Betty Picard, Rick Overgaard, and Bene Johnson

"The Art of Africa," the winning project designed by Picard and her co-team members, Overgaard and Johnson, is designed to help students at Sonoma Elementary School develop a comprehensive picture of a world culture, learn about the role of the arts in that culture, and create visual and performance artwork. More than 925 students in kindergarten through fourth- grade in three district schools will benefit. Students will look and listen to examples of African art and music on the Internet and watch African-style dance. They will also create their own African folk art and compose a choreographed, musical accompaniment for a performance in front of another class during a reading of an African folktale. The students will also learn about the construction of musical instruments and how they are used in that culture. Younger students will create decorative necklaces and decorate drums, while older students will create a Bambulina Hanging, a woven art from South Africa, and galimoto sculptures, a wire art from Malawi. All students will read at least one African folktale, describe the characters and setting, state the conflict and predict the ending.