M12: Integrating Art into the Curriculum

While technically not one of the subjects designated as a "content area", integrating art across the curriculum is important for all students, including ELs.  Not only does art complement language acquisition, it also contributes to classroom community.  This video describes how a Six-Word Memoir and art project helps build community in a school in Denver, Colorado.

 

Another important reason to integrate art and the arts into your classroom is the way that the arts support and foster positive identities in diverse communities.  You may find your ELs can contribute to lessons that integrate art in ways they may not have been able to contribute in lessons that are restricted to language expression.  Integrating the arts also has the potential to teach all students about a variety of cultures. 

This is a news piece that describes how an Indigenous artist teaches children about their own identities and indigenous culture through art, while exposing them to English in Indonesia. It is a beautiful piece!

Be sure to read pages 297-298.