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This specific resource discusses students focusing on angles doing a virtual field trip to an art exhibit so they can see how angles are related to art. Then, students are able to create their own angle art!

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"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." - Pablo Picasso

When most think of adding art to the curriculum, visions of paintbrushes and paper-mâché animals spark memories of school days from long ago. While this may be true in some sense, the inclusion of arts in STEM learning - the A in STEAM - is much more than learning about color and singing songs. STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) promotes inquiry-based learning through the application of skills such as collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking to real-life situations. The inclusion of arts shines a light on the value of creativity and innovation in processing new information and problem-solving. Research, teacher experiences, and testimonials all attest to the benefits of integrating arts which include:

reducing achievement gaps, especially for economically disadvantaged students

maximizing analytical and imaginative thinking, helping students develop ingenuity

providing opportunities for students to access learning through different modalities (differentiated instruction)

nurture the ability to be adaptable and flexible which is useful when responding to changes in a problem

increasing student engagement as students immerse themselves in experiences that incorporate multiple STEAM strands

Proponents of STEAM view the inclusion of arts as providing students a more balanced and complete education that strengthens how students view and creatively solve problems. In addition, students learn to persist and take risks as they work through tasks preparing them to do the same in real life.

"Creativity is contagious, pass it on." - Albert Einstein

How can teachers create engaging STEAM experiences? First, teachers need to identify concepts and skills to be mastered, topics to be explored, and the learning standards to be met which includes arts standards (by state and/or using the National Core Arts Standards as a reference). Then, flesh out the units and lessons, identifying when strands can be integrated in authentic ways (to be considered a STEAM lesson, two or more strands need to be included). For example, lessons on comparing story characters could include a role-play experience that can be video recorded or made into a short movie using video-creation software. A math project focusing on measuring angles can incorporate a virtual field trip to a museum to identify angles in different artwork then, have students create their own 'angle' art.

Because of the ongoing challenges schools and districts face in regards to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and having to switch to remote learning in some cases, not all students will have access to the same resources. For these situations, keeping the art component of lessons relatively simple is key. During a virtual class session, brainstorm a list of art activities (creating costumes for a play, taking photos, using watercolor or chalk, etc.). Then decide on the media that would be used for most of the activities and identify what can be found at home or easily obtained. Also look to schools to help provide art supplies such as brushes, paper, colored pencils, etc. To build up arts skills, establish weekly creativity challenges such as using alternate or non-traditional media (things found at home and repurposed) to create a visual piece, acting out a poem, or writing a song about what is being learned in science.

The A in STEAM education is more than simply drawing pictures - it is stretching imaginations so that creativity when solving problems becomes second nature. Incorporating arts also transforms lessons and topics that might seem dry to those that stimulate the flow of innovative ideas. Remote learning does not need to inhibit this flow; there is a myriad of resources and lesson ideas specifically tailored for online learning. Explore the resources and test out how some of these can be incorporated into your curriculum plans. You may be pleasantly surprised by how the artist in you responds.

"Creativity takes courage." - Henri Matisse

For more on how to incorporate STEAM in remote learning, read the blog STEAM Learning via the Virtual Classroom.

What STEAM activities have you tried in the classroom? We'd love to hear your stories! Comment below.

To learn about Boxlight MimioSTEM solutions, visit boxlight.com/stem-education.

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"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up." - Pablo Picasso When most think of adding art to the curriculum, visions of paintbrushes and paper-mâché animals spark memories of school days from long ago.

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Here's a lesson plan where a class incorporates the arts by exploring the West Side Story script and relating it to Romeo and Juliet. They then explore music and create dance choreography based on hearing the shift in the meter.

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This resources discusses different ways to incorporate the arts into your own STEM education and why it's important. They relate the "A" in STEAM to bringing the other contents to life! There's also a course which you can enroll in, which I personally didn't do.

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STEAM Education- How to Integrate the Arts

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This link provides some really easy and neat ideas for integrating art into other content areas.

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With so many standards to teach, high-stakes testing, and pressure to make sure that there is "no child left behind," it's no wonder that the arts get lost in the midst of the busy school day. Here are some ideas to help bring art back into your classroom.

Combining Art and Math

In kindergarten, many art projects involve math. For example, if students are sorting pasta, they might then glue the different types of pasta onto construction paper and make a "pasta picture." Students may make a bead necklace to reinforce patterning. For the upper elementary classroom, making a beaded necklace can become a great lesson on fractions or decimals. Geometry naturally lends itself to art. Students can create paper mache shapes or even Christmas ornaments while studying polyhedrons. At any age, tessellations are fascinating and fun. Young students can color tessellations, while older students can create their own.

Delve Into Scientific Drawings

I love using art to review. If your class is studying plant life, why not have students draw and label the parts of a flower, rather than having them label a worksheet? Not only is it a mean to the same end, but it also encourages creativity. When teaching a science unit on the different biomes, I asked my class to create a postcard sent from each biome we had studied. The front of the post card had to be a colorful, accurate, and detailed hand-drawn scene of the landscape in that biome and the back had to contain important facts. My students loved this creative project and they also did very well on their science test because of the fun review.
Learn About Artists
As part of every social studies unit, I try to include the biography and a few pieces of art from an artist who lived during that time period. Even if you spend just thirty minutes discussing the life of a famous (or lesser known) artist, your students will gain bits and pieces of knowledge about the art world. If time allows, students can create their own art piece in the same style that the artist is known for.
Art-Related Vocabulary and Using Higher-Level Thinking
If you teach your students the vocabulary of the art world, you'll find it easier to frequently discuss art with them. I've seen very young students that were able to talk about the lines, shapes, and textures found in nature while doing an unrelated outdoors science activity. Since these kindergarteners knew the vocabulary, they were able to look at the world from an artistic perspective. Once students are familiar with the vocabulary, you can teach them to analyze the art around them. Having students critique art is a great way to encourage higher-level thinking. The class can analyze the pictures in their social studies book, the cover of a class novel, or a piece that you bring into the classroom. What follows are more lessons to integrate art into other content areas.

Art Lessons:
Platonic Solids Ornaments
This lesson in which students create an ornament or mobile made from three-dimensional shapes is written for older students, but can easily be modified for students of any age.
Tantalizing Tessellations
Students create their own tessellations using rotational transformation.
Michelangelo Art
Not only do students get to learn about the famous artist Michelangelo in this lesson, but they also get to experience what it may have been like for him to paint the Sistine Chapel while laying on his back.
Brine Shrimp Life Cycle
This science lesson on brine shrimp has students draw and label the body parts of a brine shrimp.

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Integrating Art Into Other Content Areas

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With so many standards to teach, high-stakes testing, and pressure to make sure that there is "no child left behind," it's no wonder that the arts get lost in the midst of the busy school day. Here are some ideas to help bring art back into your classroom.

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I can easily incorporate art into my math classroom within my 2D & 3D unit. When students are creating floor plans as 2D blueprints of their dream homes, it lends itself to allowing for student creativity while also meeting the mathematical standards aligned to the content.

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Similarly within 3D Geometry, students working on creating their dream house or the cafe/bakeshop project involves a 3D digital design of the space. This, again, allows for student autonomy for their specific sections of the cafe but also helps them think critically about where equipment/furniture can go based on dimensions, surface area, etc.

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So being new to STEAM, I feel that I'm least comfortable with the "Art" aspect. Being artistic in mathematics means having the ability to show your thinking/solution/method in multiple ways, allowing for autonomy and creativity within the content.

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It's hard to think about ways to incorporate art into a math classroom. It's easier in my opinion to incorporate science engineering, technology and math into the classroom because the content seems to lend itself better to that type of cross-curricular connection.

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With Transformations (rotations, reflections, dilations, rotations), I have students work on a project where they come up with their own design (something drawn). They then have to perform all the different transformations with their chosen design. Finally, they decorate their pictures by coloring. Each student presents their design, why they chose that specifically and what transformations they performed.