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Types of Rocks - Rock Cycle - Igneous Sedimentary Metamorphic Rocks - Flocabulary

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What are the three types of rocks? How do they form? Find out with Flocabulary's educational hip-hop song and video.

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I'm always so impressed by the creative ways teachers provide art for their students. Recently I contacted some teachers that really go out of their way to provide creative opportunity for their students and asked them to write a guest post for my blog. Every month I will be showcasing a teacher that knows how important the arts are for the education of 21st century kids.

For my very first Featured Teacher who brings art into the classroom I'd like to introduce Myranda Doering from Keep Calm and Teach 5th Grade Here is what she has to say about making art in the classroom!

It can be so hard to fit art into our classroom routine these days! I will admit, I've put off doing art for a ton of different reasons. Have you ever thought...

It makes too much of a mess.

There are enough things that I have to manage, I don't want to manage cleaning up and setting up art projects.

The students get so out of control with the lack of structure.

I'm a horrible artist! What would I even teach?

I hate art!

I've thought all of those things too. In fact, my first year of teaching, I don't think that I ever taught art. I was too overwhelmed by the thought of gathering all of the supplies, setting it all up, making sure that the students weren't painting their hair or shoes, and figuring out how to even teach something that I feel so terrible at!

This year, I made a resolution over the summer that I would work on incorporating more art in my daily classroom life. I am so happy that I've made that a reality this year. It has really changed my classroom dynamics and provided students outlets to really shine in an otherwise very challenging academic-driven day.

I used my first collaborative poster when I snagged a great freebie From Art With Jenny K. The students LOVED it! They took on the project from start to finish, coloring their best and taping the pieces together with precision and care. From that point forward, they've begged me for them! It's not uncommon to hear a student walk up to me during the day and ask if I have any coloring projects.

The students get so precise with their work that they also ask me to reprint pieces because they feel like they need to improve their work. The staff and students in the school clearly recognize their effort because we often hear them comment on them as they walk through the hallway. "I love those posters!" "That looks so good!" "These are so cool." "I've always wanted to do one of those!" It really boosts the morale of my classroom when they know that they've added art to the school walls that everyone enjoys seeing. Plus, so many of the projects are focused on holidays so they provide a non-threatening way to focus on important people and events while keeping learning fun!

In these projects, there are also so many ways for students to shine and work on their leadership skills. Students take charge of collecting the pieces, listing which pieces are missing, leaving me post-its to reprint certain items, and sorting and building the entire poster (including the hard task of taping it all together)! I love having these small moments where students get to take charge, organize and lead their peers. They always ask classmates to help them and it brings students together in new and unique ways. There are so many different strengths that certain people can really bring the artwork to life and there are students who are really good at building puzzles to sort everything out. Often, it's the students who really need their own moment to shine that I see taking part in actively creating the class artwork.

The most common question that I get is "When do you have time for this?" Well, do you do read aloud? Do you let your students draw? Why not offer them a collaborative art project. They can build and construct in silence and they're coloring or drawing anyway! This just adds an element of collaboration and ownership at the same time. It takes all the responsibility off of me that way too. They work on it, I have a story going, the school looks beautiful!

We have just 12 minutes of read aloud a day and it's amazing what they can get done during that time. Aside from that, students love getting their work done early so they can help out with the poster and earn extra poster pieces. Even with a class made up almost entirely of boys, the art is a hit!

Myranda is a 5th grade teacher and is the blog author of, Keep calm and teach 5th grade from Oregon. She loves doing yoga, working out, reading, and traveling when she's not teacher. You can find her teacher resources HERE and can follow her on FB and IG to keep up with her teaching adventures!

If you are a teacher, making art with your students and would like to be featured on Art with Jenny K's blog for one of our "Featured Teacher" spots please e-mail Jenny at artwithjennyk (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Thank you so much for reading and for making art with your students.

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Featured Teacher: Myranda - Art with Jenny K

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I'm always so impressed by the creative ways teachers provide art for their students. Recently I contacted some teachers that really go out of their way to provide creative opportunity for their students and asked them to write a guest post for my blog.

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One of my favorite lessons I do is having my students work in groups to create TV commercials inspired by works. Check it out below. It never fails to be a fun time in the classroom! 🙂

Lesson Summary: Students work together in groups to create a TV commercial that in some way illustrates the concepts learned about art covered in previous lessons.

Grade Level: I've done this lesson for high school and for college with good results. I think you could easily adapt this for early grades as well with some extra work with the kids.

Topic: This will work with many different topics. It doesn't even have to be art really. I've done it several times after studying several ancient art periods/cultures (prehistoric, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, etc) as a culminating review. I've also done it after a non-Western art wrap-up (Chinese, Japanese, African, Oceanic, etc.). This is a great lesson for a flipped classroom, so after you have the students read their textbooks (or whatever), you can have them do this activity.

Lesson Procedure

1. In a class discussion, brainstorm what are elements of TV commercials that make them effective. Make a list on the board so students can reference it once they get into their groups.

2. Divide students into groups and either assign them an art movement, period, or culture or let them choose from several choices. There is a handout available for this activity in The Art Curator for Kids Resource Library. Find out how to subscribe here!

3. First, the students should figure out what their product/service is or what they will be trying to sell in their commercial. Some of my favorite products created by my past students are Queen Nefertiti makeup, Venus of Willendorf fertility services, and an Ancient Egyptian funeral parlor! (SO. GOOD.)

4. Once they have their business or product, have students make an outline and/or script of their commercial. What happens in the commercial? What happens first, next, last, etc? What are the commercial's slogans or jingles, etc.?

5. Have groups present their work to the class. They can just describe it, sing a jingle, or even act it out. Of course the last one is highly preferred, but I don't want to freak the students out too much so I give them the choice. 🙂

There is a handout available for this activity in The Art Curator for Kids Resource Library. Click on the below button to learn more about how to subscribe!

There you go! Try it out! It's a ton of fun.
If you liked this post, you may also like: Photo Credits:

Mummy - Joshua Sherucij

Nefertiti - Philip Pikart

Venus of Willendorf - Matthias Kabel

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Create a TV Commercial: A Review Lesson for Any Subject

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One of my favorite lessons I do is having my students work in groups to create TV commercials inspired by works. Check it out below. It never fails to be a fun time in the classroom! 🙂 Lesson Summary: Students work together in groups to create a TV commercial that in some way illustrates the concepts learned about art covered in previous lessons.

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Making mental images is a strong skill that helps readers increase their understanding of a text that they read. Good readers are able to make a "mental movie" that plays in their minds as they read and visualize what the words on the page described.

Tableau Drama Strategy

One arts-integrated teaching strategy that drama teaching artists use to help students make mental images is Tableau. Tableau is the theatrical technique in which actors freeze in poses that create a picture of one important moment in the play. Sometimes, in the theatre, the curtain rises and all the actors onstage are frozen in poses that create a compelling stage picture. Then, on cue, the picture-the Tableau-"comes to life" with movement and sound.

Stillness and silence are the hallmarks of Tableau, making it understandable as to why it appeals to teachers for classroom use. But to really get the most out of this drama strategy in conjunction with the reading of a story, novel, or play, student actors have to do a deeper reading, thinking, and rehearsing. They need to work like actors who explore the text and experiment with a variety of alternatives before they choose their final poses. They need to practice focus and commitment so that they pose with an expression on their faces and energy in their bodies.

The best Tableaux show evidence of comprehension of text combined with strong acting skills. The best Tableaux go far beyond mere silence and stillness.

Introducing Tableau to Students

The following is one way to introduce the drama strategy Tableau to students and increase the likelihood that they will participate productively in frozen, silent, concentrated posing.

Whole Group Tableau

Begin by engaging all students simultaneously in agreeing to pretend to be in a situation in which they will take responsibility for creating their roles.

1. With students seated at their desks or in chairs, describe a particular fictional circumstance and setting (preferably a dramatic one) that they might find themselves in.
Example: Would you agree to pretend that the setting for our drama is the schoolyard and while we are out there, we sight an alien spaceship?

2. Discuss with students the possible feelings and reactions of people having this experience: If this really, truly was happening, think about how you would feel. Raise your hand if you can give me one adjective to describe how you would feel.

3. Point out to students that the kind of thinking they are doing is precisely the kind of thinking that actors have to do. They must imagine that they are in a particular pretend situation and then figure out how their characters would likely react.

4. Then ask the students to agree to pretend that a photographer snaps a photo of them in that circumstance: Would you now also agree to pretend that a photographer just happened to be there and took a photo the moment you spotted that alien spaceship?

5. Explain how you will cue the students to strike and hold their poses: "I will say 'Action - 2 - 3 - Freeze!' You freeze in your pose and hold it until I say 'Relax.'"
(Note: Eventually, you all will want to improve this first Tableau by allowing students to leave the confines of their seats, but for now, do not give them permission to do so unless one of them asks specifically.)

6. Once you feel that the students are ready, cue them with "Action - 2 - 3 - Freeze!"

7. View the Tableau and then call "Relax."

Discuss the Whole Group Tableau

In that first draft of the Tableau, the students usually participate well, but they usually remain seated. Compliment them for their cooperation. But, just like actors who rehearse and rehearse their scenes, students need to work now on increasing the dramatic value of the Tableau:

1. Remind students what photographers may do to people in their photographs who do not look too interesting-crop them out.

2. Then coach the students dramatically. Explain (and demonstrate) how they can create a more interesting stage picture by...

1. ...putting more energy into their bodies and more expression in their faces.

2. ...incorporating levels-posing close to the floor, mid-level, or reaching higher.

3. ...interacting with one another to increase the dramatic effect of the Tableau.

3. Invite the students to incorporate your dramatic coaching points and re-create the Tableau so that it is theatrically more powerful.

4. Share the following list of Tableau Excellence with students. (Reproduce it on a chart or on a whiteboard or chalkboard.)

Tableau Excellence
Actors...
...remain still or frozen.
...remain silent.
...pose with energy.
...pose with expression.
...keep their concentration.
...pose at different levels.
...choose poses that communicate the tone and mood of the text.

Revise the Whole Group Tableau

1. Once you feel that the students are ready to revise the same Tableau, cue them with "Action - 2 - 3 - Freeze!"

2. View the Tableau and then call "Relax." (The second draft is always much stronger than the first draft.)

Reflect on the Whole Group Tableau

Refer back to the chart on Tableau Excellence and ask students to reflect on the effectiveness of their second Tableau. They can always recognize the big differences between the first one and the second one that received theatrical coaching.

This introductory Tableau activity prepares students to use this drama strategy with significant moments in the literature that they read and the historical episodes that they study. It provides them with a foundation for using Tableau productively in small groups.

Whole Group Tableau Possibilities

People sighting an alien spaceship

Reporters and photographers who sight a big celebrity

Fans-both happy and angry-at a sporting event

Tourists looking at a famous site

People watching fireworks

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Introducing Tableau Activities to Your Classroom

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Making mental images is a strong skill that helps readers increase their understanding of a text that they read. Good readers are able to make a "mental movie" that plays in their minds as they read and visualize what the words on the page described.

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A Dramatic Approach to Reading Comprehension: Tableau

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An overview of the classroom use of the drama strategy Tableau through words and pictures--with special emphasis on how participation in Tableau activities strengthens students' reading comprehension skills

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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February 25, 2014
Below is a list of some practical web tools that you can use with your students to generate discussions around videos. Using these tools, you will be able to add interactive features to your videos, create video lessons and also design video quizzes to share with the class.They can also be used for leveraging digital videos for learning by adding group interaction

Vialogue (Video + Dialogue ) is an online video with a group discussion feature. Vialogue allows users to interact with videos by adding time stamped comments to them. This can be a great tool for teachers to use with their students to get them engaged in video prompted discussions.To get started, upload a video, grab one from YouTube, or choose one from the growing collection on our site. Once you've created a vialogue, you can encourage thoughtful conversations by posing questions, adding polls, and replying to comments. You can even embed a vialogue into your website, LMS, or blog!

VideoNotes is a free web tool that allows students to take notes on a video they are watching. The notes are synchronized with the video being watched. The good thing about VideoNotes is that it is integrated into Google Drive which means that students will be able to save their notes directly to their Drive account and access, edit, and work on them anytime they want. All the notes are time-stamped.

3- Edpuzzle

This is a web tool I have just learned about from my colleague David Kapuler. Edpuzzle allows you to use only what you need from any video, insert audio notes or record over a video with your voice, and add questions at any point in the video and track your students' understanding.

Google Forms has made it possible for users to insert YouTube videos into their forms. You can now embed YouTube videos into forms and ask students questions to ensure they watch the video. Check out this guide to learn how more about how to insert videos into Google Forms.

5-TedEd

TED Ed is a website that allows teachers to create lessons around YouTube videos. Teachers can select YouTube videos and use their URLs to add questions in different formats. The added value of this tool is that it has a section where teachers can track stats of how many has answered answers and hoa mnay students have seen the lesson. Check out this visual guide to learn more about how to created a video lessons using TED Ed.

6- Educanon

Educanon is another powerful tool that teachers can use to design lessons based on videos from both YouTube and Vimeo. And like Teachem, teachers can generate questions on the content of videos and share it together with videos in a single lesson.

7- HapYak

HapYak allows you to add text, links and image overlays to your videos. You can also easily annotate your YouTube and Vimeo videos and create quizzes using multiple choice and free-text questions. it also lets you draw on your videos, share commentaries and link to any specific moment in the video.

8- Blubbr

Blubbr is a cool web tool that allows users to create quizzes around YouTube videos. These are basically interactive video quizzes ( called Trivs ) that you can create for your students and which they can answer while they watch the selected video clip. The quizzes are also feedback supported meaning students will get feedback as they answer each question.

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8 Good Web Tools to Create Video Quizzes for Your Class

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February 25, 2014 Below is a list of some practical web tools that you can use with your students to generate discussions around videos.

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Free Art Integration Lessons with Resources

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Free Art Integration Lessons with Resources

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Searchable for two subjects and type of art

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So you're looking for ARTSEDGE...

Well good news. Its been a long time in the making, so were thrilled to announce that weve moved our collection of media-rich arts learning resources to a new, mobile-optimized platform. In other words, Digital Learning has a new home as part of Kennedy Center Education.

Were doing the painstaking work of strategically updating our resources to align with todays classrooms, technologies, and learning standardsto make them visually engaging, easy to use and relevant for educatorsand of course, adding NEW resources to our collections.

Looking for one of our interactives? Use these direct links (please be aware that parts of these resources use Adobe Flash, which may not be supported by your system):

Though ARTSEDGE as a destination has been around since 1996, fully integrating with Kennedy Center Education now allows us to leverage even more resources for you and your students. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask via digitallearning@kennedy-center.org.

The Kennedy Center Digital Learning Team

Take me to the new Digital Learning home!

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So you're looking for ARTSEDGE... Well good news. Its been a long time in the making, so were thrilled to announce that weve moved our collection of media-rich arts learning resources to a new, mobile-optimized platform. In other words, Digital Learning has a new home as part of Kennedy Center Education.

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How to operate the Unifix Cube Drum Machine: Scroll down to see the Unifix Cubes. Press the Play button and you will see and hear a rhythmic pattern played on homemadeAztec drum rhythms,Morse Code signals, and drum language phrases from Ghana and the Congo. Fraction Tubes.

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Free PD Video on Demand: STEAM -  Includes Certificates and Workbooks

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Free PD Video on Demand: STEAM -  Includes Certificates and Workbooks

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Events

Get the PD you need...without the wait.

No more waiting around for PD that matters to YOU. No more expensive fees to participate. We're turning professional learning on it's head...introducing Flipped Workshops!

Now, you can access ANY of our FREE online Professional Development Workshops for Teachers at a time that's convenient for you. Select one of our carefully crafted hour-long workshops for educators, sit back and let the learning begin. You'll receive a PD certificate, all the workshop materials and comprehensive support resources to help you take meaningful action after each workshop experience.

AVAILABLE FREE WORKSHOPS

Select from one of our comprehensive topics. Click on any workshop title to begin your experience.

NEW! Learn how to connect Growth Mindset with Arts Integration and STEAM. Helpful routines, lessons and assessment ideas are shared in this free online workshop for 1.5 PD hours and downloadable workbook.

In this FREE online workshop, you'll discover 6 proven strategies that work to bring STEAM to life in any classroom. Specific examples are provided for grades K-12 and the workshop includes a strategy packet download and workbook.

Discover the secrets to teaching in and through creativity! You'll learn how to integrate the arts without sacrificing your curriculum or taking up any additional time in your classroom. Free workshop includes 1.5 PD hours & a workbook.

HOW IT WORKS

Participating in your flipped PD is easy! Here's how you do it...

Because we know what traditional models of PD look like: they're broken.

A one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work for today's 21st century teacher. You need flexible, differentiated support and resources.

EACH FREE WORKSHOP CONTAINS:

An on-demand core-learning video

Workbook + core learning materials/resources

Support module with curated articles, videos, podcasts and downloadable resources to help your take actionable steps

PD certificate for 1.5 hours

No matter how you use these free professional development workshops, we're here to support you every step of the way!

Enjoy these learning experiences and feel free to contact us with any questions.

Today is the LAST DAY TO SAVE $50 on ANY course! Use BACK2SCHOOL at checkout PICK YOUR COURSE

left to SAVE on the Winter Conference AND get FREE course access LEARN MORE

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Events No more waiting around for PD that matters to YOU. No more expensive fees to participate. We're turning professional learning on it's head...introducing Flipped Workshops! Now, you can access ANY of our FREE online Professional Development Workshops for Teachers at a time that's convenient for you.

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Glossary of Arts and Education Terms | Grantmakers in the Arts

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Every field develops a language of its own which is generally understood by those immersed in that field. In the last twenty years Arts Education has in fact become a field and as such has a vocabulary all its own.

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Music can be one of the most difficult art forms to use for arts integration and STEAM. Not because music itself is hard. But because we as teachers are nervous about our own musical abilities. Maybe you were told that you weren't a good singer as a child. Or maybe you feel like you can't hold a steady beat to save your life. Whatever the reason, trying to integrate with music can feel very risky.

In today's episode of Teaching with Creativity, I'm going to help you conquer those fears once and for all. You'll walk with me as I teach you 5 easy strategies for integrating more music into your instruction. I promise - you'll be able to do these right away with your students and not feel awkward or nervous at all.

And if you're a music teacher, this is a great episode for you, too. As a music teacher myself, I know that we're constantly being asked to integrate literacy, math, science and social studies into our instruction. These 5 strategies will help you do that without compromising your own musical instruction time. Let's dive in!

SUBMIT A REVIEW - PLEASE?

Believe it or not, reviews are pretty important to iTunes and the more reviews we receive, the more likely we'll be able to get more creativity into more classrooms. I'd be extremely grateful if you left a review right here letting me know your favorite part of this episode!

SHOW NOTES:

Link to the Predicates and Cadences Lesson

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:02] Hi there. And welcome to another episode of Teaching with Creativity. I'm host Susan Riley and I'm the founder of EducationCloset.com, a digital hub for arts integration and STEAM.

[00:00:40] Today we're going to be talking about how to utilize music as an integration point in your classrooms. Now this little mini lesson idea is really great for two reasons. One, if you're a classroom teacher this will get rid of that fear or anxiety that you have about using music. We know that music for arts integration and STEAM can often be a barrier for teachers who feel as though they are not able to use music themselves. Whether they feel like they can't sing or if they can't play an instrument or hold a beat.

[00:01:19] Lots of times music can be a barrier for classroom teachers because they're a little nervous about their skills. Today's lesson is going to help you with that. And if you are a music educator, today's lesson is going to allow you to take these kinds of concepts that you are already doing in your classroom to the next level by integrating them with purpose through ELA, math, science, and social studies. So if you are being asked to really think about arts integration and STEAM as music educator, today's lessons will help you as well.

[00:01:50] So in this lesson I'm actually here to give you five strategies that you can use in your own classroom at any time. And I really think that these are going to help you make music more accessible for you and your students and they really are very low risk. So let's dive in.

STRATEGY 1

[00:02:12] The first one I'm going to share with you is something I actually learned from a wonderful educator named Marcia Daft. She works with the Kennedy Center quite a bit and she actually shared this at one of our online conferences. And I thought it was absolutely phenomenal. This works a lot of rhythm pieces in. But you can connect it to fractions and multiplication groups and there's so many ways that you can use this. It's called meter against meter.

[00:02:40] So a lot of times if we're looking at equivalent fractions in class, students really struggle with the idea of groupings. It's hard for them to understand that a 12 could be grouped in groups of four, and in groups of three or six or two. So to use this strategy you would use a number line that has hashmarks for each grouping. So you would start from zero and go to 12 and then if you wanted to do a group of 4 you would have an additional hashmarks so that you had a group of 1 4 8 12 and then we would do another member line. Well that again 0-12 but this time, group it in threes. So...a three hashmark, a 6 hashmark, and a 9 hashmark. The students can visually see that you're getting to the same destination. But we're doing so in a different way with a different set of groups. Then you have students create a beat pattern for each of those groupings that you have. So maybe for a group of four, it would be one to four.

[00:03:52] So let's switch that 1, 2, 3, 4. That way we have a clap or something across the way. You can have them do a variety of different beat patterns. But where we want to get them to end up at is that the last one has their hands coming up like this, so it can be 1-2-3-4 or whatever you like. But they have that beat pattern that their hands are up on the four.

[00:04:20] So keep working with them on that. 1 2 3 4. 1 2 3 4. Then, get them to do it to the count of 12. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12. So you have them counted up to 12. Once they get that, then they get to come up with a beat pattern for the other group: a pair of three. And for this one as well, you want them to end up with their hands up at the end. OK so you might have 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12.

[00:04:58] Once they have that, then you go and have half the class perform group A, or the 4 pattern group. And the other half, B, or the three pattern group performs as well. Have them practice that individually. So you're a four - you're going to do the original four pattern of 1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4. And if you're the three you'll do 1 2 3 4 5 6. So you practice your own individual pattern while the other one is happening on the other side of the room. You pair students together a four group and a three group as a partner and they count to 12 using their own pattern.

[00:05:34] This is going to be a challenge for them but once they do it a couple of times are going to end up together on that 12 and that's when they finally are going to be able to get together. You can do this with ten. We can do this with any number that you can divide into different groupings.

[00:05:54] So I love this strategy because, first of all, it's a challenge with students. Second, it requires you to really understand the patterns and meter. So you're really making sure that you're teaching them the music concept with integrity and you're teaching the math concept with integrity and that is the secret to really great integration and STEAM. It's that both subject areas are working simultaneously and with equity. So one is not in service of the other.

[00:06:22] Now an extension of this is that around grade 4 or so we'll start teaching students conducting patterns. So a four pattern or maybe one two three four in your hands come up. And a three pattern would be one two three - in a triangle. So you can extend this from just a regular beat pattern to actual conducting patterns and you can see how those patterns will match up.

[00:06:49] And you can get more and more complex. So since we know that the 12 can be divided by two and six as well you can even have them do a six beat pattern or a two beat pattern.

[00:07:10] Now obviously as a conductor you're not necessarily going to have your hands come up that way. You transfer the idea across to each other from the beat pattern over to the conducting pattern. It's a nice extension piece as well. And also because, when you're conducting it is a kinesthetic understanding of the concept. You have to have that in your body in order to conduct. Its really good to bring in that kinesthetic piece for those learners who need that piece. So that is strategy number one- onto strategy number two.

STRATEGY 2

[00:07:43] This one is called micro versus macro. So understanding how things are divided. So we start with a macro beat. You're going to start one two three four. This is your macro beat. Now this can be a challenge for a lot of students. You know, when you're at a concert and people start clapping along and suddenly getting faster instead of really with the music itself. That's because people sometimes struggle with an internal beat.

[00:08:12] So keeping that in mind you have a big beat that you can see. If you put your hand in between where the micro piece is going to be. So if your hand is right in the center you can see that you can split that big beat into micro, micro. Two sounds for every one of the beat.

[00:08:42] Lots of times students need this visual, but once you do that visual of the micro to the macro you can have them start using their words. Or use a sound so that they can hear a syllable that fits within the patterns of your beat.

[00:08:58] You can actually start using your sound micro, micro, micro. So you can hear how many sounds are in that main beat. You can continue to subdivide that. So instead of just micro, micro, you can start having the tik-a-tik-a. That's four sounds - you've got a four syllable sound. Now this is tying in with two distinct areas. First of all, definitely fractions. So understanding the whole and the parts and how every time you divide the parts equally you get twice as many. So that understanding is really just a great understanding of the mathematics concept. But there's also an interesting piece here that I hope you're beginning to see in terms of syllables.

[00:09:46] So you can see how many syllables there are and you can start counting that. And what's great is that if it's coming up on a holiday, like let's say Thanksgiving. You can actually assign words to this whole kind of beat structure. So if you want to start out with words you could start out with something like Corn, Corn, Corn, Corn. Turkey, Turkey, Turkey. Granny Apples, Granny Apples. And you can see how there's multiple syllables that you can do at one time so you can actually have students use those and create their own compositions. It's their own rhythm compositions based on the syllables that they're using to create a story around what they would eat at Thanksgiving dinner. So it is a really interesting way to use that concept of micro and macro, but also connecting it with math and with literacy at the same time. All right moving on stop number three.

STRATEGY 3

[00:10:48] OK, strategy number three is something that a lot of folks like to start with, actually, in music because it's a little bit more passive instead of active in terms of musical instruction. And this is called responding to sound. So it's very similar to visual art when we start integrating art by looking at a piece of artwork and visually seeing that breaking down that - what's inside of that piece of artwork. You're not asking the students to directly create that work. Instead, you're asking them to analyze and for a lot of us as classroom teachers, that's more comfortable in an artistic medium where we might be a little bit more nervous.

[00:11:32] Now that's not to say that it's not highly vigorous for our students. It really is. It is working those analytical muscles. So this is an important component as well. So in terms of responding to sound there is a great connection that you can use actually with your visual art partner. It's called Synesthesia - lots of people have this. It's a not an anomaly but it's wonderful. A famous artist who had this was Kandinsky. When you hear a specific musical tone or note it actually triggers a color in your mind. So you know an "A" musical note could trigger the color yellow in your mind. And so people and artists like him can listen to music and then paint what they hear. Literally the colors that they are hearing and seeing in their mind and then transfer that onto a painting.

[00:12:35] So you can do an exercise around this where you have students listen to the music and identify what kind of colors would this bring to mind. Why would those colors come to mind with that kind of music. And you can associate those colors. So something like green with envy, blue with sadness. Why do we connect those kinds of things? That is a literacy concept that many students struggle with because it is a little bit more abstract. And so tying into music and being able to listen to something. How does that make you feel? What colors would you see?

[00:13:11] How that then transfers to language is really important for students. You could do an activity where they listen to a specific piece of music and then they come up with the colors that they hear and then would paint to that piece of music. It's a great response piece or even designing a story around what you're hearing based on the music itself. So the dynamics, the instruments used, the timbre that's being used, the tone color. that kind of thing. You can utilize that in response to a piece of music. You can also get a nice dance as a response to sound. So as you're listening to different pieces of music - and you're going to want to select pieces that have highlighted this like very short or very long drawn out phrases you're going to want to pick music that highlights those kinds of experiences - and then have students move the way that the music sounds. It sounds hokey. It sounds like, well that's really really easy. And it is really really easy, except here's the thing. When you tie it back into using vocabulary words you want students to work on. It can be a very meaningful activity at the same time. So for example if you know you have students that are struggling with a set of vocabulary terms in your content area like a social studies unit or math, one way you could approach that is by identifying ways that you can move to a specific set of musical examples and use that vocabulary in your movement. So if I'm playing a piece of music, maybe something that is very calming, because the words that were identified happened to be very calm words like gentle or soothing.

[00:14:59] And what that means is I'm going to choose a piece of music that is gentle and soothing if I'm hearing something that's a little more aggressive. So words like volcanic ash or I mean something that is a higher level words that students really struggle with and that is more aggressive, you're going to pick a more aggressive piece of music. Then, you would ask students how would you move to demonstrate to me what volcanic ash is or how would you move to the word soothing. What would that look like with your body? Then turn on the music and when you turn it off, call out one of the vocabulary words like soothing and they have to then move the way that they identified for that vocabulary word.

[00:15:47] This does a couple of things. First of all, it's tying the music with dance in an incredibly beautiful way. Number two, it's also connecting those vocabulary terms and internalizing that both with auditory skills and with kinesthetic skills. So you're combining the two of them which automatically brings up the vigor for your students. And it's really in a way that they're going to use to remember what those terms mean. It's a much more meaningful way for them than just simply memorizing a new set of vocabulary terms. So I really love the idea of response to music. All right let's move on to strategy number four.

STRATEGY 4

[00:16:28] So this one is based on predicates and cadences. And I actually have a lesson that is developed that you can use for free on the site. It's all about how to do this with a predicate and cadences so I link that in the show notes. You can download that as well.

[00:16:46] These are really natural elegant bit because a cadence in music is really how you close a musical phrase. Very often it comes down, so it naturally feels like the the close of a phrase. It doesn't always - there's sometimes some surprises - but most times it does kind of fall down in terms of tone and I'll give you an example in a minute. A predicate in terms of sentence structure is a way to close a sentence. It's how you know that the sentence is done. Now sometimes when we're looking at standards to connect, the language standards -those Conventions standards - are very challenging because they're kind of dry. We're thinking about this you know, nouns and predicates and verbs and understanding what each of those are. It's pretty straightforward. So connecting with integration can sometimes be a challenge. Predicates really do lend themselves very naturally because cadences do the exact same thing in music and it's very fun to be able to put the two of them together.

[00:17:54] So I used a song like "to stop the train in cases of emergency, pull on the chain, pull on the chain. Penalty for improper use, five pound. You hear how that sounds "penalty for improper use, five pounds" makes sure that the phrase is done. You wouldn't stop at "to stop the train" because that does not sound finished. So the cadence is what finishes that phrase.

[00:18:24] The same is true in a sentence. The way you would connect these two is by providing students with specific instruction on sentence structure and identifying those predicates. So you'd give them several sentences and determine what the predicate part of the sentence is. Then you can do the exact same thing with a song like "to stop the train in cases of emergency" and have them raise their hand when they hear the cadence. And then we talk about the similarity between a cadence and a predicate. Then the activity would be that you could break apart the sentences and have students look at what part is the predicate and what is the beginning and how do they match. Match them up. So kind of like a shuffle and they match up the predicate to the remainder of the sentence and then you do the same thing with the music.

[00:19:15] This one is a listening part. So you don't have to have them be reading the music unless that's something that was covered in their music class. It can be a great opportunity to reinforce that. Not necessary though, you can definitely do it with the listening component.

[00:19:32] You can play phrases and then have them match them together or match the sounds together. That's very easily done in something like a garageband or audacity, both of which are free software tools that you can use so that you can put these together. You could also have them create compositions. So have them create a composition with words that they can sing or perform of do whatever they want with. Then have them perform in front of the classroom. Everyone in the audience has to raise their hand when they hear the cadence and predicate come along. So again a really fun way to expand that and you will find that lesson in today's show notes. All right - off to strategy number five. We're on a roll! Here we go.

STRATEGY 5

[00:20:19] Strategy number five is about exploring music. And this is something that we don't necessarily consider all the time and it's really important. One of the things our students don't get enough experience is with listening skills and in being a good audience. They honestly don't know how to be a good audience and how to actively listen to something.

[00:20:40] Listening is an incredibly difficult skill for students and for all of us quite honestly. So students need practice in doing that. What I would recommend is actually playing the piece several times and the first time you listen to it as a whole. You give your general impression. The second time you listen to it, you're listening for something specific like an instrument that comes in or a volume change, which we call a dynamic change, or something that's interesting that comes along that's different from the rest of the piece or maybe a surprise.

[00:21:16] Haydn's Surprise Symphony is a great example of this that you could use. So have students listen for something that's surprising or in-depth that you're looking for specifically the second time that they listen to it.

[00:21:31] The third time that they listen to it and they know what is coming. I want them to think about what would you change as a composer, if anything. If this was your piece would you change when that came in or what instrument plays there or would you keep it exactly the same. So this way they're really starting to think about it in terms of their own piece and then you can then move into "I want us to practice that skill".

[00:21:58] Let's say it is looking at surprising an audience using Haydn's the Surprise Symphony. How would you write a phrase or a composition a piece of music? And it can be short. I mean it can be like, you know, four measures long - it doesn't have to be long. How would you insert a surprise somewhere in there? Would it be at the end? Would it be at the middle? Where would you put it? What would it sound like? And then give them the opportunity to do that.

[00:22:24] So they're moving from a passive listening experience to something that's very active. Something that is creative and compositional and allows them to synthesize their learning and really make it their own. That is a wonderful way to practice experience in music and then to tie it into being able to be a good audience is to have students listen to those performances and to offer feedback. So being able to quietly listen and not come out picking on each other.

[00:22:56] You know how students can do that sometimes. But to also offer feedback, whether that's applause, or if it's after the piece is over, providing what we like. Then what you thought could be different. Students need to practice that. So giving them that opportunity is also very helpful.

[00:23:14] I hope that these five strategies have made it a little easier for you to use music as an integration point in your classroom. And if you're a music educator I hope that this has spurred some new fresh ideas for how you can take these concepts to the next level in your classroom. For more ideas like this, please tune into Teaching with Creativity, right here on EducationCloset. And if this is something that your friends and colleagues would benefit from, do be sure to share it. Don't forget to leave us a review on iTunes as it really does help others find how to bring more creativity into their own classrooms. Thanks again so much for joining us and I'll see you next time right here on Teaching with Creativity.

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Music can be one of the most difficult art forms to use for arts integration and STEAM. Not because music itself is hard. But because we as teachers are nervous about our own musical abilities. Maybe you were told that you weren't a good singer as a child.

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These colorful projects, which I call "Masterpiece Mosaics", were a collaborative effort by my students in grades K through middle school. Each grade level created their own copy of a famous painting - six masterpieces in all, on display now through Christmas at our local art store. These were really pretty easy to do, and super FUN! We're hoping they'll command a high price at our school auction in the spring!

Check out the rest of our Masterpiece Mosaics below, and see them on site along with their "originals" on my Teach Kids Art Facebook page. Then try it yourself by following the directions at the bottom of this post, or visit my store to purchase and download a convenient pdf of this project!
Materials for one Masterpiece Mosaic:

Inexpensive fine art poster (I ordered ours online from PosterRevolution.com, AllPosters.com, and Art.com - all one company, by the way!)

Card stock (black or white, depending on your print)

Oil pastels

Foam core board (black or white, to match your card stock), cut to the same size as your poster

Old credit card or plastic membership card

Mod Podge (gloss)

1-1/2″ foam brush

Uni Frame for hanging (optional)

Directions:

1. Divide your fine art poster into equal size pieces, one piece per student. (To make the numbers work, I sometimes have a teacher and/or teacher's aide participate by creating one of the pieces!)

2. On the back of each piece, write the row (A, B, C, etc.) and column number (1, 2, 3, etc.).

3. Cut your card stock to the same size and same number of pieces as your poster. Label them the same way you labeled the poster pieces.

4. Pass out the card stock pieces with their corresponding poster pieces and a set of oil pastels to each student. Make sure you write down and keep track of who has which piece - the parents will be asking which piece their child did!

5. Have students duplicate their poster piece onto their card stock, matching shapes and colors as closely as they can. Layering and blending colors with oil pastels will greatly increase the range of colors you can achieve! Remind students to pay careful attention to the edges of their piece so the pieces will line up well with each other.

6. Use an old credit card to spread a thin layer of YES! Paste over the foam core board, all the way to the edges.

7. Lay your oil pastel pieces onto the foam core board, starting along one of the edges. Then lay them along one of the adjacent edges, and work inward from there. Using YES! Paste will allow you to slide your pieces around to get them positioned just right, and it will dry really flat and permanent.

8. Lay some parchment paper (or wax paper) over the whole thing and press it flat (I use a rolling pin!). Pile some heavy books on top.... art books work best! ;-) Let it dry overnight.

9. Uncover and check for any little stray bits of oil pastel that need to be picked off.

10. Finally, use a foam brush to spread Mod Podge (gloss) over the top. Let that dry and apply a second coat.

11. I use Uni-Frames for a lightweight, low cost hanging system that doesn't require a mat or glass.

You can also have students make their pieces larger than the original (for example, enlarge a 3×4 section onto a 9×12 piece of construction paper) and put the pieces together to make a mural for the wall. This is more challenging for the younger kids, but can also be really fun to do! I've done mural versions of this project successfully with 4th grade and up.

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Masterpiece Mosaics: a Collaborative Art Project for Grades K - 8

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These colorful projects, which I call "Masterpiece Mosaics", were a collaborative effort by my students in grades K through middle school. Each grade level created their own copy of a famous painting - six masterpieces in all, on display now through Christmas at our local art store.

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Overview

Key Staff

Social Studies/History Teacher to oversee lesson and make connections with history content.

Music Teacher may provide musical context and skills as needed

Key Skills

Global Connections: Connecting to History and Culture
Making Art: Producing, Executing and Performing
Life and Career Skills: Leadership and Responsibility
Creative Thinking: Communication and Collaboration

Summary

Students will learn about the song, "We Shall Overcome," and the role it played as an anthem for the civil rights movement in America. Explore the lives, motivations, and actions of Civil Rights activists and create interviews to demonstrate our understanding. Students will also brainstorm new verses to the song "We Shall Overcome." We will use internet resources and recorded music to become more familiar with this time and these events.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Recognize the impact individual and group actions can have on society

Identify individual responsibility in a democratic society

Appreciate the influence music has had historically as an agent of change

Role play interviews based on freedom rider biographies

Create new verses for the song "We Shall Overcome"

Teaching Approach

Arts Integration

Teaching Methods

Cooperative Learning

Problem-Solving

Role Playing

Discussion

Brainstorming

Assessment Type

Observation

Preparation

What You'll Need

Materials

Resources

Required Technology

Required Plugins

Lesson Setup

Teacher Background

Teachers should obtain:

Stotts, S. (2010). We Shall Overcome: A Song That Changed the World. New York: Clarion Books.

Computers with internet connectivity to access Freedom Riders biographies and videos

Print Freedom Riders bios from

Non-fiction literature for civil rights movement

Prior Student Knowledge

General knowledge of the Civil Rights Movement.

Physical Space

Classroom

Grouping

Small Group Instruction

Large Group Instruction

Staging

Prepare internet connection with websites of material

Prepare recorded version of We Shall Overcome.

Duplicate handouts

Accessibility Notes

Students with physical disabilities may need modified movements.

Instruction

Resources in Reach

Here are the resources you'll need for each activity, in order of instruction.

Engage

Build

Apply

1. As a class, listen to "We Shall Overcome" by both Joan Baez and Marian Anderson. Both are available in the Resource Carousel above in the Engage tab.

2. Have students complete the Music Analysis handout located within the Resource Carousel while or after listening to the song.

3. Students can also visit We Shall Overcome: Story Behind the Song for more information about the history of the song.

1. Introduce vocabulary for the lesson. Use the Vocabulary for We Shall Overcome handout. Ask each student to indicate their level of understanding about each term by placing a checkmark in the appropriate column.
2. Have students work in groups of 3-4 students to talk about the terms.
3. Lead a class discussion on the terms. Clarify misconceptions and definitions.

4. Ask students to listen for the terms as you read Chapter 1 of We Shall Overcome (Keep Your Eyes on the Prize). Ask students to make notes on their vocabulary handout as you read the chapter.

5. After reading the chapter, have students reexamine their Vocabulary handouts located within the Resource Carousel and see what words they can now define and use. Have students reconvene with their original group to discuss their new understanding of the vocabulary.

1. Lead the class in a discussion about the Freedom Riders and what they hoped to accomplish.

2. Working in pairs students will choose a figure who participated in the Freedom Ride protest. Using the internet and the resources provided partners will research create a bio of their Freedom Rider using the Bio Graphic Organizer located within the Resource Carousel to collect key facts and information to share. Students will prepare for a role-play interview. One of the students will be a news anchor and the other will be the civil rights activist. After collecting information, together the students will create an interview. They will prepare 4-5 key questions with responses. One of the questions for each individual will be about the song, We Shall Overcome. (How did you feel as you sang the song during threatening situations? How do you feel today when you hear the song? Do you still sing the song today and what memories does it evoke?) Encourage students to come up with their own unique question.

3. Model an interview with a student and provide partners time to practice the role-play interview to present to the class. Each interview should be no longer than 5 minutes. Encourage students to look at the photos and dress as the Freedom Riders would have dressed.
4. As partners present interviews, have the rest of the class individually record one interesting fact they hear in each interview.
5. After each interview, ask students to do a Think, Pair, Share while the next pair prepares. They will get up and move to someone they have not talked to and discuss their interesting point from the interview. This allows movement and opportunity to process the information.

6. After the interviews, as a class project students will compose an original verse for We Shall Overcome to sing together. Have students use the Verse/Lyric Writing Organizer handout located within the Resource Carousel to do so.

7. After the completion of the interview presentations, have the class reenact the Montgomery Bus Terminal incident by joining hands in a circle to sing We Shall Overcome, including their new verse. If possible, consider recording a video of the interviews and the singing of We Shall Overcome to create a "class documentary" on the Freedom Riders.

1. Play video On Acting Your Conscience interview by Bernard Lafayette Jr. The video may be found within the right column of the page.

2. Have students write a short response to the following questions: Freedom Riders put their personal lives on hold to devote their energy to a movement that would effect change for people living in oppression.

What are examples of personal sacrifice that you've seen?

What cause would you be willing to sacrifice for?

Would you be able to do what the Freedom Riders did?

What kinds of inequalities exist in our world?

What can you do when you see inequality?

Extend the Learning

Teachers may extend the lesson any of the following ways:

Invite a local community organizer or civil rights activist to talk to the class about nonviolent protest. Identify a local issue that students can learn about and become involved in: homeless needs in your community, migrant workers, undocumented workers, etc.

For a shorter lesson activity, use a website or print out bios of Freedom Riders Students will use graphic organizer to collect information. Instead of interview role-play students will use information to complete a mini poster on the Freedom Rider or a Bio Cube. See Bio Cube handout or complete the Bio Cube online activity.

Consider working with the music teacher to write the new verse of We Shall Overcome and to prepare for the musical performance.

Partners will print a picture of their Freedom Rider to post in the classroom with a mini-poster bio. Optional: Create a class book of the Freedom Riders.

Create individual or a class timeline of events of the Freedom Rider movement.

Have students work in small groups to create a visual (Drawing, Poster, PowerPoint, Video) for each event. Create a timeline of important events where the song We Shall Overcome has been sung.

Create a sidewalk timeline using sidewalk chalk. Students place their events in order on the sidewalk and decorate with drawings.

Create a class map to trace the Freedom Riders Movement.

Consider recording for a video or create a class book.

Standards

ArtsEdge Lessons connect to the National Standards for Arts Education, the Common Core Standards, and a range of other subject area standards.

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Overview Key Staff Social Studies/History Teacher to oversee lesson and make connections with history content. Music Teacher may provide musical context and skills as needed Key Skills Global Connections: Connecting to History and Culture Making Art: Producing, Executing and Performing Life and Career Skills: Leadership and Responsibility Creative Thinking: Communication and Collaboration Summary Students will learn about the song, "We Shall Overcome," and the role it played as an anthem for the civil rights movement in America.

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Recently, I was honored to be featured in the November edition of Educational Leadership with a quick idea for making informational text more engaging and meaningful for students. In today's article, I go into a little more detail about how to use arts integration as an avenue to exploring informational text with authenticity to both the fine arts content and the Common Core ELA standards.

Informational text can be difficult for many teachers to get excited about - mostly because it's difficult for students to be excited about unpacking this type of text. Many students (and adults) would choose to read or write fiction over informational text any day. As a way to prepare students for this kind of analysis, it can be helpful to use art work and musical, dance and dramatic compositions as a way in to the world of informational text.

If we view fine art compositions as text, then it is possible to use the same Common Core ELA standards as a way to "read" a piece of art work. As such, by choosing a composition that is historically-based (such as a photograph or musical genre), you can use the artwork as a piece of informational text itself.

The example used in this video and in the mention through Educational Leadership was the piece "Migrant Mother" from Dorothea Lange . You could also use the genre of blues and jazz as that was developing at the same time period in America's history. Both of these could connect beautifully as a way to analyze a composition for information.

Have a question or comment about this approach? Share your genius with us in the comments section and let the dialogue begin!

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Recently, I was honored to be featured in the November edition of Educational Leadership with a quick idea for making informational text more engaging and meaningful for students. In today's article, I go into a little more detail about how to use

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Simple Machines: Science & Art Integration

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Jason DeLuca integrates science with art by having his students express their knowledge of simple machines through visual art and drama. Jason begins by having students review simple machines and use their bodies to act out simple machines. Each group performs their simple machine for the class as the rest of the students guess which simple machine the groups are acting out.

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​. ..but how do we harness all that innate, kinetic energy in pursuit of conceptual understanding of mathematics? Malke's upcoming book reminds us that the body is a thinking tool and that math...

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Turn PPTS into Video Presentations

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Animoto is a free classroom tool for educators, students, and administrators. Easily create and share videos with your class, with parents, and beyond. No software downloads required.

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Classroom Video Maker | Make Videos for School Free

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Teachers, students, and administrators can easily create and share teaching videos with Animoto's classroom video maker. Get started for free!

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Lessons Plans -

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Not your everyday calendar, here you can find important events in literary history, authors' birthdays, and a variety of holidays, all with related activities and resources that make them more relevant to students.

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Not your everyday calendar, here you can find important events in literary history, authors' birthdays, and a variety of holidays, all with related activities and resources that make them more relevant to students.

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Lesson Plans

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Arts-centered, standards-based resources for in and out of school

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Poems and Graphics

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Create a PicLit | Inspired Picture Writing | PicLits.com

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PicLits.com is a creative writing and e-learning site that matches beautiful images with carefully selected keywords in order to inspire you. It is a forum for creative writing, social interaction, and can also be used as a teaching tool. PicLits.com is fun, safe, sticky, proprietary, interactive, global...online EDUTAINMENT.

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Today, we are bringing you a FREE downloadable lesson plan! This lesson, inspired by Paul Fleischman's book, Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, integrates the science of life cycles and theatre, also referred to as life cycle theatre. This lesson can easily be adapted to integrate any unit of study in any content area with theatre.

Joyful Noise is a collection of poems of the insect world, written to be read aloud by two voices-sometimes alternating, sometimes simultaneous. This is a great vehicle for learning factual information about insects in a way that touches on a number of ELA and Theatre standards, and an even better vehicle for inspiring student-created two-voice poems on ANY unit of study! Although this arts integration lesson plan is written for the life cycles of organisms, it can easily be adapted for any unit of study. Imagine the possibilities- students writing two-voice poems on scientific concepts such as weather and space, historical figures and eras, artists and musicians, or literary characters and authors!

Life Cycle Theatre "Science And Theatre"

Below, you'll find our Life Cycle Theatre infographic. Be sure to share it with your friends!

Download the Life Cycle Theatre Lesson Plan

Find Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

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Arts Integration Lesson: Life Cycle Theatre

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Today, we are bringing you a FREE downloadable lesson plan! This lesson, inspired by Paul Fleischman's book, Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, integrates the science of life cycles and theatre, also referred to as life cycle theatre. This lesson can easily be

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Using Visual Fine Arts to Enrich Understanding

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Things have changed since teachers had to go through their private and local libraries to create slideshows using art to teach history. Now with a click of a mouse and a projector, we can show students provocative works of art.

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Art is one of the most underutilized resources in today's ELA classroom. The Roman poet Horace claimed, "A picture is a poem without words" meaning art and written word are different mediums of expression. Art offers students a break from written words while continuing to develop the same skill set needed to be successful readers through challenging students to think both critically and analytically.

Here are a few examples of how I use art:
1. Nighthawks by Hopper
Nighthawks by Hopper is analyzed to introduce the modern period. I give students time on their own to study the painting analyzing color, lines, and shapes and then use this discussion to determine mood and tone. If time allows, students write dialogue between the characters. Their only instruction is the dialogue will serve as characterization of one of the subjects in the painting and must match their prior analysis of the picture as a whole.
2. Marriage a la Mode: The Marriage Settlement by Hogarth
Marriage a la Mode: The Marriage Settlement by Hogarth is shown after a satire unit composed of short pieces and videos. Students work in groups to identify the satirical elements of the painting and how they are characteristic of the time period. I am always amazed at what my students see in this painting such as the groom looking at himself in the mirror, the bride and groom uninvolved in the contract, the dogs chained together, etc. We can easily spend an entire class period talking about this painting which leads perfectly into Pride and Prejudice. The painting is then revisited after reading Pride and Prejudice, where students always have further insight. Student groups then compose their own satirical picture based on a passage in Pride and Prejudice using Marriage a la Mode: The Marriage Settlement as a model. Like me, you will be completely blown away by what students produce.
3. Impression, Sunrise by Monet and A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Seurat
Students often have a difficult time grasping the ambiguity in Heart of Darkness and why Conrad would use this style when writing. I often pair this novel with Sunrise by Monet or A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Seurat. Both of the pieces are very difficult to view and understand when looking up close but make sense by stepping back and looking at the piece as a whole. We spend time discussing why an artist would create a piece that is confusing up close but that makes sense when seen as a whole. The same is true with Heart of Darkness, and when students are confused or bogged down by passages in the novel, I remind them to step back and view the passage in light of the novel as a whole.
4. The Scream by Munch
Art is a great tool to work on sentence style and variety. Instead of rote grammar lessons, we use art as an inspiration piece and write sentences based on the work. Typically, we use the same image for a week as I prompt students to write a sentence about the piece with a participle phrase, an adjective clause, an introductory adverb clause. Sometimes I prompt them to review sentence types such as periodic sentences or the overlooked but powerful simple sentence. One of our favorite pieces to use for this activity is Scream by Munch because students love writing bizarre explanations for the subject.
5. Collages
Students can collect art for a culminating project. Through digital displays, students are able to share with the class a collection of pieces that they feel best captures units, time periods, or novels we have studied during the year. I often ask them to pair the pieces with either quotes and defend why the piece was chosen.

Just like reading and writing, allow ample time to view a piece; analyzing art takes time. Offer guiding questions or thematic suggestions as a lens for students to use with viewing, while they are still getting use to art analysis. Also give students opportunities to view pieces without a specific focus though. The possibilities are limitless, and you and your students will reap the reward.

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Using Art to Teach Critical Thinking | Edutopia

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Art is one of the most underutilized resources in today's ELA classroom. The Roman poet Horace claimed, "A picture is a poem without words" meaning art and written word are different mediums of expression. Art offers students a break from written words while continuing to develop the same skill set needed to be successful readers through challenging students to think both critically and analytically.

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by Susan Verner 41,758 views

Most teachers are creative people. We have to plan for multiple classes each day keeping our methods and activities fresh and interesting for both our students and ourselves.

Not many, though, would consider themselves creative enough to be art teachers. Art can be an intimidating subject full of specialized knowledge and techniques where the only approval a person receives is purely subjective. Do not let this stop you from bringing art into your ESL classroom. There are plenty of ways to use art as a vehicle to teach English to your students and have fun in the process.

How to Bring Some Art Into Your ESL Classroom

1. With Elementary School Students
Young children may be the easiest to teach through art. Children love to play with color and mediums (paint, crayon, chalk, clay, etc.) and are not inhibited in their creativity. They may become so involved in the art project they are doing that they do not even know they are learning English at the same time. One easy project you can do will review color words and shapes. Give each student a piece of graph paper, the bigger the squares the better. Have them draw an amorphous shape in the center of the page. Then instruct them to color each of the inside squares with hot colors (red, yellow, and orange) and each of the outside squares with cold colors (green, blue, and purple). Squares that are split by the shape the child drew should be colored with both. Tell your students that they do not have to follow a pattern when coloring their boxes but they can if they would like to. Use their work time to review shapes by discussing each student's picture with him or her. By the end of the class, your students will have had a fun time coloring and not even realized they were learning in the process.

2. With Middle School Students
Middle school students will still have creativity to share, but they may not be as eager to do it with their peers. You can overcome this by showing your class some pieces by other artists. Take the opportunity to introduce new vocabulary as you describe the pictures to your class and then ask them to describe the same piece to one another. You can play an easy conversation game with your students with famous pieces of art. Take ten paintings and display them at the front of your class. Then pair students having one student describe one of the paintings. The second student must then determine which painting his partner is describing. Then switch roles. For each correct guess, award one hundred points to the pair. The pair with the most points at the end wins. Then assign a piece of writing to your students. Ask them to describe their favorite piece from class and say why they liked it. They can also compare it to some of the other pieces if you want them to write a longer piece.

3. With High School Students
With older students comes thinking and analysis that is more complex and an ability to connect emotionally with what they see. Review some well-known pieces of art with your students. You can introduce them as you would with middle school students, and even play the same game, but take the discussion a step further and introduce vocabulary that describes emotion. All of your students start learning emotions words with simple emotions like angry, happy, scared, and excited, but use art as a means to introduce even more complex emotion words. What does it mean to be melancholy? Lonely? Crestfallen? Apprehensive? Choose art pieces that allow you to discuss these specific emotions with your students. Ask them how the pieces make them feel. Then ask why. Students will be challenged to use specific emotion vocabulary and connect it with what they see. Show how Edward Hopper depicts loneliness through his pieces. Edvard Munch depicts panic in his painting The Scream. Embrace the serenity that comes from Claude Monet. Feel sentimental from the love expressed by Mary Cassatt in her mother and child pieces. You can use any piece or art you wish, and the emotions that one person may feel from a piece may be different than what another feels. Encourage your student to express their individuality and make personal connections with the art. This activity challenges your students to communicate a new depth of their emotions with new vocabulary and classic art in perfect harmony.

4. With Adult Students
Adult students may be comfortable with either of the two previous activities, but for those who may be uncomfortable getting emotional about art, take a historical approach. Many resources both in print and online give helpful information about art history. History may be a more comfortable approach for many adults who have been estranged from their creativity for many years. Ask a guest to come into class to present art history to your students, or have the students themselves do some research on artists, particularly those who may have come from their home countries. Then have your students present the information they learned to the class. Before their presentations, spend some time reviewing historical vocabulary explaining words like era, century, and movement. Encourage your students to talk about that artist's historical context. Everyone is sure to learn about art, but they will also learn about familiar historical events in new language and vocabulary.

These are just a few of the activities you can do with art in the ESL classroom. If you want to have the greatest impact on your students, try to remember any art lessons you had as a child, teenager and adult, and share with them the same activities that impacted you.

If you did not have art, use any or all of the activities mentioned here. In either case, your English class will be memorable to your students because it opened doors to art in a new way and they still learned the English language in the process.

P.S. If you enjoyed this article, please help spread it by clicking one of those sharing buttons below. And if you are interested in more, you should follow our Facebook page where we share more about creative, non-boring ways to teach English.

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Hi friends! It's me, Tammy, from Literacy Loves Company! I'm so excited to share with you a few simple ideas to integrate the arts into your day-to-day curriculum! Before we begin, I'd like to send out a big THANK YOU to Rachel Lynette for inviting me to guest post! I'm truly honored.

I am a firm believer that the arts are a vital part of the education of young people. The arts connect students to humanity, they help students see the world through different lenses, and they give children opportunities and avenues for self-expression. Unfortunately, with reduced budgets, extensive testing, and more content than time, many teachers are finding it difficult to teach art for art's sake. This is why I wanted to share with you five simple ways to integrate art into your classroom!

1. Use photographs or artwork to introduce a new unit, concept, or lesson.

This is one of my favorite ways to launch a new unit with my students! I project the image and have students complete an "Observation 4-Square."

Click HERE to download your free copy!

The important thing here is to have students observe the image quietly, making sure they look at all regions of the image. I give students about eight minutes to work on the observation sheet silently, and then I give students time to share with each other. After students share with each other, we share as a whole class, and I chart their observations, inferences, and questions. Students keep the Observation 4-square in in their journals, along with other unit materials, and I keep the chart on the wall throughout the unit.

My mind is reeling with all of the possible images you could use for this strategy! In science you could show magnified images of cells, tissue, and plants. If you are studying earth, then you could show an image of landforms from space or magnified photos of minerals. There are an amazing amount of historical paintings and artwork available on the internet to use during any history unit. Websites like Geographic Explorer and even Pinterest are full of amazing photographs that might be a perfect fit for your lessons!

2. Tableau

This art form is a favorite of my students. Whenever I say, "We are going to use tableau today," the students erupt in cheers, which makes my heart happy! Tableau is a drama technique in which small groups of people work together to create a still scene or a "snapshot" of a topic. This is a great art form for literature groups and social studies units! I've had students use tableau to share major scenes from their novels, events from our history units, and more.

To get this FREE classroom poster, visit my TpT store HERE!

If tableau is new to you, then there are many wonderful resources online. I've also pinned several videos that show tableau being used in a classroom setting on my "Integrating the Arts" board on Pinterest (see link below). Here is just one:

3. Clay

Okay, clay isn't an art form in and of itself, but there is something about clay that inspires children to create! Clay can be used to support many academic areas. I recently used clay in the classroom to enhance my students' study of volcanoes. Rather than use the clay to have each student build a volcano, students researched three different types of volcanoes and then used clay to create colorful diagrams.

This is a photo of the volcano diagrams display from last year.

Clay can also be used to create scenes from book studies and to make models of cells, body systems, plant structures, and landforms. The list goes on and on. The great thing about clay is that it can be reused over and over again!

4. Music, music, everywhere!

There are so many great ways to integrate music into your curriculum! My students were recently creating Chilkat blankets as part of our study of Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. While students created, I played Native American flute music. I also have traditional Pioneer music that I play while my students are writing in their Oregon Trail journals.

I've also found a lot of wonderful music videos on YouTube that connect to the curriculum.

In my class, we play music at the end of the day while we are cleaning up and getting ready to go home. Another idea for adding music and movement is GoNoodle, which incorporates both music and movement for much needed brain breaks throughout the day.

One more great way to integrate music is to have your students write songs that show their understanding of a topic. When I taught 5th grade, my students studied the United States Government. I split students up into small groups, and each group created a song, set to a familiar tune, about their branch of government. We recorded them and shared them. The students had so much fun creating the songs, and I knew that, because of their work on the lyrics, they got an even stronger understanding of the United States branches of government.

5. Last, but not least...creative movement!

Movement is an important learning tool, especially for those students who are kinesthetic learners. Movement helps connect new learning to the brain through the body. Movement can be simple or more complex.

I use movement almost daily in my classroom. We use movement to pantomime vocabulary words, to learn the types of fault lines, and to remember the layers of the earth. Another great way to use movement to support learning is to play a game called "Statue."

To play the game, the teacher, or one student, stands in front of the class. The class is given a word or a phrase that connects to a unit of study. For example, if you are studying the Civil War, then you might choose the word "freedom." One at a time, students move forward and move the "statue" in such a way that it represents and expresses freedom to them. Students do not rush forward but rather take a moment to observe and/or discuss the interpretation. Then, another student may be called to adjust the statue to fit their definition or feeling for the word or phrase. This is a great way to think about and discuss deeper ideas and concepts related to units of study.

I hope this short list has you thinking about all of the different ways you can use the arts to enhance your day-to-day curriculum.

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