Introduction
In my own elementary schooling experience, I scarcely was involved with art integrated lesson plans. My teachers often taught English, Math, Science, and History while sending us to the specialized classes to learn from an Art teacher, Music Teacher, etc. Growing up, I thought this was standard and learned to view this is a unquestioned way of teaching. However, throughout my university education I now am able to see the importance of bringing art into the main classroom as well. I believe that it's important to incorporated art integrated lessons and this page supports this philosophy.
Much of my arts in the classroom philosophies were acquired in Kaitlin Glause's MSU TE430 Course (Intro to Arts in the Classroom). Part of the following information were adopted from her, and I owe much gratitude to her for the opportunity for me to learn more about how important arts are in the classroom. |
OVERVIEW OF THIS PAGE:
Benefits and Challenges of Arts Integration
Perspectives from Current Practicing Teachers
My Enhancement from Arts Integration Exploration
The Elements of the Four Major Art Forms
Benefits and Challenges of Arts Integration
Perspectives from Current Practicing Teachers
My Enhancement from Arts Integration Exploration
The Elements of the Four Major Art Forms
Benefits and Challenges of Arts Integration
Benefits of Arts Integration
- Increases student engagement - Increases student motivation - Increases student achievement - Reveals students' potential - Develops understanding - Increases retention - Provides authentic and personally meaningful learning - Helps students make more personal connections to content - Helps students express personal connections more in depth - Helps children understand and express abstract concepts - Stimulate higher-level thinking - Helps children develop collaborate work skills - Builds children's confidence - Provides a sense of ownership - Aligns with UDL principles - Offers "a range of languages and symbol systems that provide alternative ways to encode and access information", aligning with Differentiated Instruction practices |
Challenges of Arts Integration
- Fears of creating - Lack of resources (materials/cost) - Time constraints - Lack of knowledge (teacher doesn't know how to integrate) - Too much mess - Classroom management - Parental disagreement - School district demands - Personal fears of teachers and students (fears of creating) |
Overcoming Challenges
- Explore websites and books (ex: ArtsEdge by the Kennedy Center, ClassDoJo)
- Explore other teacher blogs
- Attend developmental workshops
- Collaborate with other specialized teachers (art, drama, music teachers)
- Understand the importance of arts in the classroom through research
- Prepare and plan ahead to help classroom management
"With arts integration, prep and procedure is vital to think about ahead of time. Students need a clear idea of what they have and what they are to be doing when you bring in materials and if not introduced properly can serve as a distraction or hinder the lesson." - Mr. S, Stokie, IL, 4th grade teacher, general education
- Incorporate arts integration which don't require extra materials
"As book reports, students have the potential to write a report, create a wanted poster of a main character, utilize a google slides presentation, write a song/rap, present the main summary as a news segment, and many more. We also utilize kinesthetic movements during our brain breaks in addition to students generating a movement that matches their name. We’ve utilized origami to assist lessons also." - Mr. S, Stokie, IL, 4th grade teacher, general education
- Explore websites and books (ex: ArtsEdge by the Kennedy Center, ClassDoJo)
- Explore other teacher blogs
- Attend developmental workshops
- Collaborate with other specialized teachers (art, drama, music teachers)
- Understand the importance of arts in the classroom through research
- Prepare and plan ahead to help classroom management
"With arts integration, prep and procedure is vital to think about ahead of time. Students need a clear idea of what they have and what they are to be doing when you bring in materials and if not introduced properly can serve as a distraction or hinder the lesson." - Mr. S, Stokie, IL, 4th grade teacher, general education
- Incorporate arts integration which don't require extra materials
"As book reports, students have the potential to write a report, create a wanted poster of a main character, utilize a google slides presentation, write a song/rap, present the main summary as a news segment, and many more. We also utilize kinesthetic movements during our brain breaks in addition to students generating a movement that matches their name. We’ve utilized origami to assist lessons also." - Mr. S, Stokie, IL, 4th grade teacher, general education
Perspectives from Current practicing teachers
Mr. S - Stokie, IL. - 4th grade - General Education
"Arts integration incorporates artistic elements within everyday general education lessons across all subject areas. Artistic elements aren’t necessarily limited to visual arts, but could potentially include audio or kinesthetic elements."
"I do think that arts integration could impact student grades or standardized test scores. It absolutely impacts my willingness to incorporate arts. As an artistic person in general in life, my answer may be biased. Picture this scenario. A student in kindergarten has begun to take one of his tests for the year. It shows a picture on the paper of a square and a cube and asks which figure is three-dimensional. In this scenario, the student may be confused or pick the wrong item as both are displayed in a two-dimensional way. Now give that student play-dough and ask them to make a square and a cube and then choose the three-dimensional object. This artistic integration has now allowed this student to demonstrate their knowledge in a way that would decrease the room for error. This being said, I do think that there is a time and place for artistic integration and you need to adjust to your class as needed and truly think about whether it is enhancing the lesson you are teaching or concept/skill you are looking for them to master."
Other Teachers' Perspectives on Art Integration
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/how-to/arts-integration/why-arts-integration/why-perspectives
Arts Integration Reveals Students’ Potential
“I discover amazing gifts within my classroom that I didn’t realize were hidden in the children. Often they are surprised to discover them as well. This leads to greater motivation, diversity in creativity, and humbles me tremendously in realizing that we never know, as teachers, when a ‘diamond’ will be revealed . . . thus reminding me to never give up on any child.” --Mary Beth Wertime, teacher, Drew Model School, Arlington Public Schools, Virginia
Arts Integration Helps Teachers Reach Every Student
“Every day…I see the light bulbs go off. …through the arts I can help reach each and every student...it allows them to become an individual in a way that shines and showcases their individual creativity, all while learning the material that is required by the state and school.” -- Stacie R. Stoffa, teacher, Lafayette Elementary School, District of Columbia Public Schools
Arts Integration Provides a Sense of Ownership
“Giving students a way to express what they have learned in class through different art forms, whether it is theatre/tableau or studying a painting or writing a poem, truly gives students a sense of ownership of their work and love for what they have created.” --Linda Cerrato Ellis, teacher, Abingdon Elementary School, Arlington Public Schools, Virginia
Increased Motivation, Energy, and Collaboration
“Children learn best when they are engaged in some form of creativity. This has strengthened my teaching skills by not only learning new strategies to incorporate in the classroom, but also developing an awareness of my own talents and self-expression. I am encouraged to be creative, challenged to experience something new, and am becoming a better teacher.” --Joann Quick, teacher, Graham Road Elementary School, Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia
Arts Integration Builds Cooperation, Collaboration, and Confidence
“Implementing arts integration fosters a true ‘our class is a team’ environment. The students learn to cooperate with one another and recognize the strengths of their peers. … They all learn to work together and encourage each other to do their best. The children know they have the support of their group members and so there is a sense of comfort. Student confidence blossoms!” --Alicia Donoghue, teacher, Abingdon Elementary School, Arlington Public Schools, Virginia
Changing Teaching Practices
“I have developed a new understanding of and methods for the use of arts integration as an assessment tool. I have used arts integration as a formative assessment on many occasions—whether as song lyrics, drama, or dance. Through practice, the students have come to realize that they can express their understanding through the arts; which not only makes learning more engaging, but allows them to express understanding on an entirely deeper level.” --Jennifer Lambert, teacher, Stratford Landing, Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia
"Arts integration incorporates artistic elements within everyday general education lessons across all subject areas. Artistic elements aren’t necessarily limited to visual arts, but could potentially include audio or kinesthetic elements."
"I do think that arts integration could impact student grades or standardized test scores. It absolutely impacts my willingness to incorporate arts. As an artistic person in general in life, my answer may be biased. Picture this scenario. A student in kindergarten has begun to take one of his tests for the year. It shows a picture on the paper of a square and a cube and asks which figure is three-dimensional. In this scenario, the student may be confused or pick the wrong item as both are displayed in a two-dimensional way. Now give that student play-dough and ask them to make a square and a cube and then choose the three-dimensional object. This artistic integration has now allowed this student to demonstrate their knowledge in a way that would decrease the room for error. This being said, I do think that there is a time and place for artistic integration and you need to adjust to your class as needed and truly think about whether it is enhancing the lesson you are teaching or concept/skill you are looking for them to master."
Other Teachers' Perspectives on Art Integration
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/educators/how-to/arts-integration/why-arts-integration/why-perspectives
Arts Integration Reveals Students’ Potential
“I discover amazing gifts within my classroom that I didn’t realize were hidden in the children. Often they are surprised to discover them as well. This leads to greater motivation, diversity in creativity, and humbles me tremendously in realizing that we never know, as teachers, when a ‘diamond’ will be revealed . . . thus reminding me to never give up on any child.” --Mary Beth Wertime, teacher, Drew Model School, Arlington Public Schools, Virginia
Arts Integration Helps Teachers Reach Every Student
“Every day…I see the light bulbs go off. …through the arts I can help reach each and every student...it allows them to become an individual in a way that shines and showcases their individual creativity, all while learning the material that is required by the state and school.” -- Stacie R. Stoffa, teacher, Lafayette Elementary School, District of Columbia Public Schools
Arts Integration Provides a Sense of Ownership
“Giving students a way to express what they have learned in class through different art forms, whether it is theatre/tableau or studying a painting or writing a poem, truly gives students a sense of ownership of their work and love for what they have created.” --Linda Cerrato Ellis, teacher, Abingdon Elementary School, Arlington Public Schools, Virginia
Increased Motivation, Energy, and Collaboration
“Children learn best when they are engaged in some form of creativity. This has strengthened my teaching skills by not only learning new strategies to incorporate in the classroom, but also developing an awareness of my own talents and self-expression. I am encouraged to be creative, challenged to experience something new, and am becoming a better teacher.” --Joann Quick, teacher, Graham Road Elementary School, Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia
Arts Integration Builds Cooperation, Collaboration, and Confidence
“Implementing arts integration fosters a true ‘our class is a team’ environment. The students learn to cooperate with one another and recognize the strengths of their peers. … They all learn to work together and encourage each other to do their best. The children know they have the support of their group members and so there is a sense of comfort. Student confidence blossoms!” --Alicia Donoghue, teacher, Abingdon Elementary School, Arlington Public Schools, Virginia
Changing Teaching Practices
“I have developed a new understanding of and methods for the use of arts integration as an assessment tool. I have used arts integration as a formative assessment on many occasions—whether as song lyrics, drama, or dance. Through practice, the students have come to realize that they can express their understanding through the arts; which not only makes learning more engaging, but allows them to express understanding on an entirely deeper level.” --Jennifer Lambert, teacher, Stratford Landing, Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia
My enhancement from arts integration Exploration
There were multiple sources which we had the opportunity to explore while taking this course. Some of the materials we interacted with here Sir Ken Robinson's Do Schools Kill Creativity?, NEA Arts Magazine: Engaed and Empowered, ArtsEdge Website, Weissman's You Can't Get Much Better Than That, Bayles and Orland's Fears about Creating, Young Ha Kim, Be an Artist Right Now, Michigan Touring Arts Guide, reflections on community art events we had the opportunity to attend, and more. I was also able to interview a few current practicing teachers, who are quoted throughout my reflection of important sources which impacted my teaching arts philosophy. Reflections on these course materials are below as well as an overview of elements of the 4 major types of art (Dance, Music, Art, and Theater).
From Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk, I was especially able to have a better understanding of how important the arts are as well as the risks of losing them within our schools. Ken Robinson taught me two important lessons, that “creativity is as important as literacy” and that “if you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never be creative or come up with anything original” (Robinson, 2006). This Ted Talk really set my attitude about integrating the arts upon first entering this TE430 course. Prior to this course, my main experience in creating aligned right with being scared to be wrong. In my elementary schooling days, often when art was integrated into lessons I felt that my teachers still expected something specific as the final product of my work and this in a way both drove my work but limited my ability to be creative. After hearing Robinson's perspective, I took his teachings that not bring prepared to be wrong will mean you’ll never be creative and in turn can use this knowledge to help discuss with students about how important it is to be OK with making mistakes first and only then can one create art. I want students in my classroom to not feel as though I have certain expectations that limit their creativity, but only set expectations that will help them.
In addition to Ken Robinson’s TED talk as an inspiration for my own creativity and my future ideal classroom arts integration, I also was greatly impacted by the National Endowment for the Arts Magazine Article, Engaged and Empowered: The Importance of Arts – “The Art of Turning Things Around”. This article had a very important quote, “We want the children to understand that we’re using the arts as a vehicle for motivation” (NEA Article 1). This article impacted my way of thinking about teaching arts, and inspires me to really explicitly discuss with students both the importance of the subject area they are focusing on as well as the importance of the art. Here I know I am able to use both art standards as well as common core standards to meet the goals of art integration (http://www.nationalartsstandards.org/) As the NEA Article shares, there is a correlation between “in-school art exposure” and positive behaviors, increased academic performance, attendance, and participation (NEA, Article 1). NEA also taught me that “creativity at the center of learning created positive effects for students, teachers, and larger communities” (NEA, Article 4). Aligning with research by the NEA, current practicing teachers also see the positive outcomes from implementing arts integrated lessons into their classrooms. One teacher I had the opportunity to interview shared, "In my experience students are more likely to remember or comprehend material/concepts when there is an artistic component to the lessons that are being taught. When something becomes hands-on, it’s more inclined to stick. Unfortunately not every single student loves to be artistic and some have imaginations that go crazy while others just want to do the right thing. In order to accommodate all students it’s imperative to have a healthy balance of artistic projects that the whole class does and potential artistic projects that supplement other possible outlets" (Mr. S, Stokie, IL, 4th grade teacher, general education). Understanding these important influencers in teaching arts in the classroom as well as the positive outcomes such as improved academics is crucial for understanding the necessity of including arts into the classroom.
From Young Ha Kim through his TED talk “Be An Artist Now”, I was able to better grasp on the idea that “We are all born artists”. Young Ha Kim explained how children act and how much art they do, and how the opportunity to interact leads many children to feel more happy. He also explains how “If you continue to act like an artist as you get older, you’ll increasingly feel pressure – people will question your actions and ask you to act properly”. I felt that these lines really inspired me and help me think about of the box because after contemplation, I do agree that society strips away creativity. Society forces us to go into these roles and gives us rules in doing so. Society tells us we are wasting time by doing art and that art isn’t a valued career path. Society tells us we aren’t artists. However, we are and society is wrong for fighting the natural artists within us. This is something I learned from Young Ha Kim that I will always hold dearly. We need to fight against the stereotypes of “art being a waste of time”.
From Bayles and Orland’s article Fears about Creating, I also gained valuable information and was able to broaden my ways of thinking. In this article, I learned the difference from “acceptance as art” and “approval as art”. Acceptance as art is having your work counted as “art” and people accepting that your piece is art. “Approval” is something different; it means that people like your art work. To me, both of these are very important. I do want people to accept my art as “art” but also I want people to like my creations, learn from them, and appreciate the work I put into them. Some fears I have about creating art go right in line with Bayles and Orland’s words, the need for acceptance and approval. However, I also have come to learn that talent is subjective, and how “good” a piece of art is can change based on person, based on feeling, based on opinion. Reading this and understanding a deeper level of art and ownership of my art helped me to feel more comfortable creating. I want my students to feel this comfort in creating as well and not to worry about their art needing acceptance or approval.
Additionally, I had the opportunity to attend a poetry event through the Lansing Poetry Club and was able to listen to and experience poetry straight from their authors in person. This club was interesting and surprised me as it had food, a few introduction musical numbers, as well as a lot of passion and expression of thought within the poetry performances. This experience helped me see how important art can be and what poetry can do in a society, especially how it can act towards activism or increasing awareness on an issue. This event also helped me see the importance of actual performance of art, and how differing efforts of expression and the way one reads a poem can completely change the atmosphere and take away from the poetry performance. It was an amazing opportunity to listen to artists perform their pieces and taught me how important it is for students to feel confident not only in creating but also in sharing or performing their art.
Dan Weissman helped me to see different perspectives of art. From his article You Can’t Get Much Better Than That, I learned some valuable lesson such as the importance of “getting [students] to confront their fears and overcome their weaknesses” (Weissman, pg. 30). He shared that “The purpose of art is to change consciousness” and that “In creating artful documentation, teachers and teaching artists gain new insights and raise new questions about the creative and learning processes. It is, itself, a form of disciplined inquiry that makes arts integrated teaching authentic intellectual work for adults” (Weissman, pg. 31). This quote really resonates with me as I grew up in a schooling situation which placed arts on the back burner, teaching me that art is just something to do in free time and isn’t as important as learning other subjects. However, after being in this TE430 course and being affirmed of my new thinking from Dan Weissman’s article, I am able to better understand the importance behind art and what it can do to a student…and an adult…’s view of themselves, their expressions, and their abilities in creating. As my research from the Michigan Touring Artist Guide gave me inspiration, Dan Weissman’s article gave me motivation.
In addition to the Michigan Touring Artist Guide and Dan Weissman, ArtsEdge also was a part of my preparation for this project. Through ArtsEdge I was able to broaden my understanding of Universal Design for Learning and also Differentiated Learning. The goal of UDL is “to provide equal opportunity for all students to learn” and requires that “teachers present information in different ways, using alternative means for the for the delivery of information”, that “teachers provide a variety of ways for students to actively construct and demonstrate their understanding”, and that “teachers involve students in learning activities that optimize individual choice and autonomy, are authentic, and as a result, are motivating and engaging”. These are also known as Multiple means of Representation, Multiple means of Action and Expression, and Multiple means of Engagement and it connects very strongly to art as art provides opportunity to integrate these three different aspects of UDL. In addition to art helping teachers also implement UDL, art also aligns really well with differentiated instruction. As ArtsEdge shares, “arts integration offers a ‘range of approaches to learning’ aligned with the principles of differentiated instruction. Specifically, arts integration helps students access content, process their learning, create products, and work in a productive and supportive learning environment in ways that take into account individual readiness, interest, and learning profile” (ArtsEdge). Current practicing teachers support this claim as well; an interviewee shares "I was fortunate to have a collegiate experience that incorporated many artistic elements. As my educators taught me to accommodate for differentiation, they encourage me to allow my students to demonstrate their knowledge or mastery of information in a myriad of ways that incorporated a number of different artistic outlets that qualified as sufficient final projects or presentations. We had the opportunities to follow such routes, or could stick to more traditional pieces" (Mr. S, Stokie, IL, 4th grade teacher, general education). Mr. S and ArtsEdge taught me how beneficial using arts in the classroom can be especially when focusing on differentiating lessons for students. Although I had originally heard of both UDL and Differentiated Learning, I hadn’t understood them very well and especially didn’t know how much art integration could help teachers fulfil those goals. These ArtsEdge articles helped me gain reasoning in arts integration.
Through exploring these resources as well as interviewing current practicing teachers, I was able to come to a new way of looking at arts in the classroom and fight the traditional "arts as extra" mentality which I grew up with in my own schooling as a child. With this philosophy, I hope to implement arts integrated lessons into my classrooms and allow students to bloom both in academics, creativity, and in personal growth.
From Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk, I was especially able to have a better understanding of how important the arts are as well as the risks of losing them within our schools. Ken Robinson taught me two important lessons, that “creativity is as important as literacy” and that “if you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never be creative or come up with anything original” (Robinson, 2006). This Ted Talk really set my attitude about integrating the arts upon first entering this TE430 course. Prior to this course, my main experience in creating aligned right with being scared to be wrong. In my elementary schooling days, often when art was integrated into lessons I felt that my teachers still expected something specific as the final product of my work and this in a way both drove my work but limited my ability to be creative. After hearing Robinson's perspective, I took his teachings that not bring prepared to be wrong will mean you’ll never be creative and in turn can use this knowledge to help discuss with students about how important it is to be OK with making mistakes first and only then can one create art. I want students in my classroom to not feel as though I have certain expectations that limit their creativity, but only set expectations that will help them.
In addition to Ken Robinson’s TED talk as an inspiration for my own creativity and my future ideal classroom arts integration, I also was greatly impacted by the National Endowment for the Arts Magazine Article, Engaged and Empowered: The Importance of Arts – “The Art of Turning Things Around”. This article had a very important quote, “We want the children to understand that we’re using the arts as a vehicle for motivation” (NEA Article 1). This article impacted my way of thinking about teaching arts, and inspires me to really explicitly discuss with students both the importance of the subject area they are focusing on as well as the importance of the art. Here I know I am able to use both art standards as well as common core standards to meet the goals of art integration (http://www.nationalartsstandards.org/) As the NEA Article shares, there is a correlation between “in-school art exposure” and positive behaviors, increased academic performance, attendance, and participation (NEA, Article 1). NEA also taught me that “creativity at the center of learning created positive effects for students, teachers, and larger communities” (NEA, Article 4). Aligning with research by the NEA, current practicing teachers also see the positive outcomes from implementing arts integrated lessons into their classrooms. One teacher I had the opportunity to interview shared, "In my experience students are more likely to remember or comprehend material/concepts when there is an artistic component to the lessons that are being taught. When something becomes hands-on, it’s more inclined to stick. Unfortunately not every single student loves to be artistic and some have imaginations that go crazy while others just want to do the right thing. In order to accommodate all students it’s imperative to have a healthy balance of artistic projects that the whole class does and potential artistic projects that supplement other possible outlets" (Mr. S, Stokie, IL, 4th grade teacher, general education). Understanding these important influencers in teaching arts in the classroom as well as the positive outcomes such as improved academics is crucial for understanding the necessity of including arts into the classroom.
From Young Ha Kim through his TED talk “Be An Artist Now”, I was able to better grasp on the idea that “We are all born artists”. Young Ha Kim explained how children act and how much art they do, and how the opportunity to interact leads many children to feel more happy. He also explains how “If you continue to act like an artist as you get older, you’ll increasingly feel pressure – people will question your actions and ask you to act properly”. I felt that these lines really inspired me and help me think about of the box because after contemplation, I do agree that society strips away creativity. Society forces us to go into these roles and gives us rules in doing so. Society tells us we are wasting time by doing art and that art isn’t a valued career path. Society tells us we aren’t artists. However, we are and society is wrong for fighting the natural artists within us. This is something I learned from Young Ha Kim that I will always hold dearly. We need to fight against the stereotypes of “art being a waste of time”.
From Bayles and Orland’s article Fears about Creating, I also gained valuable information and was able to broaden my ways of thinking. In this article, I learned the difference from “acceptance as art” and “approval as art”. Acceptance as art is having your work counted as “art” and people accepting that your piece is art. “Approval” is something different; it means that people like your art work. To me, both of these are very important. I do want people to accept my art as “art” but also I want people to like my creations, learn from them, and appreciate the work I put into them. Some fears I have about creating art go right in line with Bayles and Orland’s words, the need for acceptance and approval. However, I also have come to learn that talent is subjective, and how “good” a piece of art is can change based on person, based on feeling, based on opinion. Reading this and understanding a deeper level of art and ownership of my art helped me to feel more comfortable creating. I want my students to feel this comfort in creating as well and not to worry about their art needing acceptance or approval.
Additionally, I had the opportunity to attend a poetry event through the Lansing Poetry Club and was able to listen to and experience poetry straight from their authors in person. This club was interesting and surprised me as it had food, a few introduction musical numbers, as well as a lot of passion and expression of thought within the poetry performances. This experience helped me see how important art can be and what poetry can do in a society, especially how it can act towards activism or increasing awareness on an issue. This event also helped me see the importance of actual performance of art, and how differing efforts of expression and the way one reads a poem can completely change the atmosphere and take away from the poetry performance. It was an amazing opportunity to listen to artists perform their pieces and taught me how important it is for students to feel confident not only in creating but also in sharing or performing their art.
Dan Weissman helped me to see different perspectives of art. From his article You Can’t Get Much Better Than That, I learned some valuable lesson such as the importance of “getting [students] to confront their fears and overcome their weaknesses” (Weissman, pg. 30). He shared that “The purpose of art is to change consciousness” and that “In creating artful documentation, teachers and teaching artists gain new insights and raise new questions about the creative and learning processes. It is, itself, a form of disciplined inquiry that makes arts integrated teaching authentic intellectual work for adults” (Weissman, pg. 31). This quote really resonates with me as I grew up in a schooling situation which placed arts on the back burner, teaching me that art is just something to do in free time and isn’t as important as learning other subjects. However, after being in this TE430 course and being affirmed of my new thinking from Dan Weissman’s article, I am able to better understand the importance behind art and what it can do to a student…and an adult…’s view of themselves, their expressions, and their abilities in creating. As my research from the Michigan Touring Artist Guide gave me inspiration, Dan Weissman’s article gave me motivation.
In addition to the Michigan Touring Artist Guide and Dan Weissman, ArtsEdge also was a part of my preparation for this project. Through ArtsEdge I was able to broaden my understanding of Universal Design for Learning and also Differentiated Learning. The goal of UDL is “to provide equal opportunity for all students to learn” and requires that “teachers present information in different ways, using alternative means for the for the delivery of information”, that “teachers provide a variety of ways for students to actively construct and demonstrate their understanding”, and that “teachers involve students in learning activities that optimize individual choice and autonomy, are authentic, and as a result, are motivating and engaging”. These are also known as Multiple means of Representation, Multiple means of Action and Expression, and Multiple means of Engagement and it connects very strongly to art as art provides opportunity to integrate these three different aspects of UDL. In addition to art helping teachers also implement UDL, art also aligns really well with differentiated instruction. As ArtsEdge shares, “arts integration offers a ‘range of approaches to learning’ aligned with the principles of differentiated instruction. Specifically, arts integration helps students access content, process their learning, create products, and work in a productive and supportive learning environment in ways that take into account individual readiness, interest, and learning profile” (ArtsEdge). Current practicing teachers support this claim as well; an interviewee shares "I was fortunate to have a collegiate experience that incorporated many artistic elements. As my educators taught me to accommodate for differentiation, they encourage me to allow my students to demonstrate their knowledge or mastery of information in a myriad of ways that incorporated a number of different artistic outlets that qualified as sufficient final projects or presentations. We had the opportunities to follow such routes, or could stick to more traditional pieces" (Mr. S, Stokie, IL, 4th grade teacher, general education). Mr. S and ArtsEdge taught me how beneficial using arts in the classroom can be especially when focusing on differentiating lessons for students. Although I had originally heard of both UDL and Differentiated Learning, I hadn’t understood them very well and especially didn’t know how much art integration could help teachers fulfil those goals. These ArtsEdge articles helped me gain reasoning in arts integration.
Through exploring these resources as well as interviewing current practicing teachers, I was able to come to a new way of looking at arts in the classroom and fight the traditional "arts as extra" mentality which I grew up with in my own schooling as a child. With this philosophy, I hope to implement arts integrated lessons into my classrooms and allow students to bloom both in academics, creativity, and in personal growth.
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Art Elements Overview
Basic Elements of Dance
Body: What we move.
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Basic Elements of Music
Pitch: register (high or low); organization of pitches with a pattern of intervals between them creates scales. Words we might use to describe scales: major/minor, chromatic, gapped, pentatonic. Rhythm: the time element of music. A specific rhythm is a specific pattern in time; we usually hear these in relation to a steady pulse, and mentally organize this pulse. Meter organizes beats into groups, usually of two or three; beats can be divided into small units usually 2, 3 or 4 subdivisions. Melody: or musical line is a combination of pitch and rhythm. Sometimes a melody is considered to be the theme of a composition. Timbre: sound quality or tone color; timbre is the characteristic that allows us to distinguish between one instrument and another, and the difference between vowel sounds (for example, long "a" or "ee"). Terms we might use to describe timbre: bright, dark, brassy, reedy, harsh, noisy, thin, buzzy, pure, raspy, shrill, mellow, strained. I prefer to avoid describing timbre in emotional terms (excited, angry, happy, sad, etc.); that is not the sound quality, it is its effect or interpretation. Rather than describe the timbre of an instrument in other terms, it is often more clear just to describe the timbre by naming the instrument. Dynamics: loud or soft. A composition that has extremely soft passages as well as extremely loud passages is said to have a large or wide dynamic range. Dynamics can change suddenly or gradually (crescendo, getting louder, or decrescendo, getting softer.) Texture: layering of sound.
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Basic Elements of Art
Line: A path created by a moving point, mark or object. It is a dot that takes a walk. Line can be straight, swirly, wavy, jagged, dotted, dashed, thick, thin, zig zag, diagonal, vertical, horizontal, curved, bold, parallel, or perpendicular.
Shape: A two-dimensional, flat enclosed area. When a line crosses over itself it creates a shape. Examples of shapes could be geometric, organic/natural, irregular, circle, square, rectangle, diamond, oval, crescent, heart, triangle, octagon.
Color: The element of art derived from reflected or absorbed light. Color adds interest and mood to a work of art. It is also referred to as ‘hue.’ The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. The secondary colors are created by mixing the primary colors. They are purple (violet), orange, and green.
Texture: How something feels or looks like it would feel if you could touch it. There are two kinds of texture: real (how something actually feels) and implied (when an artist paints or draws a texture but it is artificial).
Form: Objects having three dimensions, or height, width, and depth. You can walk around a form. Examples of form can include cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres.
Value: The lightness or darkness of an object. The degree of lightness or darkness. The effect of light and shade in a picture. Value vocabulary includes tint (adding white to make something lighter), shade (adding black to make something darker), and hue (the true color). Shadow, highlight, and light source are also some vocabulary words to consider with this element of art.
Space: The element of art that refers to the emptiness or area around or within objects. Positive space refers to the part of the artwork that takes up space. Negative space is the area around that object. This element of art also refers to the ‘parts’ of the picture: foreground, middle ground, and background
Line: A path created by a moving point, mark or object. It is a dot that takes a walk. Line can be straight, swirly, wavy, jagged, dotted, dashed, thick, thin, zig zag, diagonal, vertical, horizontal, curved, bold, parallel, or perpendicular.
Shape: A two-dimensional, flat enclosed area. When a line crosses over itself it creates a shape. Examples of shapes could be geometric, organic/natural, irregular, circle, square, rectangle, diamond, oval, crescent, heart, triangle, octagon.
Color: The element of art derived from reflected or absorbed light. Color adds interest and mood to a work of art. It is also referred to as ‘hue.’ The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. The secondary colors are created by mixing the primary colors. They are purple (violet), orange, and green.
Texture: How something feels or looks like it would feel if you could touch it. There are two kinds of texture: real (how something actually feels) and implied (when an artist paints or draws a texture but it is artificial).
Form: Objects having three dimensions, or height, width, and depth. You can walk around a form. Examples of form can include cubes, cones, cylinders, and spheres.
Value: The lightness or darkness of an object. The degree of lightness or darkness. The effect of light and shade in a picture. Value vocabulary includes tint (adding white to make something lighter), shade (adding black to make something darker), and hue (the true color). Shadow, highlight, and light source are also some vocabulary words to consider with this element of art.
Space: The element of art that refers to the emptiness or area around or within objects. Positive space refers to the part of the artwork that takes up space. Negative space is the area around that object. This element of art also refers to the ‘parts’ of the picture: foreground, middle ground, and background
Example Lesson Plan of Dance Integration - Adjective Monsters | |
File Size: | 27 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Basic Elements of Theater
Script: The script contains the story of the performance and is often (but not always) the document on which performances are based. It can be a contemporary/new work or historical piece, can be from any culture, can be performed as written or modified for a particular production, and can be anything from something highly detailed and specific or simply-written prompts for improvisational dialogue among actors. It is possible to have a theatre production without a script that contains specific things for actors to say.
Lighting: How a production is lit using various colors, brightnesses, and movements of light to denote setting (weather, time of day, room in a building, etc.), mood (bright light for happy scenes, cool colors for sad scenes, dark colors for intimate scenes, etc.), what the audience can see or notice (elements of the performance hidden in darkness, audience hidden in darkness, performer in spotlight), revelation of form (altering perceptions of items/people onstage), projections of moving images to enhance/complete set (supertitles to translate works in a foreign language, film projections, moving patterns to simulate states of mind, etc.), plot (something to illustrate an experience, like a flash of fading light for the reflection of fireworks, floodlights to show the approach of a car, cell phone lights to highlight communication, etc.), and to "paint a picture" of what the designer wants the audience to see (can highlight or replace elements of a set).
Sound: Practical (making sure microphones work appropriately in a particular playing space, making sure actors can be heard throughout the performance space), setting (adding sounds of passing cars, crickets, or a phone ringing to indicate location, support actor performances, or follow the sounds written in the script for a particular scene), mood (like movie soundtracks, only the sounds for mood may not be musical in nature), focus audience attention on a particular event (only amplifying a particular actor's voice to highlight what they say, focus audience on a particular event onstage, like the sound of an airplane passing overhead and the impact of that sound on each of the actors or the set itself, etc.), form (amplifying/adding sounds to change audience perception of what is going on onstage, like making footfalls much louder than they actually are or adding a lion's roar when an actor opens their mouth wide, etc.), plot (like the ringing of a phone to signal bad news or a violin solo to indicate a memory, etc.), and to "paint a picture" through sound of what the sound designer wants the audience to experience (can highlight or replace elements of a set).
Costumes: What the actors wear onstage. Costumes can tell you: time period (of a character or whole play), socioeconomic status of characters, character's jobs (e.g. plumber, teacher, housewife, heiress, trapeeze artist, etc...), personality of characters (e.g. flamboyant characters might have costumes with bright colors and decorations, while demure characters might have pale, simple, unobtrusive costumes). Costumes can interact with sets (e.g. a costume blends in with wallpaper for a spy character), lighting design (e.g. an alien character might wear a costume that looks different under blacklight), and sound design (a character might have a horn on the bottom of their shoe, spurs that jangle, or suspenders that snap loudly). Costumes can be elaborate and highly specific (e.g. a costume that is an exact replica of Queen Elizabeth I's favorite gown, dripping with artificial pearls and jewels) or merely suggest a more specific design (a black vest could be worn to suggest someone going to a formal tea, working in a 19th century office, a pirate, a bridegroom, a cabaret performer, a preteen tomboy, a Civil War soldier, a feminist, a French revolutionary, a steampunk character, a squadron of soldiers, a prince, a political prisoner, etc.). Sometimes costumes are intentionally vague, which forces the audience to fill in the details with their imagination.
Set: The design of the area in which the actors perform. Sometimes, there is no set built for a performance--actors use the venue (a theater, an arena, a living room, an art gallery, a museum, etc.) as is and "paint the picture" of the setting with their words and actions. Sometimes, the set is a very specific recreation of a particular place. Often, sets will be altered throughout a performance to indicate a change of scene (e.g. a panel that looks like a brick wall is flipped and the reverse side is painted to look like stained glass). Some sets have large screens ("scrims" or "backdrops") on the back or front of the stage on which lighting designers can project patters, images, films, supertitles, etc. to tell a story or establish a location. Sets can be realistic, abstract, or somewhere in between. Often, sets are designed to create an illusion of a particular location (e.g. a brick wall might just be expertly painted wood or cloth on a frame, a tree trunk might be made out of paper mache, plaster, and paint, distance might be enhanced by making objects larger at the front of the stage and gradually smaller toward the back of the stage).
Acting/Performance: An actor's facial expressions, physical actions, and vocal tones/patterns that contribute to signs of character. There are many, many styles of acting. Some acting is literally how people behave in real life (e.g. realism), some acting is exaggerated examples/a characature of human behavior (e.g. commedia del arte), some acting is melodramatic and full of extreme emotion (e.g. melodrama, romanticism), some acting draws attention to the act of acting itself (e.g. Brechtian), and there are many, many other types of acting, depending on cultural context and individual artists.
Direction: Directors have the ultimate artistic authority when it comes to conducting all of the artistic elements of a production. They approve/reject lighting/set/sound/costume/all other designs, they decide the style in which the entire cast and design team will interpret a script, and they decide who stands where onstage during every moment of a performance ("staging"). Often, the best way to get a sense of what they do is to see multiple productions directed by the same person, and you'll discover their style of direction in action. They also usually write a note to the audience in the program about the production, including their artistic vision for a production.
Audience: The people who witness a performance. It is important to note how they are included/excluded from the action of a performance. Are they brought up onstage? Do they sit quietly in the dark of the theater? Do characters speak directly to them? Are they witnessing the performance and being observed by other audience members at the same time? Do they sit in their seat for the whole show, or are they up and moving around throughout the performance space? All important things for audience members and theater artists to consider.
Performance Space: Where the play is being performed can have a huge impact on the production. It could be indoors or outdoors or in a traditional (e.g. a theater or amphitheater) or non-traditional space (e.g. in several rooms of a factory or old house, in a moving subway car, in a garden, in an art gallery, in a forest). It could be in a venue that fits thousands or in a room that only fits five audience members. The possibilities are endless, and the choice of performance space is highly influential in how theater artists create a production.
Script: The script contains the story of the performance and is often (but not always) the document on which performances are based. It can be a contemporary/new work or historical piece, can be from any culture, can be performed as written or modified for a particular production, and can be anything from something highly detailed and specific or simply-written prompts for improvisational dialogue among actors. It is possible to have a theatre production without a script that contains specific things for actors to say.
Lighting: How a production is lit using various colors, brightnesses, and movements of light to denote setting (weather, time of day, room in a building, etc.), mood (bright light for happy scenes, cool colors for sad scenes, dark colors for intimate scenes, etc.), what the audience can see or notice (elements of the performance hidden in darkness, audience hidden in darkness, performer in spotlight), revelation of form (altering perceptions of items/people onstage), projections of moving images to enhance/complete set (supertitles to translate works in a foreign language, film projections, moving patterns to simulate states of mind, etc.), plot (something to illustrate an experience, like a flash of fading light for the reflection of fireworks, floodlights to show the approach of a car, cell phone lights to highlight communication, etc.), and to "paint a picture" of what the designer wants the audience to see (can highlight or replace elements of a set).
Sound: Practical (making sure microphones work appropriately in a particular playing space, making sure actors can be heard throughout the performance space), setting (adding sounds of passing cars, crickets, or a phone ringing to indicate location, support actor performances, or follow the sounds written in the script for a particular scene), mood (like movie soundtracks, only the sounds for mood may not be musical in nature), focus audience attention on a particular event (only amplifying a particular actor's voice to highlight what they say, focus audience on a particular event onstage, like the sound of an airplane passing overhead and the impact of that sound on each of the actors or the set itself, etc.), form (amplifying/adding sounds to change audience perception of what is going on onstage, like making footfalls much louder than they actually are or adding a lion's roar when an actor opens their mouth wide, etc.), plot (like the ringing of a phone to signal bad news or a violin solo to indicate a memory, etc.), and to "paint a picture" through sound of what the sound designer wants the audience to experience (can highlight or replace elements of a set).
Costumes: What the actors wear onstage. Costumes can tell you: time period (of a character or whole play), socioeconomic status of characters, character's jobs (e.g. plumber, teacher, housewife, heiress, trapeeze artist, etc...), personality of characters (e.g. flamboyant characters might have costumes with bright colors and decorations, while demure characters might have pale, simple, unobtrusive costumes). Costumes can interact with sets (e.g. a costume blends in with wallpaper for a spy character), lighting design (e.g. an alien character might wear a costume that looks different under blacklight), and sound design (a character might have a horn on the bottom of their shoe, spurs that jangle, or suspenders that snap loudly). Costumes can be elaborate and highly specific (e.g. a costume that is an exact replica of Queen Elizabeth I's favorite gown, dripping with artificial pearls and jewels) or merely suggest a more specific design (a black vest could be worn to suggest someone going to a formal tea, working in a 19th century office, a pirate, a bridegroom, a cabaret performer, a preteen tomboy, a Civil War soldier, a feminist, a French revolutionary, a steampunk character, a squadron of soldiers, a prince, a political prisoner, etc.). Sometimes costumes are intentionally vague, which forces the audience to fill in the details with their imagination.
Set: The design of the area in which the actors perform. Sometimes, there is no set built for a performance--actors use the venue (a theater, an arena, a living room, an art gallery, a museum, etc.) as is and "paint the picture" of the setting with their words and actions. Sometimes, the set is a very specific recreation of a particular place. Often, sets will be altered throughout a performance to indicate a change of scene (e.g. a panel that looks like a brick wall is flipped and the reverse side is painted to look like stained glass). Some sets have large screens ("scrims" or "backdrops") on the back or front of the stage on which lighting designers can project patters, images, films, supertitles, etc. to tell a story or establish a location. Sets can be realistic, abstract, or somewhere in between. Often, sets are designed to create an illusion of a particular location (e.g. a brick wall might just be expertly painted wood or cloth on a frame, a tree trunk might be made out of paper mache, plaster, and paint, distance might be enhanced by making objects larger at the front of the stage and gradually smaller toward the back of the stage).
Acting/Performance: An actor's facial expressions, physical actions, and vocal tones/patterns that contribute to signs of character. There are many, many styles of acting. Some acting is literally how people behave in real life (e.g. realism), some acting is exaggerated examples/a characature of human behavior (e.g. commedia del arte), some acting is melodramatic and full of extreme emotion (e.g. melodrama, romanticism), some acting draws attention to the act of acting itself (e.g. Brechtian), and there are many, many other types of acting, depending on cultural context and individual artists.
Direction: Directors have the ultimate artistic authority when it comes to conducting all of the artistic elements of a production. They approve/reject lighting/set/sound/costume/all other designs, they decide the style in which the entire cast and design team will interpret a script, and they decide who stands where onstage during every moment of a performance ("staging"). Often, the best way to get a sense of what they do is to see multiple productions directed by the same person, and you'll discover their style of direction in action. They also usually write a note to the audience in the program about the production, including their artistic vision for a production.
Audience: The people who witness a performance. It is important to note how they are included/excluded from the action of a performance. Are they brought up onstage? Do they sit quietly in the dark of the theater? Do characters speak directly to them? Are they witnessing the performance and being observed by other audience members at the same time? Do they sit in their seat for the whole show, or are they up and moving around throughout the performance space? All important things for audience members and theater artists to consider.
Performance Space: Where the play is being performed can have a huge impact on the production. It could be indoors or outdoors or in a traditional (e.g. a theater or amphitheater) or non-traditional space (e.g. in several rooms of a factory or old house, in a moving subway car, in a garden, in an art gallery, in a forest). It could be in a venue that fits thousands or in a room that only fits five audience members. The possibilities are endless, and the choice of performance space is highly influential in how theater artists create a production.
Example Lesson Plan of Theatre Integration - Great Depression | |
File Size: | 1065 kb |
File Type: | docx |