Interpreting

Literature
through
Visual Arts
MC ENG 102 - FINAL
lEARNING oBJECTIVES

OBJECTIVE 1 OBJECTIVE 3
OBJECTIVE 2

DISCUSS THE
ROLE OF IDENTIFY REFLECT ON
VISUAL ARTS EXAMPLES OF CREATIVE
IN CREATIVE EXPERIENCES
DEVELOPING EXPERIENCES THAT CAN BE
LITERACY AND USED IN THE
SKILLS AMONG ACTIVITIES CLASSROOM
CHILDREN FOR SCHOOL-
AGE CHILDREN
iNTRODUCTION
The paintings and sculptures of the leading
artists of the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci
and Michelangelo, are prized interpretations of
a beloved text. So has the Bible inspired visual
arts for centuries, which through carefully
chosen words were created works of arts.
Using visual arts as a form to interact with
literature can do much to promote literacy among
learners.
These visual arts may include painting, sketching
and drawing, sculpture (clay, dough), photography
and digital art, textiles, mosaics, pottery, crafts,
stamping, group murals, fashion and fabrics, and
multicultural art.
This is not to suggest that a
literature teacher would teach art
iNTRODUCTION and engage the students in
crafting art than teach literature.

Rather, this strategy is meant to

make the learner see and discover
for himself what special meaning
literature may offer beyond
absorbing knowledge.
There are limitless
potentials and literacy
that young learners,
children for that
matter, can derive in
the study of literature
through the creative
arena, such as the
visual arts.
It is the aim of this
lesson, to make you as a
future literature guru to
make that possible by
nurturing the holistic
development of your
learners intellectually,
socially, and emotionally
through visual arts
(Langer, 1990).
Our experiences tell us that some
children inhibit themselves from talking,
perhaps due to a lack of facility of
expression or due to some emotional
issues affecting them. This is where the
arts come in as a powerful tool to help
children express themselves what they
cannot do in words.
When words are hard to come by,
creative expressions like drawing,
painting, sculpting, or other visual
representation of their feelings open
child-friendly options and alternatives
to enable them to express themselves
and to show what they know, thereby
paving the way for healthy
development and love for learning
(Gandini, 1992).
Given this golden opportunity to tap
the creativity and ingenuity of young
minds and to make learning
successful, the teacher is advised
for that matter not to be
overbearing and domineering.
Dictating what to do or what to use
would, and could, dampen the
enthusiasm of the learner, unless it
is necessary when it involves
developing a skill like sewing or
writing an essay where specific skills
or strategies need to be taught
(Althouse et al., 2003).
Probing and analyzing selected works
urges one to ask questions, pay
attention to details, conjecture and
imagine, and to draw insightful
conclusions. Also, brainpower is
stimulated to make meaning of
words and vocabulary.
Probing and analyzing selected works
urges one to ask questions, pay
attention to details, conjecture and
imagine, and to draw insightful
conclusions. Also, brainpower is
stimulated to make meaning of
words and vocabulary.
Eisner (1998)
“What cannot be
conveyed or
constructed in
words is often
possible in visual
images...”
In "Learning Art, Learning
Literacy,” DeFord (2014),
educators with the
expertise and know-how on
the interrelationship
between arts and literacy
examine books of this
nature to find out the
truth behind Eisner's words.
In the first book, "The Power of
Pictures," the author explains
how teachers can, through arts,
urge students, particularly those
who encounter difficulties in
learning, make great strides in
the domains of both reading
and writing.
Especially with children who do not
have the facility of expression, the
author shows teachers how
teaching literary text through the
medium of visual arts, be it a
simple art work, can improve
cognitive skills and heighten
literacy achievement.
Given exposure to well-crafted
picture books, storybooks, and the
like along with the opportunity to
dabble in art, these children, oozing
with rich imagination and real-life
experiences, are able to recognize
words and make artistic
representations of these.
With more encouragement, soon
enough they become confident to
craft and design their own
creative works and literary
"masterpieces."
In the second book, "Thinking and
Learning through Drawing in
Primary Classrooms," the author
points out how drawing provides
the avenue for children to be
creative and to express
themselves with more freedom and
less restraint.
Whether they use drawing to express
what they feel, what they see, and
what they know or to create what
their minds conceive, this artistic
expression gives children a wider
room to see and discover the world
from their limited worldview and arm
them with the confidence and
assurance to be themselves as they
grapple to present their own fresh
ideas in their art works.
The book infuses a new perspective
in the teaching of literature by
pointing out the uses of drawing as a
powerful tool in lending support and
encouragement to how children think
and learn. It equally gives compelling
reasons for competent authority to
look into how arts, considering their
practical uses, merit, and relevance,
can be integrated into the curriculum.
Arts are a powerful tool for literacy.
Smith and Herring (1996) recognize the arts
as "hands on" experiences to build problem-
solving and critical thinking skills.
This is true, as in the case when a student
is given an art work to accomplish, and the
student has to muster all the skills like
critical thinking, decision-making, analysis,
focus and concentration, negotiation and
bargaining, communication, team work, and
collaboration to achieve his purpose.
These necessary set skills come to the fore
and come in handy on times like this (Siks,
1983). At the same time, this leads the
student to a time of reflection,
contemplation, and self-awareness.
When arts activities
are integrated into
reading lessons, it is
amazing how children
do not get tired
telling and retelling
stories about their
experience in creating
their art work.
This validates what Mathieson
(2015), in her action research
study, found about the impact of
arts activities upon the learners'
literacy skills.

Catterall (2002) goes further in saying that

the satisfaction, fulfillment, and the breadth
of experience a learner derives from artistic
reasoning, visual arts instruction, and
fashioning art works translate into improved
writing skills such as organizing and
sequencing ideas and interpreting texts or
reading between the lines besides enhancing
Catterall (2002) goes further
in saying that the
satisfaction, fulfillment, and
the breadth of experience a
learner derives from artistic
This validates what reasoning, visual arts
Mathieson (2015), in her instruction, and fashioning
art works translate into
action research study,
improved writing skills such
found about the impact
as organizing and sequencing
of arts activities upon ideas and interpreting texts
the learners' literacy or reading between the lines
skills. besides enhancing reasoning
and way of thinking and
eagerness for reading.
Other studies also
present evidence how
the delight and pleasure
in art-making experiences
encourage students to
use and hone their skills
in the performance of
their tasks aside from
intensifying their interest
in learning activities.
Finally, Fung (2013) in an earlier study, points
out how the integration of meaningful and
purposeful artworks in the study of
literature serves as a fertile ground for
innovativeness and creative ideas, in
addition to developing and enhancing self-
confidencé and promoting teamwork and
collaboration. It, thus, behooves teachers to
impart learning in meaningful ways to make
the learner ever willing to learn.
end of
discussion