As a HOT School (Higher Order Thinking school), Ashford School is able to collaborate with teaching artists for workshops throughout the year. On May 3, 2023 teaching artist Shanna Melton came to work with the 5th grade classes on a project exploring the intersection between visual art and poetry or written words. To enhance the project Ashford’s Poet Laureate, Anthony Paticchio, began the workshops by reading some of his own poetry as an “artful opening”. Students were then given the opportunity to write to some prompts about their feelings and then to work on a piece of artwork that included both their drawing and their words. This increased the students’ expression and appreciation of poetry. The Ashford Arts Council is pleased to provide an avenue to share the students’ work on this project in their HOT school with our larger community.
A.A.G.
Shanna T. Melton is a poet, painter, art educator, host, and historical preservationist.
Fifth Grade Teachers: Joshua Carpentier and Gina Burnham
Enrichment Teacher: Dr. Carly Levine
Photos by Shanna are labeled as such.