Integrating Arts into the Classroom
Introduction:
Bringing art into the classroom is extremely beneficial when it comes to the enhancement of learning among students. Many times, educators find themselves caught up in other subjects in order to meet the standards, forgetting about the importance of art. Every teacher, tutor, and parent can integrate art into their student’s learning agenda in a plethora of ways.
Integration of Art:
When I talk about art, I do not simply mean drawing or painting but rather also music, dance, theater, exercise, and hands-on activities. An infinite amount of ways exist when it comes to incorporating art into lessons.
Examples:
After reading a book as a class, create a play using the plot and characters from the book. In this activity, students can have a role in which fits their own personality and strengths, whether it be the lead or the props designer.
Teach students a dance from a culture besides their own. Dance is a huge part of culture, thus this activity can be a great way for students to acquire knowledge about a tradition differing from their own.
Provide instruction for students to create their own instrument. Guitars made out of cardboard and string can be an enjoyable way to put one’s creativity and musical skills to the test.
Let students have brain breaks in which consist of music. This could be to play a song or have freestyle dance time.
Let students build projects based on content. For every subject, a project containing art can be constructed in which assess a student’s prior knowledge or knowledge after the lesson is given.
Make lessons more fun by incorporating movement. The images show a couple great examples for how to do so.
Benefits of Art in Educational Environment:
Increases enjoyment
Develops creativity skills
Increases language, speaking, and social skills
Develops critical thinking skills
Enhances decision making skills
Positively affects emotional health
Give students a way to express themselves
Increases understanding of content being taught
Conclusion:
Integrating multiple forms of art into the classroom is something in which every educator should do. The number of benefits art provides students is so astonishing that it would be silly to not take advantage of them.