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Teachers share how they integrate the arts into the curriculum — and enrich learning for every child. "If I could tell
you what I want, I wouldn't need to dance." The arts — painting, music, dance, drama, writing, sculpting, and more — have the power to express meaning in ways that no other medium can match. Through dance, early 20th-century performer Isadora Duncan was able to communicate layers of emotion as few dancers had before her, as well as to instruct about history, culture, and the science of anatomy and movement. All this she accomplished by using an economical "language" that compressed worlds of meaning into a series of graceful movements. Had Duncan been restricted to other forms of communication, whatever message she hoped to convey would have been lost. Children, also, need access to the power of individual expression that the arts afford. Some students may not find academic success without it. Others simply deserve exposure to the arts as a fundamental part of our culture. Unfortunately, many states base school accreditation on standardized testing scores, so teachers today find it increasingly difficult to find the freedom, time, and resources to integrate the arts into the classroom. Teachers who value the arts, however, often integrate them with other subjects and teach through the "lens" of the arts, a practice that, according to a recent study conducted by Harvard's Project Zero (REAP: Reviewing Education and the Arts Project), can lead to overall academic improvement. The reasons? The arts allow students to develop self-esteem, to be self-expressive, and to apply their knowledge of other, more academic subjects in creative ways. Because the arts address multiple intelligences, they provide a gateway for certain students to enter academic areas that they may have otherwise found difficult or off-putting. And in schools where the administration takes the arts seriously, the entire curriculum is treated with the same rigor. The teachers featured here are among many educators who understand that their young students tend to learn — really learn — when more of their whole selves are involved, whether they are singing about the rules of multiplication, designing an Egyptian mask, or dancing to express the meaning of a folktale. These teachers are but a small sample of educators who can attest to the excitement about learning that results when the arts are celebrated in the classroom. Let
It Be
Now a first-grade teacher at South Anna Elementary School, in Montpelier, Virginia, Joseph applies Mrs. Harper's method of teaching in his own classroom. A day rarely goes by when Joseph does not use his guitar as a teaching tool. "Music resonates for the kids on many levels. Not only does singing serve as a break, but it affects them in that they can be more self-expressive and creative with what they have learned earlier in the day," he says. When the class studied Native Americans and then China in social studies, Joseph and his students wrote lyrics for the "Native American Blues" and the "China Blues." "Writing these songs together enabled the kids to put to use what they had learned in social studies and use language and music as a way to communicate." Joseph remembers one student who was clearly struggling with multiplication. "She looked up from her book with this frustrated expression on her face and said: 'Mr. Joseph, can't we write a song for this?' She and I made up a song for multiplication right then and there. Through the act of creating a rhythmic song, she was able to personalize the content and understand the rules of multiplication. Later, we taught the song to the rest of the class." Joseph knows that to incorporate the arts into the classroom often involves giving up some degree of control. But he believes in letting his students jump into the driver's seat. "The arts are an expression of what is real and true. If you don't use the arts to teach, you are separating real life from learning. How is a child able to learn if not through personalizing the content and experiencing it through several senses all at once?" Robin
Hood in Song
"I believe the arts educate the soul," says Melendez. "Even in today's climate of increased academic standards and accountability, I still believe we have a responsibility to educate the entire child. Incorporating music into my classroom allows some kids to express themselves in other ways besides pencil-and-paper tasks. It's also an incredible way for students to apply the knowledge they've learned in academic subjects to a real-life project." Put
on a Play
Drama, says Lewis, is an ideal way to improve reading and make history come alive, but it also has hidden benefits. Brain research, he explains, shows that kids form the neural pathways that make fluent reading possible when they master a reading sample. With struggling children, this can only occur if they read the book over and over again, until they "get it." "Ask a kid to read the same book over and over again and he'll look at you like you're daffy," says Lewis. "But ask a kid to practice his part in a play, and he'll read it over and over again, and never complain. With every play, a student's neural pathways grow significantly." Hickory
Dickory Dock
For example, Flaxman uses the classic nursery rhyme "Hickory Dickory
Dock" as a beginning "conflict rhyme" for her kindergarten class. The
characters are simple — clocks and mice — as is the primary
conflict in the rhyme. When the clock strikes, the mice panic at the unexplained
noise. Any child can easily comprehend this setup.
"Since fear has been experienced by almost every child of that age, strong
feelings can be generated within the children," she explains. "They enjoy
creating curious little mice that scamper on quiet feet, looking for food
as they come to the big clocks. Other children pose as clocks, creating
different kinds of gongs, strikes, rings, and sounds to scare the mice.
The mice enjoy waiting until the clock really scares them before scurrying
away. The children enjoy switching roles, then repeating this over and
over again. This activity is one that is always successful in integrating
creative drama with language arts."
Flaxman finds that "the arts develop, in children, confidence and creative
expression, social attitudes and relationships, emotional stability, bodily
coordination, and contribute toward a philosophy of living."
Arts
of the Past When covering early prehistoric cultures, Hennessey has her students
view cave art paintings and then draw their own. During the study of ancient
Egypt and areas of the Middle East, students listen to music as they design
sarcophogi and artifacts from King Tut's tomb. They sample foods from
the region, as well as listen to stories which originated in that area,
such as "1001 Arabian Nights."
"I strongly feel that students develop a better understanding of other
cultures of the world that we are studying by incorporating the arts,
music, and literature," Hennessey says.
The
Art of Science Immediately, she tries to have her fourth-grade students draw on all
of their senses and methods of learning. "It's all about letting the kids
learn in a more self-expressive, less threatening, hands-on type of way,"
she says.
One of Kramer's experiments requires kids to grow different types of
plants, testing the pH level, discovering which plant fibers make the
most durable paper, and finally making the paper. The end product becomes
a work of art — one that has a scientific history. Students see that
everything is a process. If you alter just one of the steps, you'll get
different results.
Kramer's students, who enjoy hearing about her personal experiences as
an artist, are delighted by the fact that she can draw and be a scientist.
"They realize that they can be both, too," she says. "Why not?"
"There is something to be said for the phrase 'Discover the wonder,'"
Kramer adds. "No matter what subject you are teaching, if you can get
children to look at or understand a concept in such a way that they can
visualize it, experience it, or express it, then you know they will retain
— and use — that knowledge wherever they go. It will belong to them."
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