BEN PRODUCTIONS
Arts in Education Program
Art-in-Education Programs
Barbara N. Howard, Teacher-Artist
Mrs. Howard is eager to bring elementary students into the twenty-first century using a unique combination of educational experience coupled with twenty years of professional performance experience. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a Master's Degree in Elementary Education.
She is dedicated to enthusiastic and dynamic teaching as a means of nurturing a lifelong love of learning in children. She has produced and directed special musical and oratorical programs performed by students for special assemblies and graduation ceremonies which include, poetry slam competitions, African-American Historical Performances, storytelling, and Teaching Tolerance Programs.
She received numerous accolades over the years from public school administrators, faculty and parents for producing successful performances with students and raising students' self-esteem and school morale. She believes that with hard work and a belief in our abilities to effect change in the lives of our children, and by helping children gain a strong sense of their worth and strengths; students can learn how to be invested in their own education.
Programs adhere to Common Core standards:
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Reading Standards for Literature K-5
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Concentrating on key ideas, integration of knowledge and ideas, Speaking and Listening Standards K-5
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Aids in developing Comprehension and Collaboration;
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Helps develop skills to read on-grade level and beyond with purpose and understanding;
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Helps students read poetry orally with accuracy, at an appropriate rate, and with expression.
PROGRAMS OFFERED BY BEN PRODUCTIONS
Read and Shine | Table of Brotherhood
Read and Shine
Sessions: Offered all year round
The Read and Shine Series, blends music and storytelling to create an interactive educational experience. The teacher-artist presents multicultural stories, which are brough to life in the form of dramatic engagement. Read and Shine is a way for students to find themselves "absorbed by an aesthetic experience." Students become engaged in a multi-layered, positive literacy experience. Performances run between 35 to 45 minutes, depending upon the needs of the organization.
Suggested events or themes that can be enriched by Read and Shine Productions:
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Beginning of the Year Literacy Kick-off
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Open House Literacy Campaigns Celebration
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African-American History Celebrations
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Family-Fun Night
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Juneteenth Celebrations
Table of Brotherhood
Sessions: Offered in January or April
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. promoted non-violence and tolerance. The purpose of the Table of Brotherhood program is to help students embrace their individuality, while also celebrating and respecting the differences in others. Different does not mean deficient! Teacher-Artist visits classrooms once a week over a four-week period for a 45-minute session. During the sessions, Mrs. Howard introduces students to poetry by authors such as Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou and Mattie Stephanek, to name a few. Students are given background information on the author and are expected to discuss the meaning of the poetry. Next, the students are engaged in a choral recitation of the poetry. Mrs. Howard also collaborates with Music and Art teachers to help students engage in a cross-curriculum theme of teaching tolerance. At the end of the four-week period all grades involved in the program present music, visual art and choral performances for the entire student-body at their Table of Brotherhood Assembly.
