Teaching the Arts to Elementary Students

INTEGRATION OF ARTS

Integration of Arts into Curricular Delivery

During the last two decades , more and more attention was directed at the need to integrate interdisciplinary arts education into the public school curricula . Eisner Day (2004 ) established the essential for the arts and then argued that the integration is needed to reduce compartmentalization of the disciplines as between arts (i .e . visual arts , music , dance , theater ) as inter and intra typical academic core subjects (i .e . language arts , math , sciences . The proposition of interdisciplinary curriculum will include integration of different arts

br that will cross traditional subject matter boundaries . If to look closer , visual arts , dance , music , and theater share same common attribute : need for the audience . The need for the audience contributes to the developing of the purpose , which by itself becomes a strong motivator to excel

For example , the not-so-obscure program called Reader 's Theater (Corcoran Davis , 2005 ) teaches students the elements of drama and at the same time improves reading fluency and comprehension . The question will arise in how we approach teaching (and integrating ) arts into the curriculum . In other words , should Art teachers become versed in language arts , math , and sciences or subject core teachers should become efficient at arts ? The latter is more sensible and logical for the arts (theater , music , visual arts , and dance ) can become tools and /or expressions of the core matter . In essence , when a Language Arts teacher assigns students to practice a dance in to express the thoughts and emotions of main characters in the selection they are reading this week , that becomes an integration . Likewise , when the math teacher using Picasso 's work (or Da Vinchi , Michelangelo and others ) teaches his /her students use of geometrical forms that becomes integration . The same Language Arts teacher can teach his /her students to write a song as the critical response to the dialogue of the main characters within the selection . Further performance of the song in front of the student body can become an effective integration and establish a purpose . Similarly when the same teacher , using the sixth grade social studies curriculum will help kids to develop a play that would display some studied characteristics in the life of the Pharaoh with the consequent performance in front of the student body , that will become an effective integration

However , to expect general education teachers be able to choreograph dances , set up plays , read music , coach voices , paint , conduct musical performances and do other relevant actions is beyond scope of traditionally educated professionals . However , if the arts specialists are (and should be ) available and are at hand , the integration of their specific skills must be structured and encouraged within the traditional curriculum delivery . That is , instead of the separate and isolated classes (i .e . music , art , such specialists should work within the `regular ' lessons and concurrently the general education teachers providing the specific skill support to the daily instruction integrated with the various expressions of arts . Similarly , Dunn (1995 ,

. 34 proposes a...