Art classes bring academics to life in Bowie

Elementary schools find exciting ways to teach language, math

Raphael Talisman⁄The Star Art teacher Mia Thompson helps Jason Mabry, 4, create his first collage during an art class at Whitehall Elementary School in Bowie on Oct. 10. Featured Jobs See all jobs

The pupils are learning everything from the differences between living and nonliving things to nature and the environment.

‘‘My job is to integrate art into the curriculum,” Thompson said.

Thompson, in her sixth year as an art teacher with Prince George’s County Public Schools, is among 38 teachers in the county’s Elementary Interrelated Art Program.

The program is organized around themes from schools’ reading, writing, math, science and social studies curriculums, said county schools spokesman John White.

‘‘Through their study of core academic subjects and complementary performance-based instructional tasks related to the visual arts, students [have] the opportunity to significantly improve their overall academic performance,” White said.

Brenda Makle, the school system’s visual arts supervisor, said the program has been placing traveling art teachers in the county’s elementary classrooms since 1995.

Parent volunteers ran the art classes at Whitehall, Tulip Grove and other elementary schools before the program started.

Northview Elementary Principal Judy Bissett says the program has been quite helpful.

‘‘I think it helps to reinforce what they are learning, and it also gives the children just a wonderful opportunity to express themselves in such creative ways,” Bissett said.

Thompson met one class of first-graders at Whitehall Elementary on Oct. 10 for the first time, teaching the pupils how to draw a cat. Simultaneously, the children learned the ‘‘at” sound, different shapes, patterns and colors.

At Whitehall, pupils’ artwork and creations are displayed all over the school, including a construction-paper model volcano, Indian torans (a kind of decorative banner), fall leaf collages and the first-graders’ drawings.

‘‘Art makes a school look like kids belong here,” Thompson said.

Thompson said her classes give children a chance to express themselves and reinforce the lessons they are learning. Yet, the most important lesson Thompson wants the children to learn is to love art, regardless of their level of artistic talent.

‘‘I teach the kids there’s no wrong answer in art. They know that art comes from the heart,” she said.

An Annapolis native who graduated from Salisbury University, Thompson said she knew she wanted to teach art since she was a child.

‘‘I’ve always dreamt of having an overhead projector,” she said.

Whitehall first-graders gave Thompson positive reviews on her first class.

‘‘Having art class is very good. I really like our new art teacher, and I hope she gets to stay here at Whitehall,” said Lizziey Bailey, 6.

Lizziey said she enjoyed drawing her cat and hopes to be able to teach others, as Thompson encouraged the children to do.

Sarah Kieser, 6, said her favorite part was how Thompson taught the concept of drawing a slanted line to make the cat’s body.

‘‘My favorite part was sliding down the mountain [in the drawing] because I love sled riding,” she said.

Whitehall Principal Jerenze Campbell enthusiastically pointed out the pupils’ projects hanging in the school’s hallways.

‘‘I’m elated. It’s definitely something that’s needed,” Campbell said.

At Tulip Grove, pupils are excited about art, said Kim Allegrezza, head of the school PTA’s Art Awareness Committee. In previous years, Tulip Grove pupils did not have an art teacher, and Allegrezza and other parent volunteers taught art lessons using a cart that traveled from classroom to classroom.

‘‘The best thing is their faces when they see the art cart being pushed into the classroom,” Allegrezza said ‘‘You see the kids light up. They’re so excited, and they’re so proud of the art they create. That makes it all worthwhile.”