Using the Videos and Web Site

Each workshop session is approximately two hours, which includes one hour for viewing the program plus one hour of on-site preparation, discussion, and activities.

Weekly workshop sessions scheduled around live broadcasts of the programs should begin at least 30 minutes before scheduled broadcasts.

You may prefer to watch the programs on videotape or streaming video, so you can schedule sessions at times that are most convenient for all participants.

You can participate in this workshop as part of a group or on your own. If you are taking this workshop alone, you are your own facilitator. To download program guides, readings, and handouts, use the Support Materials page.

Planning Workshop Sessions
This site and the printed guide provide all the information you need to conduct your workshop sessions. For each session, you will find:

• background material, including key concepts, vocabulary, teacher notes, materials, and lesson plans you can use in your own school;
• on-site session guides, with timed discussions and activities for before, during, and after the program; and
• between-session homework and activities to pursue on your own.

On-Site Sessions
Each on-site session consists of three parts:

Getting Ready
In preparation for watching the program, you will engage in 10 to 25 minutes of discussion and activity (for specific times, see the individual sessions).

Watching the Program
Then you will watch the 60-minute program. You may want to consider the questions posed in this guide while viewing the program and discuss them later.

Suggested Activities and Discussion
Wrap up the session with an additional period of activities and discussion (for specific times, see the individual programs).

Optional Extended Workshop Sessions For Programs 1-4, you may choose to explore the optional four-hour sessions of on-site activities and discussion that can significantly enhance your understanding of these programs. You can use this material to enrich or replace the two-hour sessions of these programs.

Between Sessions (On Your Own)

Homework Assignments
Exercises and activities reinforce practices learned in the previous program and prepare you for the next one.

Reading Assignments
Reading assignments support your understanding of the current program and introduce you to topics for the next program.

Ongoing Activities
Continue your personal investigations and reflections in your daily activities. In addition to the specific ideas listed for each program, here are some ways to enrich your overall experience of this workshop:

• Keep a journal. Include your thoughts, questions, and discoveries about the arts in education from what you experience in the workshop and in your own classroom.
• Attend a show at a museum, theatre, dance company, or orchestra in your community. Share this experience of the arts with workshop participants and students in your classroom.
• Watch the programs in The Arts in Every Classroom companion video library. See teachers, students, administrators, and others at work in classrooms where arts play a vital role in teaching and learning.
• Share ideas on Channel-TalkArtsk5@learner.org. Subscribe to an email discussion list and communicate with other workshop participants online.

Hints for Facilitators
Each week, one person should be selected in advance to facilitate the workshop session. You may choose to have two people share the responsibility, with one facilitating Getting Ready and the other facilitating Suggested Activities and Discussion.

Use these tips to plan and conduct a successful session:

• Plan Your Session
  Review the entire session on the Web or in the printed guide, including the readings and background materials. Plan how you will conduct the suggested activities.
• Bring Necessary Materials
  Check the list of general materials needed, such as flip charts, pens, and scratch paper. Also, be sure to check the Getting Ready section for the specific program for videotapes, readings, and handouts you’ll need that week.
• Keep an Eye on the Time
  If you are watching a live broadcast, you may want to set a kitchen timer before you begin Getting Ready so you won’t miss the beginning of the program.
• Record Your Discussions
  Ask someone to take notes or tape-record the session.
• Share Your Discussions on the Web
  Use Channel-Talk to discuss the sessions with participants from other sites.
• Explore Extended Workshop Sessions
  If you have time, use these in-depth, on-site activities to expand or replace the two-hour sessions of Programs 1-4.

Materials Needed
For each workshop session, you will need:

• the videotape or broadcast of that week’s program;
• a television (and a videotape player if you are using videotapes);
• a blackboard or flip chart, a few pages of paper for each participant, and writing materials;
• printed copies of the guide to the complete workshop;
• enough print copies for all participants of the handouts for that week’s program (check the Getting Ready section for that week’s program to find out which handouts you will need);
• enough print copies for all participants of the readings for that week’s program (check the Getting Ready section of that week’s program to find out which readings you will need); and
• any other materials specified in the Getting Ready section of that week’s program.

Buying or Borrowing Quidam
Program 1 includes the opening sequence of Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam. Participants are encouraged to view Quidam in its entirety, ideally after watching Program 1 and before watching Program 2. Teachers who use these lessons in the classroom also are advised to show students the Quidam tape in full.

You can purchase a videotape of the whole Quidam performance at http://store.yahoo.com/cirquestore/video1.html, at other online sellers, or at video stores.

You also may be able to borrow the Quidam tape at your public library or video rental store. If you obtain a single copy for all participants to share, you may wish to set a time when participants can view Quidam together or establish a schedule for participants to borrow the videotape.

Viewing Video Library Programs
Participants may want to develop a similar system for sharing the tapes of The Arts in Every Classroom companion video library or gathering to view a broadcast of these documentary programs via the Annenberg Channel.

Obtaining the Classroom Demonstration Materials Tapes
Audio and video demonstration materials needed to teach the classroom lessons in Programs 1-4 can be found on the Classroom Demonstration Materials videotape, which is provided free to buyers of the workshop videotapes.

If you are watching the broadcast on the Annenberg Channel, call 1-800-LEARNER or visit www.learner.org to obtain the Classroom Demonstration Materials videotape.