Welcome to the Fine Arts Educator Coaching Clinics podcast- The podcast that

supports art, theatre, dance, and music teachers by sharing instructional trends

and exploring perspectives in fine arts education. I am your host, Eric Sanford.

Visit our website, FAECC.org to find resources and links to this podcast. While you

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Today I thought I would do a solo episode and explore some avenues of Literacy in Fine Arts classes.  I’m not talking so much about the Artistic Literacy that I mentioned before in episode 2, which you should definitely check out.  This will be about Literacy - the ability to read and write.  You are probably thinking - what kind of fine arts episode is this, Eric?  

Let me share some statistics on Literacy in the US.  I promise to connect the dots, so stay with me here.

First, in the US, 79% of adults are literate, meaning they are able to read and write. That doesn’t mean fluently, it just means at a basic level.  It also means that 21% of US adults are illiterate - that they cannot read or write on a basic level.

More than half of the adults in the US, 54%, have a literacy level below sixth grade.

That low literacy level impacts personal income, employment levels, health, and economic growth. And according to the Barbara Bush Foundation, it’s costing the US as much as $2.2 TRILLION a year. - yes, Trillion with a T.

Parent literacy rates directly influence child literacy.  Probably no surprise there. Low literacy rates also correlate with poverty and low income. If parents and families focus primarily on survival, there’s no time to focus on education.

It’s no surprise that the cycle continues generation to generation.

Then enter the amazing teachers from stage left.

Teachers that focus on background knowledge and vocabulary to increase student reading comprehension.  Teachers that constantly and consistently provide opportunities for students to read and increase fluency.  They teach how to actively read and to critically think about the text.  

Now entering stage right - the fine arts teachers - The supporting sidekicks that have this uncanny knack for hooking even the most rebellious and challenging of students. 

This is our opportunity.  What better source of interesting fiction and non-fiction material to read about than the arts?

The problem? Where do you find such great articles and stories that speak to a diverse group of students? AND - Time to do this?

Now back to reality- 

After a couple years in fine arts leadership, I get to return to my roots as a middle school band director.  And one of the first ideas I needed to assimilate was incorporating more reading and literacy skills in band classes.  

My principal is really great, pushes my imagination and expectations beyond my previous scope, and is really open to trying new avenues of teaching.  Without that, I would not be as excited as I am right now.  

So with that, I’m diving into a new world.  Now, there are great offerings by googling “ways to incorporate literacy in fine arts classes”, or “music classes” for me.  I’ll probably get to that in a later episode or just on my own.

In the past, for articles about music, or arts in general, I often looked up what I could on NewsELA. Although there were great articles there about music or fine arts in general, they were limited at the time.  

Readworks and Wonderopolis have great articles as well, so be sure to check them out in addition to NewsELA.  Some probably need a subscription of some kind, but they may have free options if your school does not subscribe.

 And then I started thinking, A lot has changed since I started using NewsELA.

Let me introduce the fully customizable and free version of why I am even talking about Literacy in this episode.  You may love it, you may hate it, but ChatGPT is going to be my go to this year. 

Now hear me out.  Last time I was in the classroom, my students always complained that the articles were out of date, not relevant, not interesting, not usable.  It became more of a compliance to do the articles than have true meaning behind it.  

And enter AI from stage… Well, AI doesn’t have a physical form, so there’s no stage to enter other than online.  

In my excitement, I created a few trials to create relevant non-fiction articles with the premise of having students read the article, then answer specific questions.  Those questions align to my campus goals of focusing on inferences and author’s intent, both in multiple choice and responding in complete sentences.  

And I was not disappointed.  Here is how I did it.

First, I decided I wanted to create an article about someone my students know, have heard about, and that is popular or widely spoken about within the music scene today.  I turned to the top 40 charts for R&B/Hip-Hop, snagged a couple names, recognized Drake, and headed off to visit ChatGPT.  

By the way, I’m going to rename ChatGPT to CHAD, in this article, just because ChatGPT doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as easily.  

So I fed CHAD some information.  I call them modifiers.  If you know the technical term for the details and whatnot, please message me so I can upgrade my vocabulary.

So I messaged CHAD: “Write a nonfiction article about the artist Drake. 100 words or less. 9th grade reading level.”

And CHAD did not disappoint.  The article was probably slightly above what I would call 9th grade reading level due to the vocabulary.  I didn’t stop there, though.  

My next message to CHAD was to “Rewrite the same article for a 6th grade reading level”.  And yes, it rewrote the same article, changed the reading level, and it was much closer to a 6th grade student’s comprehension skills.  

I asked CHAD once more, “Rewrite the same article for a 4th grade reading level.”  And once again, it followed through with a realistic 4th grade reading level article. 

But I didn’t stop there.  Knowing my campus goals this year, I messaged CHAD, “Based on the article, write three questions that ask students to make an inference.

Of the three, only one made the most sense, but I could also repeat the modifier and ask for 5 or 10 inference questions and choose the best ones from the list.  

I wasn’t done yet.  Next, I messaged CHAD to write 2 multiple choice questions based on the article. And it was done.   

But something bothered me about that first 9th grade reading level article.  I know that at some point of the year, I want my 8th graders and as many of my younger students to understand that article as well.  I owe it to them if I’m taking all this time… I mean, really like 10 minutes to create this content for them.  It’s really the intention here, by the way, not the time spent.  

So I messaged CHAD to create a list of vocabulary words to understand the article at the 9th grade level.  And CHAD sends me a list of 20 words.  Well, I asked, and I received. So this time I asked “Define the terms just mentioned”, and voila!  I have a vocabulary list with definitions I can now use for when I want to push my students further.

What does this have to do with music?  Or dance, art, or theatre. I asked that question of myself many times before as well.   I get it - why are fine arts teachers encouraged to incorporate literacy in their curriculum?  

Let’s back up a moment. At the beginning of this episode I spoke about family role models, statistical rates of adult literacy, and the impact on child literacy rates in poverty level households.  

And the whole time I’m thinking to myself - my students, my kids, have a habit of calling me dad.  They see me as a role model.  We create meaningful connections through arts, the work we do, and the opportunities that we all provide.  

Your students see you as a role model, too.  And we don’t get the opportunity to show our interests in reading a book, in learning new things, or researching articles on the internet about how to be a better teacher or parent or human being during a bell to bell class structure.  

So the answer is not so simple as the question: why are we incorporating literacy into our curriculum?  The answer is because I’d love to teach my students that music class is not about learning a B-flat major scale, or how to make beautiful sounds from inanimate objects.  

Fine Art classes are about observing the world around us, of sifting through the real and the fake, of determining why you like a song or an artist, a painting, or a dance, and sharing those opinions with others.  Of having original thoughts, and not just regurgitating the popular opinion.

Playing an instrument, singing, dancing, acting, all these are great and provide wonderful opportunities.  But another sad statistic is that most of our students will not pick up an instrument after high school. They rarely go on to college to become professionals, and their fine arts education stops soon after that last performance or assignment.  

For me, I’d also like to be the teacher that said, “Why do you think this?” rather than “This is the way.”  And just maybe, that cycle will be broken and our artist children will change the world for the better by being the best versions of themselves.  

Thanks for listening today!

Don’t forget to follow our socials, @faecchost on instagram, twitter, and facebook.  You can find supplemental resources and links on our website, www.faecc.org.  

I look forward to hearing from you - your thoughts on the episode, suggestions, and questions. 

Until next time, I wish you Peace and Blessings.