DATES

Race day for 2008 is May 10.

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Click here for a list of IDEAS FOR ARTS EDUCATION ADVOCACY (PDF Download)

IDEAS FOR ARTS EDUCATION ADVOCACY

• Make an "Arts Week" calendar, and suggest that students dress for different musical eras. Play appropriate music as students arrive in the morning and at lunchtime and display art from the same time period. • Add an arts touch to the morning announcements. Try having a "mystery tune or artist" each day, or an arts trivia question, with prizes for the winner. • Ask the lunchroom to rename items using arts themes such as Polka Potatoes, Harmonic Ham Sandwiches, etc. Have students suggest these fun names. • Sponsor a poster or poetry contest. Posters and poems should support Arts In Our Schools. Have individuals from outside the school judge the entries. • Plan an all-school sing-a-long or at a PTA meeting including parents. • Have a talent show emphasizing all arts. Tell a story, a joke, or read poetry about arts, and be sure to include traditional acts of singing, playing instruments, dancing, acting, etc. Invite the parents, and choose a winning act from each class to perform in a winners' assembly. • Have students design posters, banners, and buttons featuring the Support Arts in Schools theme. • Have a teacher appreciation luncheon for arts teachers • Have a pep rally for race participants at the school • Have an open house with a concert, play, art exhibit • Adopt a class for arts wish lists of needed supplies • Ask students to draw their favorite musical instrument, have them design an instrument of the future, or bring in homemade instruments for "show and tell". • Collaborate with your school's history or social studies departments to create cross-curricular activities. • Ask students to cut pictures of music and musicians ( art and artists, dancers, etc/ out of magazines and create an arts wall collage for your classroom(s). • Have students list ways in which the arts are a part of their everyday lives. Have them compare lists with friends and family members. • Invite teachers in your school to sing along with the World’s Largest Concert. Better yet, create a teacher chorus or instrumental ensemble to perform at a concert. • Take a field trip during Arts in Schools Week to hear a local college group, community chorus or orchestra, go to a museum, dance performance, or invite a group to perform at your school. • Invite local colleges to send their students to participate in your Arts in Schools plans through performing, teaching, games, and discussions. • Take arts activities to a local senior center or hospital and invite everyone to participate. • Ask the local radio station if your group can record a PSAs for Arts in Schools Week, and look into placing arts education messages on local marquees. • Have students write an essay with the theme "What the Arts Mean to Me". Place the papers around the school for all to read. • Have a "Family Activity Night" which includes art with dinner, reading activities, and a music concert presented by each grade level.

• Hold a week long Artist Contest. Each day feature a new composer, artist, dancer,etc. and give clues so students can find the correct answer. • Have students sing and play their band instruments during the morning announcements throughout April. • Have students write operas based on African folk stories, and perform them for a audience. • Have Middle School students visit an Elementary School to perform and answer questions, High School visit Middle School, etc. • • Have the students play a song guessing game after the morning announcements. Students have to guess the title, artist, style, etc., and hand in their entries as a class to win a special treat. Play a selection for the staff to get them involved, too.