Literacy Through the Arts

"Literacy through the Arts" is an innovative approach to teaching literacy skills to adults with developmental and other significant disabilities that need not interfere with learning. Programming is designed to address a wide spectrum of literacy levels, from basic literacy skills to college and employment literacy.

The most successful aspect of the Literacy through the Arts program is how it has inspired in adult students the desire to learn. By using arts as the methodology, our adult learners are able to take a hands-on approach to literacy, to create and explore words, numbers, and in ways that are comfortable to them. Adult students participate actively in the literacy courses we offer which fit their level of reading and writing. One of the project goals is to create an engaging learning community atmosphere by infusing the literacy components into lesson plans across different art media. For example, in the morning class students might read and discuss a poem about dragonflies. Then, in the following afternoon ceramics class, they work on rendering images of dragonflies. The assignment will include haiku poetry using letter stamps on clay plaques. The results of these classes include wonderful art projects that help students learn literacy. Throughout our lesson plans students keep journals to document their work and learning progress.

While its core aspect remains the same, this program is constantly evolving to customize the learning needs of adult learners. Although course offerings vary by site, the Literacy through the Arts program has grown to include: Literacy through American Sign Language, Literacy through Ceramics, Music and Literacy, Literacy through Weaving and Sewing, Literacy through Painting and Drawing, Literacy and Dance, Computer Literacy, Life Skills, and a weekly literature circle.

VSA of Hawai‘i-Pacific’s Literacy through the Arts program has been recognized as a viable way of teaching literacy by a number of institutions, including Hawai‘i State Department of Adult Education and the U.S. Department of Education, CASAS.