Jenna Graziadei

EDUC 539 Response Paper 4: Rich Expressive Arts Curriculum

Edgar Degas once stated, “art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Integrating the

expressive arts into curricula allow the students to see their learning in new ways, while also enabling the

students to make others see their learning through new perspectives. The arts is not just a resource to be

included when the educator finds it convenient. Not just the educator, but the entire school needs to “fully

integrate art in the planning and implementation of curriculum” (Scholastic). The faculty implementing these

experiences and the children interacting with them will benefit. Careful and prolonged consideration of the arts

“open doors to creativity” (Scholastic), while also nourishing “critical thinking and innovation” (Scholastic).

With these positive effects, research shows that true integration of the arts “can lead to overall academic

improvement” (Tilney). Therefore, why would an individual choose not to integrate the arts into daily lessons

when the students can “develop self-esteem, be self-expressive, and apply their knowledge of other, more

academic subjects in creative ways” (Tilney)? With a lack of knowledge of the arts, an inadequate

understanding of the integration strategies, and concern for time, some educators and schools maintain the use

of art as a resource and subject area with a silo approach to teaching. However, the evolution that is occurring in

education is making it more clear and simple to design a rich expressive arts curriculum, which will begin with

the desire to make choices with the best interest of the students in mind, as well as educating oneself on the

topic.

A curriculum rich in expressive arts is not as simple as asking students to paint a picture. The curriculum

must provide students with the opportunity “to express meaning in ways that no other medium can

match” (Tilney). Lessons will give them “the power of individual expression that the arts afford” (Tilney).

These are motivations to keep in mind while organizing integrated instruction and activities. In the process of

lesson planning, good practices consider the multiple intelligences in order for all children to be able to access

their learning in a manner that intrigues them. It is “the arts (that directly) address(es) multiple

intelligences” (Tilney). Evidence of this can be acknowledged in observations of the students whose “whole

selves are involved” (Tilney). Furthermore, a curriculum rich in expressive arts is one that integrates it as

another form of literacy. Through understanding this fourth literacy, “visual literacy” (Jason), students will “use
it, manage it, interpret it, or interact with it” (Jason), which is of particular importance due to the fact that art

skills correlated to real-world jobs. For this to be possible, “integration requires collaboration, research,

intentional alignment and practical application on behalf of the teachers who take on this challenge” (Riley,

2012). The team involved in this integration also involves students, which entails them following the “demands

(of) creativity, problem-solving, perseverance, collaboration and the ability to work through the rigorous

demands of multiple ideas and concepts woven together to create a final product” (Riley, 2012). It is in these

lessons and outlined expectations that the standards of the arts and those of the subject area within which it is

integrated must be taught. Lastly, assessing must not be forgotten such that there must be “assessing (in) both

areas equitably” (Riley, 2012).

The most innovative integration of the expressive arts into

language arts was that which was observed in the work of Jenna

Gampel with her students at the Conservatory Lab Charter School.

Their extended, integrated learning involved the design of an

artwork representing a snake based on experiences with “fieldwork

and experts, artistic skill and critique, and sharp Common Core literacy practices in reading for and writing with

evidence” (EL Education). These pieces of artwork supplemented the non-fictional narratives written by the

students. In other words, this was an example of the integration method of asking “students to draw an

illustration for a story” (Lynette, 2014), which is one of the many strategies that can be utilized and planned.

Social studies is yet another area that is enhanced by the integration of the arts. It is a source of

excitement for the students that helps them become more interested in their learning that can produce future

self-regulated learners. During the study of other cultures such as the Egyptians, an educational discussion and

activity can be encompassed around the “designing (of) an Egyptian mask” (Tilney). In the most recent unit

with my second grade students, through inquiry they selected a focus on

homelessness within which our lessons included the design of artistic

posters, a video for them to teach peers about the topic, and 3D

cardboard models of homeless shelters. As integration entails, these

lessons helped to “nourish critical thinking and

innovation” (Scholastic), while also providing “a gateway for certain students to enter academic areas that they

may have otherwise found difficult or off-putting” (Tilney).

Although educators strive to stray from the teaching of math through

rote memorization, engaging and interactive activities will help the students

retain the concepts that are taught. Given that the expressive arts can take on

many forms, creative planning must take place ahead of time. One example

would be “singing about the rules of multiplication” (Tilney). The use of

music can supplement any lesson that is often useful due to the fact that

‘catchy tunes’ can help students better retain the information. In addition,

“math instruction can be supplemented with art lessons that include concepts

from geometry, measurement, or fractions” (Lynette, 2014).

“Science is art, and art is science” (Lynette, 2014). As younger students

are just beginning to learn scientific processes, especially observation, the

integration of the arts into science works hand in hand. “When students are

learning to observe closely, that’s a great time to teach a lesson on drawing a still

life that includes plants or other natural elements” (Lynette, 2014). Another

example of an activity could be that if the human body is the unit’s focus, the

students could draw self-portraits, as well as “focusing on the proportions of a

human body” (Lynette, 2014). Science opens many doors for the integration of the

arts that is not the “combining (of) two or more contents together” (Riley, 2012),

but rather it is the weaving of the two content areas.

Throughout this discussion extensive evidence has been provided for the necessity to integrate the

expressive arts into curricula that our schools use. It is hard to disregard when research supports the cognitive,

social, emotional, and physical development that can come from such experiences. With that being said, with

this enhanced background in expressive arts integration, I can work with my future co-workers to design a

curriculum that will enable students to reap the benefits of such enhanced learning experience in all subject

areas.
 Works Cited

Scholastic. (n.d.). Strategies for Arts Integration. Retrieved February 19, 2018, from https://
www.scholastic.com/teachers/collections/teaching-content/strategies-arts-integration/

Tilney, V. (n.d.). The Arts Matter. Retrieved February 19, 2018, from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/
articles/teaching-content/arts-matter/

Jason, O. (n.d.). Art the Fourth R. Retrieved February 19, 2018, from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/
articles/teaching-content/art-fourth-r/

Riley, S. (2012, November 30). Use Arts Integration to Enhance Common Core. Retrieved February 19, 2018,
from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/core-practices-arts-integration-susan-riley

Lynette, R. (2014, October 16). Integrating Art Across the Curriculum. Retrieved February 19, 2018, from
http://minds-in-bloom.com/integrating-art-across-curriculu/

EL Education. (n.d.). Inspiring Excellence Part 4: Using Models and Critiques to Create Works of Quality.
Retrieved February 19, 2018, from https://eleducation.org/resources/inspiring-excellence-part-4-using-
models-and-critiques-to-create-works-of-quality