HOME | Arts | Health | Language Arts | Math/Science | Social Studies | World Languages | Glossary
The literary arts are primarily centered around creative writing and the other composition processes. However, writing should be integrated into all other subject areas, including the other arts. Learning to use the components of language arts-reading, writing, speaking, and listening-will provide students with the tools necessary to deal with our informational society, to discover and express one's individuality and understand other cultures and one's role in society. In particular, creative writing offers students a way to contemplate and to give shape to their own ideas and concerns.
Writing creatively should also be integrated with other content area subjects to enhance school-wide education. It is extremely important that all subject areas devote some class instructional time to creative writing as it relates to that particular subject and to demonstrate the cross-over of effective writing to all areas of academic life and work-related necessary skills.
A student's ability to communicate effectively is partly dependent on her or his ability to write well. A literary arts program should provide students with the opportunity to express themselves through creative writing. Writing itself as well as writing about writing helps students learn how they learn, what they believe and value, and what we can learn from and about them. Every student in a literary arts program should be exposed to literature and writing styles from different cultures. Multi-cultural knowledge will help the student develop a more comprehensive understanding of her or his world.
In order to provide an accurate representation of our society, instruction on the impact of women in literature should also be included. Equally, literary arts materials and instruction should be adapted for students with varying learning styles and for students in special populations. Whenever possible, student work should be celebrated through such activities as author's parties, young writer's conferences, and public performances and displays.
adapted from Wyoming Arts Education Curriculum
Alaska Content Standard A: A student should be able to create and perform in the arts. | |||
|
|
|
|
| enjoy a sense of story as both a listener and a performer | perceive writing as an extension of reading, listening, thinking, and speaking | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| demonstrate the use of writing as a process: use techniques of brainstorming, webbing, mapping imagining to select a topic; pre-writing and drafting exercises; editing and revising first drafts after peer and instructor conferencing; polishing ideas for final production | show developing skill in writing as a process: selecting a topic, determining audience, limiting and organizing information/ideas, developing a first draft, revising and polishing, composing for an appropriate audience | show advanced skill in writing as a process: selecting a topic, determining audience, limiting and organizing information/ideas, developing a first draft, revising and polishing, composing for an appropriate audience | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| express feelings and reactions to experiences in various written forms: letters, journals, personal narratives, pictures or dictated stories, poetry, drama, etc. | review personal experiences as a source of writing material | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| select best writing and samples of different types and styles of writing for portfolios | publish in some form examples of personal writing | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| not applicable at this age level | engage in language play for the purpose of building images to express feelings, ideas, and experiences, thus developing and enhancing personal experience, feelings, and ideas | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| not applicable at this age level | use figurative language and other literary devices to enhance writing | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| document writing practice each day through journal-keeping or similar writing | publish in some form more advanced examples of personal writing | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| not applicable at this age level | not applicable at this age level | demonstrate proficiency in writing in a number of literary genres | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
Alaska Content Standard B: A student should be able to understand the historical and contemporary role in the arts in Alaska, the nation, and the world. | |||
|
|
|
|
| show an appreciation for human connections within and among cultures as revealed through language activities | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
Alaska Content Standard C: A student should be able to critique the student's art and the art of others. | |||
|
|
|
|
| demonstrate an appreciation for different genres of literature | articulate the qualities of various types of writing by fellow students and by professional writers, showing understanding and appreciation of literature | demonstrate the ability to respond to and criticize works of literature | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| not applicable at this age level | begin to understand audience and purpose and how they affect the author's direction in writing | exhibit an understanding of audience and purpose and how altering either of these changes writing | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| not applicable at this age level | not applicable at this age level | analyze the strengths and weaknesses of authors and their works | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| participate in peer response | respond appropriately to the writing of others and respond to literature through peer review by giving feedback | judge and evaluate personal writing strengths and weaknesses as well as those of peers | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| attend a play or other public performance and exhibit appropriate-to-the-audience behavior | attend a public literary performance (play, poetry, reading, storyteller, etc.) and demonstrate good audience behavior | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| not applicable at this age level | recognize and appreciate the ownership of own and other people's words | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
Alaska Content Standard D: A student should be able to recognize beauty and meaning through the arts in the students life. | |||
|
|
|
|
| understand a sense of story as both a listener and a performer | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| demonstrate an appreciation for rhythm and beauty of language as a reflection of the world itself, and that writing is a reflection of self, a creative activity to enjoy | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| show how literature and the written word reflect time and place, open a window on the world, and offer a mirror of the self | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| not applicable at this age level | discover, through observation, use of the imagination, and personal experience, a sense of self in writing about the self and human experiences | interact and react to artistic elements of a written work and how each can produce multiple levels of meaning | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| not applicable at this age level | react to personal experiences, feelings, and ideas through a variety of written modes | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| not applicable at this age level | not applicable at this age level | apply the relevance of literary experience to personal experience, feelings, and ideas | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |
| not applicable at this age level | not applicable at this age level | use creative writing to clarify life concepts and values, and as a way to express opinions | same as previous benchmark, plus demonstrating higher levels of skill, dealing with more complex examples, and responding to works of art in increasingly sophisticated ways |