Learning Objectives: 

Participants will be able to:

• Understand and explain elements of the Simple View of Reading and how it can support literacy in the arts
• Implement classroom tools and strategies to improve students’ literacy 
• Utilize literacy tools and strategies to improve instruction in the arts 

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Consider This Scenario

Ms. Spencer is a high school art teacher. While she spends much of her time helping students hone their skills in drawing and painting, she also knows that art reflects and sheds light on society, culture, and key historical events. One of her favorite units to teach has been on the historical eras that shaped and were shaped by great artists. She has even worked with teachers from the social studies department to examine these historical eras in more depth. She decided to introduce short historical and biographical texts in her classes to introduce artists and their time periods. However, she notices that many students struggle to make it through the passages and often do not seem to comprehend what they read. She knows that the English Language Arts department and intervention specialists work with students who struggle to read, but she would like to do something in her classes to support these students. She is just not sure exactly how to support them.    

Connection Point

In your Course Companion Document, consider these questions:  

• Can you relate to the above scenario? In what ways are your challenges in literacy instruction similar or different? 

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How can literacy instruction benefit arts students?

Literacy is key to students’ understanding and appreciation of the arts. At the same time, the arts can provide opportunities for students build their reading, writing, and speaking skills. Students need to access texts about the arts in order to fully understand how painting, music, dance, and other art forms are shaped by their historical place in time, society, and culture. The arts also unlock opportunities for students to engage with complex texts, advanced vocabulary, and drawing inferences and conclusions – all key to comprehending what they read.  

Ohio’s Fine Arts Standards identify several artistic processes including creating, performing, responding to an artistic work or performance, and connecting artistic ideas with personal meaning and external content. Students in art, choir, drama, and dance may typically read and write less than they would in an English class. However, literacy skills including reading, writing, listening, and speaking, are indispensable for students’ full experience of the arts. For example, reflecting on or evaluating a work of art may require students to: 

• read about the historical and culture context of the work
• synthesize, analyze, and compare large sections of text that are often written in unfamiliar language 
• understand unfamiliar vocabulary and use word parts – prefixes, suffixes, and roots – to establish the meaning of a word 
• create a graphic organizer to take notes and formulate their evaluation 
• use grammatically and logically correct sentences and paragraphs to convey meaning 
• employ notes, tables, and graphics to convey their ideas in a presentation alongside written text 

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Literacy and the Arts - Dr. Joshua Lawrence (Part 1) 

In Part One of the video presentation, Dr. Lawrence describes the Simple View of Reading and its application for supporting student literacy in the Arts.  

Reflection Question on Video One: Consider some components of the Simple View of Reading identified by Dr. Lawrence that impact reading in the arts (Background, reasoning, academic language & vocab, searching & sources, literacy knowledge, perspective taking).  Which of these elements of effective reading do you commonly draw on in your classroom? What elements might you begin to employ to more effectively teach your students?  

There is space in your Course Companion to answer the question. 

Literacy and the Arts - Dr. Joshua Lawrence (Part 2)

In part two of the video presentation, Dr. Lawrence describes different tools and strategies that middle and high school arts teachers can employ to support student literacy in their classroom. 

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Knowledge Check

Take the brief quiz below to test your knowledge. Click the square button to expand the quiz. ​

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Resources

Disciplinary Literacy in the Arts – Dr. Joshua Lawrence Presentation Handout: This document provides an overview of content from this course in addition to several tools that can be used in arts classrooms to support students’ literacy.  

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Course Reflection

Which of the tools and/or strategies identified by Dr. Lawrence could you incorporate into your current instruction in the arts? What steps do you need to take? 

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To Learn More

Ohio’s Fine Arts Standards provide guidance on the knowledge and skills that students should possess in the arts. Effective literacy instruction and resources can greatly enhance students’ knowledge and skills associated with the arts as well as their appreciation and experience of the arts.  

The High-Quality Instructional Materials Rubric – K-12 Fine Arts provides guidance on selecting materials that support a robust, effective curriculum for fine arts. As you review the rubric, keep in mind that ways that reading, writing, and speaking are essential parts of high-quality instructional materials.  

Feedback: 

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Last Modified: 2/19/2025 10:10:58 AM

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