Resource Classes | Crestwood Elementary School

Resource Classes

Art

The art program at Crestwood Elementary is built on five basic categories: production, art history, aesthetics, criticism, and curriculum connections.

PRODUCTION
Students learn to work with various mediums and processes in two-dimension and three-dimension.

ART HISTORY
Students learn about famous artists, cultures, and styles of art.

ART CRITICISM AND AESTHETICS
This promotes students thinking and communicating about different types of artwork. It helps students self evaluate and learn critical thinking skills to problem solve.

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
Through interdisciplinary activities, students should see connections among the processes, concepts and content learned in art and in other classroom subjects. Throughout the year, I will integrate these ideas to explore the arts and create a positive learning environment that encourages risk taking, problem solving, and experimentation. The students will have the opportunity to create with various materials such as: watercolor and tempera painting, oil and chalk pastels, weaving, and clay.

“I found I could say things with colors and shapes that I could not say any other way–things I had no words for.”

~~Georgia O’Keefe

Music

The Crestwood music room is a place where students sing, dance, and play both rhythm and melody instruments. Students are exposed to the rich heritage of American music as well as music various from cultures around the world, and attend class once each week.

The music curriculum promotes the fundamentals of reading music that will allow students to sing and/or play an instrument in middle school and beyond. Through music class, students also reinforce concepts learned in math, science, social studies and other areas of the core curriculum.

As music educator, my goal is to instill a love for and an appreciation of music.

Physical Education

The purpose of physical education is to help students acquire the knowledge, processes, skills, and confidence needed to engage in meaningful physical activity both in the present and for a lifetime. The practice of leading a physically active lifestyle will bring about personal enjoyment, challenge, satisfaction, and a health-enhancing level of personal fitness. As a result of physical education instruction, the student will be able to do the following:

Demonstrate competence in motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities.
Apply movement principles and concepts to learning and developing motor skills and specialized movement forms.
Achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of personal fitness.
Demonstrate responsible personal and social behaviors in physical activity settings.
Demonstrate a physically active lifestyle, including activity within and outside of the physical education setting.

STEAM

STEAM at Crestwood is a cross-curriculum program that weaves together the disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. Curiosity is fostered as they engage in relevant learning activities such as

using the engineering design process to design and create solutions to problems;
computer science challenges involving coding, robotics, digital citizenship, and cyber security;
makerspace time to explore, imagine and innovate without parameters;
authentic learning experiences that link to the Standards of Learning; and
hands-on innovative experiences such as 3D printing and Breakout Escape Rooms.

Throughout the journey, students focus on strengthening their six innovator “C” skills of creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, connections, and citizenship.