Debbie Beninati, BTSALP Music specialist at Sandy Elementary School in Canyons School district wrote two original songs and one original rap for a production of The Day the Crayons Quit. Students in the after school program did the rest: staging, casting, orchestrating on Orff instruments, painting protest signs for the crayons to carry, and creating art work that accompanied the story. Their only “script” was the text of the story, The Day the Crayons Quit , by Drew Daywalt. Safe to say it was a SMASH HIT!
Axis Dance Company: Changing the face of dance & disability. We accomplish our mission through three pillars of activity: artistry, engagement, advocacy
The heart of AXIS is the commissioning, creation, and performance of contemporary dance that is developed through the collaboration of dancers with and without physical disabilities. Our artistic vision to collaborate with high profile choreographers and cutting edge innovative dance makers of our time was an excellent strategy that has resulted in artistically stunning and significant dance works. More than any other company in the United States, AXIS has been at the forefront of the field, building a bridge between contemporary dance, integrated dance, and disability culture.
A few weeks ago, Axis Dance Company based out of Oakland, California introduced a new form of dance – integrated dance – in a day long workshop hosted by the University of Utah region, BTSALP.
AXIS created the opportunity for the children with disabilities at Jordan Valley School to engage in dance with their peers from Sprucewood Elementary (Canyons School District.) They addressed the challenges and opportunities that integrated dance and inclusion present to students, teachers and BTSALP specialists.
Spencer and Camilla Duncan are BTSALP Drama specialists and . . . they are also husband and wife! Spencer teaches at Copper Canyon Elementary and Elk Meadows Elementary in the Jordan School District while Camilla is at Edgemont Elementary and Park Lane Elementary in the Canyons School District.
Spencer’s sixth grade class Copper Canyon have been studying and acting out the Egyptian myth of Osiris during drama class this month. Below is a short synopsis of the Egyptian myth.
The Osiris myth is the most elaborate and influential story in ancient Egyptian mythology. It concerns the murder of the godOsiris, a primeval king of Egypt, and its consequences. Osiris’s murderer, his brother Set, usurps his throne. Meanwhile, Osiris’s wife Isis restores her husband’s body, allowing him to posthumously conceive their son, Horus. The remainder of the story focuses on Horus, the product of the union of Isis and Osiris, who is at first a vulnerable child protected by his mother and then becomes Set’s rival for the throne. Their often violent conflict ends with Horus’s triumph, which restores Maat (cosmic and social order) to Egypt after Set’s unrighteous reign and completes the process of Osiris’s resurrection.
From right to left: Isis, her husband Osiris, and their son Horus, the protagonists of the Osiris myth
“Death on the Nile River”
Camilla Duncan uses the book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, to integrate problem solving , weather and simple machines with her 4th graders at Park Lane Elementary. After a quick warm up, students discuss issues in their imaginary town, Burgertown. How will they clean up all the food that has fallen from the sky? What types of machines can they create that could solve Burgertown’s sanitation problem?
Group Assignment for the Day: Physically create a machine that can solve the problem. Explain how your machine works (Sound effects appreciated!) Name your machine.
Jonathan Hale, BTSALP Visual Art Specialist at Sprucewood Elementary School (Canyons School District,) worked with each grade level to create a colorful mural. Each Mosaic Mural is a compilation of concepts taught at each grade level. Students worked to develop images in clay and then used recycled and donated items to complete the picture. Students reviewed and explored grade level concepts while creating and constructing these mosaic murals.
1st Grade Mosaic Mural
Connections to Grade Level Learning: The main focus of the 1st grade mural is on changes that occur; the seasons change bringing different kinds of weather. In spring the caterpillar changes into a butterfly, plants and flowers grow from seeds. In fall the tree leaves change color and fall to the ground.
The flowers and the snowflakes were constructed using composite shapes. The students explored their knowledge of community making bees, complete with the queen bee and worker bees. The mural emphasizes colors as a way to show temperature and the seasons.
2nd Grade Mosaic Mural
Connections to Grade Level Learning: The main focus of the 2nd grade mural is on the local, state and national symbols. Students created their homes, neighborhoods, and communities including their very own Sprucewood Elementary School, stores and the post office. Students then represented state symbols like the Utah State flag, Utah’s Dinosaur Monument and Arches National Park. At the national level students helped to make the United States flag and the Statue of Liberty. In addition to the local, state and national symbols, students created phases of the moon with shapes divided into equal parts.
3rd Grade Mosaic Mural
Connections to Grade Level Learning: The main focus of this mural is the interconnection of the sun and earth and the rotation of the moon. The mural also includes elements of space with constellations, satellites, spaceships, and the occasional math problem. The constellations were made using a grid with students calculating the area and perimeter of their creations.
4th Grade Mosaic Mural
Connections to Grade Level Learning: The mural focuses on the state of Utah. This mural highlights the many rock formations and types of Utah land forms, how they are formed and the effects of erosion. It also features fossils, Petroglyphs and and the people who told their stories through them. The mural also showcases the meeting of the two railroads at Promontory Point in 1869, Utah counties and even an Allosaurus. The water cycle is featured along with mathematical concepts of symmetry, angles and rays.
5th Grade Mosaic Mural
Connections to Grade Level Learning: The main theme of this mural is the formation of the United States of America. Each mural has a central image and four quadrants that highlight the explorers, patriots, inventors and Yankees that helped shape the American we know and love.
Jordan Valley School is a center-based school located in Midvale, Utah, in the Canyons School District. The students come from throughout the entire school district and take the school bus to and from school each day. All of the students have severe multiple disabilities including, autism, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, seizure disorders, communication impairments, genetic disorders and syndromes, deaf-blindness and students who are extremely medically fragile. The goal of every staff member at Jordan Valley School is to improve the quality of life for our kids and their parents. Students put on a musical production every year and this year it was Dancing Through the Decades.
1917 – “Tiger Rag” 1958 – “Splish Splash”
Students worked with the music therapist and their classroom team to create dance routines that celebrated their abilities and learning. Please notice the backdrop and props! With the talented help of Art Therapist and BTSALP Visual Art Specialist, Jonathan Hale, each student at Jordan Valley played an integral part in creating the backdrop and year for their class performance. Students created the artwork that decorated the stage using spinning art – a favorite art process at Jordan Valley!
1968 – “Yellow Submarine” 1976 – “Dancing Queen”
1977 – “Queen Medley” 1987 – “Livin’ On a Prayer”
1992 – “Jump Around” 2002 – “Sk8er Boi”
2014 – “Everything is Awesome” 2015 – “The Zombie Song”
Two of our BTSALP Visual Arts specialists in the University of Utah region have concluded and published some exciting research.
Read about Jonathan Hale’s joint project between Sprucewood Elementary School and Jordan Valley School (Canyons School District, Salt Lake City, Utah) in VSA INTERNATIONAL: The Kennedy Center Office of VSA and Accessibility blog post below.
Megan Hallett, Director of Framework Arts and BTSALP specialst at Escalante Elementary School, (Salt Lake City School District, Salt Lake City, Utah) is the mastermind behind the Family Art Studio project – a unique parent/child art class. Read more about the Family Art Studio and Megan’s research in the PDF below.
Art Nights, Musical Performances, Theater Productions are what make Springtime in BTSALP schools the best time of the school year! Join the celebration by reading our current newsletter.
North Elementary in Iron County, a STEM Partner school with Southern Utah University, held their STEAM Night highlighting Math and Science integration. BTSALP Visual Arts Specialist: Lori Wrankle.
Lomond View Elementary, Weber School District, BTSALP Visual Arts Specialist: Mendy Reese
North Ogden Elementary, Weber School District, BTSALP Visual Arts Specialist: Alisa Webb
Ogden School District Elementary Arts Festival
Artwork from James Madison and Horace Mann, BTSALP Visual
Arts Specialist: Brent Rhodes and Lincoln, Polk, and Hillcrest,
BTSALP Visual Arts Specialist: Stephanie Jaden
Hooper Elementary, Weber School District, BTSALP Visual Arts Specialist: Alisa Webb
Springtime in BTSALP Schools = Art Nights, Musical Performances, Theater Productions
“Of all of the arts, drama involves the participant most fully: intellectually, emotionally, physically, verbally, and socially.” See what kind of “drama” the young BTSALP thespians from all over the state have created! Click here to read all about it.
The Utah legislative session is in full swing and BTSALP advocates are out in full force showing their LOVE for Arts Integration in Utah’s elementary schools. Read more about BTSALP’s advocacy efforts in our latest newsletter.
You’re in for a visual treat as you read through this month’s BTSALP newsletter. Cassie Walker and her students at Lone Peak Elementary take integrated art to a whole new level. Feast your eyes right here.
