Woodburn Arts and Communications Academy instructors Mindy Brooks (language arts), Mateo Courtney (IB Spanish) and Catherine Johnstone (IB art) planned a cross-curricular collaboration with local videographer, Steve Kuever, through ArtsWork in Education. The three teachers identified poetry as a theme common to the goals of their classes and used video as a means for students to creatively explore and demonstrate the meaning of the written word using visual communication.   

The project goals were to:

• Deepen students’ understanding of different poets and poetry styles
• Encourage deep analysis of poetic forms and meaning
• Develop skills in creatively representing ideas
• Foster group collaboration skills
• Develop management skills to ensure on-time completion of a successful product
• Learn the basics of visual communication
• Learn the basics of the video production process
• Persist in the refinement of work to reflect professional standards of production and performance

Woodburn Arts and Communications Academy

The Woodburn Arts and Communications Academy (WACA) is committed to providing a rigorous academic and arts education that empowers students to become independent, questioning innovators who are passionate to learn. Read the WACA Profile.

Academy of Arts & Academics (A3) language arts instructor Scott Crowell worked with local theater arts professional, Marti Byers, through ArtsWork in Education to expand students’ poetry and prose abilities by creating word jazz. Crowell’s students wrote original creative pieces, which they recorded with music composed by fellow A3 students.

The project goals were to:

• Enhance students’ abilities and confidence as writers
• Deepen students’ understanding of different poetry and prose styles
• Practice writing from a variety of perspectives
• Develop skills in effectively revising work to maximize its emotional impact and intended message
• Learn to respectfully critique the work of others
• Learn to receive, use or reject the critiques of others
• Develop creative dramatic skills to communicate the meaning of piece when it is spoken
• Persist in the refinement of work to reflect professional standards of production and performance

Academy of Arts and Academics in Springfield

Academy of Arts and Academics in Springfield (A3) opened as a small school in 2006. A3 combines high academic standards with professional-level arts experiences to propel learning, engage passion, empower transformation and prepare students for a full-range of post-secondary options. Read the A3 school Profile. 

North Eugene Academy of Arts chemistry instructor Tia Holliday worked with local sculptor, Kate Ali, through ArtsWork in Education to help students grasp abstract concepts of chemistry by sculpting and casting polymer models representing ionic compounds.

The project goals were to:

• Deepen students' understanding of ionic compounds
• Provide a hands-on introduction to chemical reactions
• Encourage students' fluency with general chemistry concepts
• Provide opportunities to think and act like a chemist
• Foster habits of mind
• Explore the aesthetics of sculpture
• Practice the steps of moving from concept to creation of three-demensional forms

"Students might forget a lab the same day they do it, but I think they will always remember this experience, and most importantly the characteristics of the elements and compounds."

--Tia Holliday

North Eugene Academy of Arts language arts instructor Aaron Thomas worked with local photographer, Jennifer Salzman, through ArtsWork in Education to help students better understand and internalize the concepts of narrative, character development and perspective while reading Ricochet River. In pairs, students conducted in-depth interviews with one another, and then wrote first- and third-person perspective stories using details from their interviews. Combining their writing, photographs and other images, each student created a representative collage portrait of their partner.

 "While all of these students may not end up being writers, they have learned that stories are all around them and that it takes skill and attention to tell them."

--Aaron Sherman

The project goals were to:

• Understand the qualities of character, perspective and narrative in the novel Ricochet River
• Explore the qualities of character, perspective and narrative through personal interviews and first- and third-person written storytelling
• Represent ideas and tell a story using photographs and other visual images as symbols 
• Foster habits of mind
• Explore the aesthetics of photography and collage

North Eugene Academy of Arts geometry instructor Cody Rosenberg worked with a local sculptor through ArtsWork in Education to reinforce students’ understanding of geometric concepts related to polygons, ratios and scale. Students worked in groups to design ceramic mosaic tiles that map the golden ratio.

The project goals were to:

• Reinforce students’ understanding of geometric concepts relating to polygons, ratios and scale
• Explore new geometric concepts (such as the golden ratio and the Fibonacci sequence) and relate them to broader course concepts
• Deepen students’ understanding of the history of geometry and its practical applications
• Foster habits of mind
• Work effectively in groups
• Use the habits of an artist to conceive of and realize a final creative piece
• Explore the aesthetics of sculpture and tile making

North Eugene Academy of Arts School

The North Eugene Academy of Arts (AoA) uses the arts as a web to unite all areas of curriculum. A rigorous college-preparatory program that includes math, science, social studies, and world language is combined with the arts to encourage all students to think creatively and independently, to question, and to be active participants in their education and their community. Read the AoA Profile.