Arts Integration for Schools

Find the rest of the story here

What is Arts Integration?
Arts integration is instruction that integrates content and skills from the arts - dance, music, theatre and the visual arts - with other core subjects. Arts Integration occurs when there is a seamless blending of content and skills between an art form and a co-curricular subject.

Why do it?

Arts integration is highly effective in engaging and motivating students. It supports academic achievement and improved social behavior of students while enhancing school climate and parental involvement. The arts provide students multiple modes for demonstrating learning and competency. A rich array of arts skills and intellectual processes provide multiple entry points for students linking to content in other subject areas. Similarly, arts instruction is deepened through integration of content from the other subject areas. It enlivens the teaching and learning experience for entire school communities. At its best, arts integration is transformative for students, teachers and communities. The imaginations and creative capacities of teachers and students are nurtured and their aspirations afforded many avenues for realization and recognition.

How do you do it?

Arts integration is a fundamental culture shift. It takes time to build awareness, understanding and commitment among members of the school community.

Ongoing professional development is essential to give classroom teachers facility in arts disciplines and to enable them to analyze curriculum to find the natural connections between arts curriculum and the curriculum in other subject areas including creating lessons and units of instruction.
Collaboration is essential - between classroom teachers and arts specialists. Common planning time is critical.

Arts specialists are key resources, collaborators and leaders in developing arts integration programs.
Arts integration specialists are extremely valuable resources for guiding the planning of professional development and for supporting collaborations among teachers and with partners, such as cultural institutions and teaching artists.

Schools that integrate art into education successfully:
http://thesanantonioschool.org