities for emerging writers and ASL students. 

We'll also look at ways to have students create unique books, utilizing visual arts strategies  to motivate them in their writing and editing.  A wide variety of art techniques and materials, easily assembled for classroom use, will be introduced and used.  These “books as art” offer a range of methods to engage students and to celebrate their writing using affordable -- and often free -- materials. All activities can be linked to Common Core learning goals for classroom language arts programs.

Please contact us if you need a scholarship.

Our Presenter:

Deborah Stuart has worked for over 40 years with children in classrooms and as a teaching consultant with a focus on Universal Design for Learning nationally and internationally. She has done extensive training for educators and was a core faculty member for the VSA Arts Institute: Professional Development in Art, Education and Disability. She has led national webinars and programs offered by the Department of VSA and Accessibility at the Kennedy Center, and she is the  recipient of the national VSA Ginny Miller Award for Mentorship.

Questions? Email programs@aannh.org or call 603-323-7302.

Click here to read about this summer's other Arts in Inclusive Learning workshops around the state.

 Huge thank you to the Conway Public LIbrary for hosting this workshop.