Empire State Partnership
This cooperative project between the Antique Boat Museum and the Thousand Islands Central School District developed an Arts-in-Education plan where the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) curriculum along with specific learning units with folk art projects for each grade level resulted in a comprehensive approach to involving artists in the school. Specifically, beginning with the Empire State Partnership (ESP) grant in 2002 and continuing through this year, all elementary teachers are encouraged to participate in the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) curriculum that uses art to teach critical and creative thinking, communication, and visual literacy. The Museum will support the learning units developed by the teachers for the project with photography and artwork to be used for VTS instruction in the classroom.
In addition to the VTS curriculum, each grade level will have its own culminating art project that ties into the local culture of the Thousand Islands. Grade 4 students will focus on the St. Lawrence Skiff with a traditional boatbuilder helping them learn about the process and terminology of boatbuilding. Students will build and document their own model St. Lawrence Skiff using many of the same techniques used in a traditional boatbuilding class.
Grade 3 students will work with a decorative paddle artist exploring painting and souvenir paddles as a tool for studying popular images of area landmarks, boats, and flags. As they create their own paddles, students will reflect upon their own culture today as well as its history.
Grade 2 students will research local duck species and then work with a professional decoy carver to produce their own duck decoys. The students will use the study of decoys to learn more about ecology and their local community.
Grade 1 students will learn about fish printing as a way to record the size of fish and also as an art form. Students will learn more about the area's rich fishing culture with a local fishing guide and painter.
In future years, we hope to expand the program to include grade 5 students, who will build a model runabout boat. This will once again help them make connections with the region's traditional artisans, its history, and dependence on the water.
EMPIRE STATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM GOALS
1. Students and teachers understand the impact the St. Lawrence River has on inhabitants in the past, present, and future.
2. The Antique Boat Museum partnering with the TI Central School District infuses the arts and culture of the St. Lawrence River into the elementary curriculum.
3. The partnership between the Antique Boat Museum and the TI Central School District builds capacity to deliver elementary Arts in Education programs.
EMPIRE STATE PARTNERSHIP CURRICULUM INTEGRATION
Arts Standards:
1: Creating, Performing, and Participating in the boatbuilding / paddle painting / decoy carving / print making process.
2: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources for boatbuilding / paddle painting / decoy carving / print making process.
3: Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art using Visual Thinking Strategies to explore St. Lawrence Skiffs / paddles / decoys / photographs in the collection of the Antique Boat Museum.
4: Understanding the Cultural Contributions of boatbuilding / paddle painting / decoy carving / printing in the Thousand Islands Region of the St. Lawrence River and be able to compare with other cultures around the world.
Social Studies Standards:
1: History of the United States and New York - In particular, the "Gilded Age" at the turn of the century when St. Lawrence Skiffs / hunting / fishing /vacationing became a way of life as people escaped growing cities in favor of quiet unspoiled places and a slower sense of time and space.
2: Geography - Students will explore how the Thousand Islands Region is connected to the rest of the world.
Math, Science and Technology Standards
1: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design to read a rule/tape measure, and sketching as they learn about the process of boatbuilding / paddle painting / decoy carving.
2: Information Systems Using word processing and desktop publishing programs students will create finished projects.
ELA Standards
1: Language for Information and Understanding to gather and interpret information from photographs and postcards; primary source documents like catalogues, newspapers, and brochures; and guest speakers and resident artists.
2: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation - VTS increases observation skills, evidential reasoning, speculative abilities, and the ability to find multiple solutions to complex problems.
3: Language for Social Interaction - VTS practices respectful, democratic collaborative problem solving.
In addition to the VTS curriculum, each grade level will have its own culminating art project that ties into the local culture of the Thousand Islands. Grade 4 students will focus on the St. Lawrence Skiff with a traditional boatbuilder helping them learn about the process and terminology of boatbuilding. Students will build and document their own model St. Lawrence Skiff using many of the same techniques used in a traditional boatbuilding class.
Grade 3 students will work with a decorative paddle artist exploring painting and souvenir paddles as a tool for studying popular images of area landmarks, boats, and flags. As they create their own paddles, students will reflect upon their own culture today as well as its history.
Grade 2 students will research local duck species and then work with a professional decoy carver to produce their own duck decoys. The students will use the study of decoys to learn more about ecology and their local community.
Grade 1 students will learn about fish printing as a way to record the size of fish and also as an art form. Students will learn more about the area's rich fishing culture with a local fishing guide and painter.
In future years, we hope to expand the program to include grade 5 students, who will build a model runabout boat. This will once again help them make connections with the region's traditional artisans, its history, and dependence on the water.
EMPIRE STATE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM GOALS
1. Students and teachers understand the impact the St. Lawrence River has on inhabitants in the past, present, and future.
2. The Antique Boat Museum partnering with the TI Central School District infuses the arts and culture of the St. Lawrence River into the elementary curriculum.
3. The partnership between the Antique Boat Museum and the TI Central School District builds capacity to deliver elementary Arts in Education programs.
EMPIRE STATE PARTNERSHIP CURRICULUM INTEGRATION
Arts Standards:
1: Creating, Performing, and Participating in the boatbuilding / paddle painting / decoy carving / print making process.
2: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources for boatbuilding / paddle painting / decoy carving / print making process.
3: Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art using Visual Thinking Strategies to explore St. Lawrence Skiffs / paddles / decoys / photographs in the collection of the Antique Boat Museum.
4: Understanding the Cultural Contributions of boatbuilding / paddle painting / decoy carving / printing in the Thousand Islands Region of the St. Lawrence River and be able to compare with other cultures around the world.
Social Studies Standards:
1: History of the United States and New York - In particular, the "Gilded Age" at the turn of the century when St. Lawrence Skiffs / hunting / fishing /vacationing became a way of life as people escaped growing cities in favor of quiet unspoiled places and a slower sense of time and space.
2: Geography - Students will explore how the Thousand Islands Region is connected to the rest of the world.
Math, Science and Technology Standards
1: Analysis, Inquiry, and Design to read a rule/tape measure, and sketching as they learn about the process of boatbuilding / paddle painting / decoy carving.
2: Information Systems Using word processing and desktop publishing programs students will create finished projects.
ELA Standards
1: Language for Information and Understanding to gather and interpret information from photographs and postcards; primary source documents like catalogues, newspapers, and brochures; and guest speakers and resident artists.
2: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation - VTS increases observation skills, evidential reasoning, speculative abilities, and the ability to find multiple solutions to complex problems.
3: Language for Social Interaction - VTS practices respectful, democratic collaborative problem solving.
Visit Click here to learn more about NYSCA.
To contact the Museum Education Department:
Email lnadolski@abm.org
