Students at Lincoln Middle School have a beautiful and educational new mural hanging in their stairway! Created by seventh graders during a 2019-2020 Side x Side program, the mural, titled “What is Biodiversity?” was a collaboration between teaching artist Laurie Downey and teachers Ms. Backus, Mr. Lindsay, and Ms. Cabral. The program was integrated with
Join us for the 2021 Summer Arts Institute!
Join Side x Side for its 7th annual summer professional development program on August 18-19, 2021. This year’s Summer Arts Institute will offer a combination of in-person, physically distanced, and virtual workshop options in both Portland and Lewiston with two days of art making and time for planning and networking across districts. Our keynote speaker
Poetry and Art Integrated with Math Unit Helps Students Express Their Pandemic Experience
Fifth grade students in Ms. Harrigan’s and Ms. Tevanian’s Remote Academy classes recently participated in a Side x Side poetry and visual art program led virtually via Google Meet by teaching artists Gretchen Berg and Anne Ackerman. The program kicked off with a delivery of art kits for each student. Working with Berg, students wrote poems of things
Remote Academy Science Unit on Animals Captured in Poetry and Illustration
Third graders in Ms. Salisbury’s class at Portland’s Remote Academy recently participated in a Side x Side poetry and illustration program integrated with a science unit on animals and led by teaching artists Laurie Downey and Gretchen Berg. During the program, students learned to use Project Journals to capture their research on animals through writing
Scenes from the Civil Rights Movement are Brought to Life on Miniature Stages
Second graders in Ms. DeRice’s class at Reiche Community School have been participating in a Side x Side program led by teaching artist Nance Parker and integrated with a literacy and social studies unit on the Civil Rights Movement.
Owl Research Comes to Life During Side x Side Bookmaking Program at Lyseth
Fourth graders in Ms. St. Germain’s class at Lyseth Elementary School recently participated in a Side x Side bookmaking program led virtually by teaching artist Jill Osgood and integrated with a science and literacy unit on owls.
Sixth Graders at Connors Elementary School in Lewiston Learn Illustration Techniques to Illuminate Research
Sixth graders at Connors Elementary School in Lewiston recently participated in a Side x Side visual thinking program led virtually by teaching artist Molly Brown and integrated with a unit on presenting research.
“The Art Check In,” A Side x Side Journaling and Mindfulness Program Concludes at Rowe
This winter, fourth graders in Ms. Hazel’s class at Rowe Elementary School participated in a Side x Side mixed media journaling and mindfulness meditation program led by teaching artist Cat LaBarre.
“Illuminated Poetry” Workshop Presented at the National Art Education Association’s CREATE 2021 National Convention
Side x Side’s Anne Ackerman presented her workshop, “Illuminated Poetry,” with help from coworkers, Meghan Scribner and Side x Side executive director, Beth Wilbur Van Mierlo, during the National Art Education Association’s CREATE 2021 National Convention last week.
Weather Books Featuring Science, Art and Poetry Created By Third Graders at Lyseth On Display
This winter, third grade students at Lyseth Elementary School participated in a Side x Side bookmaking program integrated with a literacy and science unit on weather. The program incorporated both poetry and factual information about weather and was led virtually over Google Meet by Side x Side teaching artists Gretchen Berg and Anne Ackerman. With