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The interviewees and guests on RIF Exchange 303: "Literacy and the Arts" answer these commonly asked questions: Q: What is the link between the arts and children's literacy A: To be literate is to create meaning in one's world and to be able to communicate that meaning. In the early years, children are experiential learners. As such, the development of literacy skills is inseparable from the development of communicative skills in general. Whether singing a song, finger painting, pretending to be a mommy scolding a naughty doll, or looking at a book, children are learning to communicate. The arts are an innovative vehicle for engaging young children in learning, sharing learning experiences, and thinking about what has been learned. Through interactions with the visual arts, music, drama, and dance, children are provided with opportunities to create and communicate new knowledge in a meaningful context. Using experiences in the arts as the common base, teachers can build a language-rich and meaningful environment for children by stimulating discussion, responding to children's natural curiosity, encouraging and modeling language use, and fostering the development of inquiry skills. There are many exciting programs going on throughout the country that link literacy development to the arts. This episode of RIF Exchange highlights some of these outstanding efforts. Q: How do the arts motivate children to want to read? A: Research has shown that for children who come to school without the benefit of exposure to extensive language and reading at home, the arts can provide a nonthreatening, comfortable means for children to learn to communicate. Through dance and art, children can express their thoughts and feelings freely. After they become comfortable in these modalities they can more readily turn to oral and written expressions. It is this philosophy that is the basis for the famous Reggio Emilia preschools in Italy. These schools are founded on the belief that there are a "hundred languages of children"—not just the familiar oral and written ones. By first focusing on artistic ways of representing their thoughts and ideas, children ultimately develop reading and writing literacy skills. The SAIL (School for the Arts in Learning) public charter school in Washington, D.C., is based on this philosophy. The arts can be a powerful motivator for all children—not just those who may come from language-deprived backgrounds. As Ramon C. Cortines writes in, "Making the Case for District-Wide Arts Education," "Research confirms what we always knew intuitively: the arts teaches all of us—students and teachers alike—innovation, novelty, and creativity. We learn to be wondrous … I know a teacher who edits the school's creative arts magazine. She teaches her students that a story or poem needs to have what she calls 'moment,' making the reader pause and reflect on the world. An arts education is all about developing the capacity for 'moment'—a seismic jolt that shakes up our consciousness, our old encrusted ways of seeing and doing things." Q: Can all children learn through the arts? A: The arts offer an approach to learning that taps into a wide range of learning styles. We know that not everyone learns in the same way, although historically our schools have been geared to children who are linguistically and mathematically inclined. Howard Gardner of Harvard University pioneered the theory of multiple intelligences. Realizing that the arts, in particular, had been neglected in our traditional concept of intelligence, Gardner suggests that rather than having one fixed intelligence, there are at least eight ways in which people can be smart: Children who are "word smart" (linguistic/ verbal intelligence): Children who are "number smart" (logical/mathematical intelligence): Children who are "music smart" (musical/rhythmic intelligence): Children who are "picture smart" (spatial/visual intelligence): Children who are "body smart" (bodily/kinesthetic intelligence): Children who are "people smart" (interpersonal intelligence): Children who are "self-smart" (intrapersonal intelligence): Children who are "nature smart" (naturalist intelligence): Integrating the arts into school curricula is a highly effective way of engaging all different types of learners. Q: How will focusing on arts and literacy be helpful to children in the long run? A: Our society is becoming ever more reliant on multimedia technology. In the future, this trend will be even more pronounced. Many children can already navigate Web sites and computer games that combine graphic and musical content with written text. The Web and education have already become inextricably linked. Children develop literacy skills as they navigate through sites of interest to them. Most museums and arts-based institutions have already capitalized on the intrinsic motivation of technology to promote learning. For example, the National Gallery of Art, featured in this RIFNet program, sponsors a children's Web site (http://www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm) designed to teach through both images and narrative. Other literacy-based Web sites such as "The Hole Truth (and Nothing But the Truth)," which explores Louis Sachar's award-winning book Holes, use children as Web designers. With the help of two adult coaches, viewers of the site interactively gain a deeper understanding of the book.
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