PRESS PHOTO BY PAUL WILLISTEIN

A presentation on "Crossing the Curriculum with English and Art" was given at the Northampton Area School District Board of Directors' April 28 meeting. From left, front row, holding their art work: Northampton Middle School 7th grade students Jurnee Wenz, Andrew Kovalchik, Kristin Unangst, Abby Wheeler, Portia Atkins and Matthew Eyre, and back row, Mrs. Patricia Jones, 7th grade English teacher, and Mrs. Erin Miller, Middle School art teacher. The students created their art based on a stanza from a poem. Concepts of "mind maps," "the big idea" and "sensory poetry" were utilized, the teachers explained to school directors who were each given a copy of the poem to compare with the students' art. The exercise was to help students "think outside the box," or in this case, outside the lines of poetry. "It helps them to understand the poetry even better," said Jones. "They could talk about each others' work and have conversations about it," Miller said.