The purpose of this chat was to discuss how the arts can improve upon literacy instruction within the classroom.  The discussion was led by BJ Berquist.  (She actually led my Tips and Tricks session as well.)  In addition to myself, two other teachers joined the discussion.  One was a technology teacher in an elementary school and the other was a Spanish high school teacher.  During our time together, the leader suggested various websites for us to review.  She had many helpful suggestions.  First, she led us to  the Prelinger Collection: http://www.archive.org/details/prelinger and the Library of Congress Motion Picture and Reading Room: http://www.loc.gov/rr/mopic/.  Both sites allowed educators to access films which could then be used to introduce students to specific reading content.  Now I have these sites in addition to Unitedstreaming to help introduce students to content via short video clips.  We also were introduced to the National Gallery of Art for Kids:  http://www.nga.gov/kids/kids.htm.  This site was very interesting because students could create their own interactive art.  I thought that students could visit this site to create original artwork.  Once they had created their masterpiece, they could use it as inspiration to compose a creative writing piece in language arts.  I can really see my students being motivated to write after they have had an opportunity to express themselves artistically.  BjB also referenced three sites that would be very beneficial for creating story quilts:  http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=242,
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/childrens-art-activities/lesson-plan/5613.html, and http://www.historyofquilts.com/hpowers.html.  For instance, Faith Ringgold’s books nicely tie into story quilting.  She also found ways for us to tie art to other content areas as well.  For example, the site:  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/rbpehtml/ was very helpful, because it provides posters that tie in with history content that my fourth graders are learning about this year.  Finally, one of my favorite sites that she directed me to was Carol Hurst’s Children’s Literature Site:  http://www.carolhurst.com/.  This site is awesome, because it lists quality picture books that can be used to discuss various topics throughout the curriculum.  It is a very user-friendly site that also provides possible activities that you could use in the classroom. 

Ultimately, I feel like I walked away from this Tapped In session with some quality resources that I can use in my classroom.  I think that Tapped In is an excellent resource for teachers wishing to gain some extra professional development in certain areas of the curriculum.  It is nice because teachers network together and share ideas.  In the sessions that I have attended, I have found the leader to be very knowledgeable and helpful.  It is nice because many sessions are only one hour, but you can gain a lot of helpful tips and advice during that brief time.  I think that this is a great resource for teachers to have access to throughout the school year.