Finding the Fine Arts in the Generalist Teaching World

Are you a middle school or elementary generalist? Are you also in charge of teaching a couple of fine arts classes, such as Art, Drama and/or Dance? Do you need help or a desire to reach out? Then look no further! I am looking for a group interested in getting together to network, share ideas and help create a big picture of your future program with great usable lessons plans. Please contact me at jrherman@cbe.ab.ca if you are interested in participating. I am offering 2 dates: Saturday, February 27th or Saturday March 5th. We will get together between 11am and 1pm, and to keep it casual I will be booking a private room at a restaurant in Calgary TBA. Unfortunately because we do not receive funding for our meeting, paying for your lunch will be up to you. Please let me know your preferred date and we will decide on one. Hope to see you there!

Get ready for another exciting fine arts opportunity! The Calgary and Regional Fine Arts Council is organizing a conference on April 23rd! The conference will have 8 sessions to choose from and will run from 9:00am to 1:30pm, including refreshments during the break. Sessions include drumming from Painted Drum company, creating artist trading cards, dramatic movement, 3D art and more! More detailed information to come, and hope to see you there!

This is a great book for any teacher looking for a unit on drumming. It looks at West African drumming, Latin American drumming as well as other cultures. Each lesson builds on rhythms to play between 2 and 5 different rhythms simultaneously. The book includes a listening CD, where students can enter a listening log to respond to songs. Also included are assessment templates and graphic organizer for students to plan and create their own compositions.