Lenore Blank-Kelner, a Kennedy Center teaching artist, just recently completed her year long residency at Arts Every Day partner schools Lakewood Elementary and Gwynns Falls Elementary. Lenore has been working closely with the students to expand their literacy and language through theater.
Throughout the residency, Lenore brought language and literacy to life by selecting books that would engage and challenge students. The Pre-Kindergarten to 3rd grade students learned how to become characters and improvise dialogue for the characters. Lenore used dramatization so students could learn how to understand different points of view. The students were able to infer what the characters may be feeling, thinking and saying. By the end, the students made great progress in higher level thinking.
On April 28th and May 10th, Lenore led a family workshop at Lakewood and Gwynns Falls, respectively, where the students’ parents and/or caregivers could continue building their child’s vocabulary and literacy. The family workshops brought over 50 parents, family members, and students to engage in activities that enhance learning through storytelling. Parents actively participated in creating their own story’s characters and shared their story with their children.
