Fourth grade students had the honor meeting a Native American, Mr. Worden, Tu La La, who shared stories with
important cultural connections and taught the
Native American Flute. Students got to hear stories of earth and sky and learned about how the earth and sky are portrayed in fiction and
nonfiction.
William Worden – Music: Ethnic
Mr. Worden has studied and performed in theaters and ballets; he is a
master flute‐maker, flute player, and storyteller. He learned the art of
flute making on the Seminole Reservation in South Florida. Students of
all grade levels are captivated by his regalia and h use of Native
American sign language while he tells
ancient legends and stories. With
primary grade levels, William teaches
each class how to play the flute. Older
students learn simple songs and
improvisation.
More about Arkansas Learning Through the Arts
ARTS PROGRAMS ENGAGE KIDS IN LEARNING!
Arkansas Learning Through The Arts (ALTTA) offers literacy arts-focused workshops integrating
language arts, social studies, art and music learning standards that are taught in specific curriculum
units throughout the school year.
Workshops generally consist of two one-hour sessions with a Teaching Artist in a language arts classroom.
Each workshop includes Lesson Planning Guides (LPG’s) for the artist and classroom teacher to use to
integrate student learning from various subject areas.
Residencies include literacy workshops and arts-focused sessions giving students a more hands-on arts
experience with the teaching artist. These arts-focused sessions are generally held in the specialty teachers’
classrooms or in the library. For example, poetry may be held during the scheduled library periods, dance in
the gym, and music in the music classroom. Specialist teachers participate in the planning and in the activities
in order to connect the programs to their curriculum requirements.
Artists engage the students through:
*Demonstrating their art form.
*Following lesson plans shared with classroom teachers prior to the workshop.
*Integrating their art form with texts being studied in language arts and social studies classes.
*Staging an informal final arts performance in the classroom as a culminating event.
Classroom teachers are included in the process by:
*Reading selected texts with the students and have them write formative responses to
essential questions that come from the curriculum being taught.
*Reviewing Student Journals with students prior to the workshop or as outlined in the LPG.
*Participating with the Teaching Artist during the lesson. *Completing an on-line assessment at the completion of the workshop, or completing a onepage
survey that is collected by ALTTA.
*Engaging students in re-writing formative responses to essential questions that can be used to
evaluate student learning as a result of the workshop.
*Sharing student writing samples or evaluation data with ALTTA as appropriate.
Costs: The school pays $80 for each arts-focused session (a classroom hour) plus travel expenses for
artists who live more than 40 miles away. Schools must schedule a minimum of 4 sessions per day
and a maximum of 5 sessions in groups of 25 or less. Mini-grants from the Arkansas Arts Council are
available on a first-come, first- serve basis to cover up to half the cost.
Scheduling: These programs should be scheduled to connect with the curriculum according to
the regular timing planned during the school year.
Contact:
Craig Welle, Executive Director, at 214-676- 0222 or e-mail: cmwelle2@gmail.com
Martha Smither, Board President, at 501-922-2743 or email: marthasmither@aol.com