Feeling Nervous about Using Arts Integration in the Classroom?
Try These Low-Prep Activities to Rock Your Next Math Lesson!
You CAN rock it…even if you don’t sing or draw.
Hey teacher!
So, you want to use arts integration in the classroom, but you aren’t quite sure where to start? Maybe your administrator wants you to begin using arts integration…tomorrow! And you understand the benefits of creative teaching, but you don’t sing…or dance…or draw. How can you possibly pull off a successful lesson plan? How can you encourage your students to try a new way of learning?
Well, dear teacher, we’ll help you get started. It might feel a little uncomfortable at first, but incorporating arts integration in the classroom will be beneficial to your instruction time and your classroom management. Even if you don’t consider yourself a creative person, you can do it. Using arts integration will:
engage your students
activate the learning process
help students retain essential information
And yeah, I’ll say it — it will be FUN. For everyone, you included.
So, what exactly is arts integration?
I’m glad you asked. Arts integration occurs when you teach core standards using fine arts standards in tandem. It could be as simple as starting by teaching your students to sing “Three is a Magic Number” in a math lesson (who doesn’t love School House Rock?), or you could ask students to act out a story from your history unit. You could teach science using art, or language arts using dance. The combinations are infinite!
But, when you’re just starting out it can be tricky to make those connections between your core classroom standards, and the fine arts curriculum. Let’s get started with some easy, low-prep activities to help you to produce a creative curriculum lesson plan. Here we go!
*Please note, the PAIR Program currently serves educators in Georgia, so the standards listed here reflect Georgia Standards of Exellence, but these activities can be adapted to any classroom.
Using Dance to Teach Math - Grades K-2
BODY NUMBERS
Standards Addressed
(Math) MGSE1.OA.6 Add and subtract within 20.
(Dance) ESD1.PR.1 Identify and demonstrate movement elements, skills, and terminology in dance. c. Execute short sequences of axial movements comprised of space, energy/force, body shapes, and qualities (e.g. levels, sharp/smooth, curved/straight, heavy/light, swing/float). d. Develop and demonstrate body awareness through isolations, coordination, and personal space.
Teacher Preparation
The teacher should decide on a movement or pose that represents each number from 0 to 9. Simple addition sentences should be ready to be displayed or written in real-time on the SmartBoard or whiteboard.
Student Preparation
Students should have an understanding of simple addition and counting skills.
Instruction
Introduce the lesson.
Today you’ll be using your body to make numbers! Remind students about classroom boundaries and expectations (i.e. what kind of movement is okay, what kind of movement is not okay, what the noise level should be, what are the consequences for stepping outside of a boundary, etc.) You should also address that this is a team activity, and set your expectations about how the teams will work together.
Teach the number poses/movements.
Have students stand quietly beside their desks. Teach students each pose/movement that represents the numbers 0 to 9. Teach the number poses/movements chronologically, then try a quick pose-making game where the students make the numbers out of sequence. This is also a good time to reinforce noise and movement boundaries with students. When they have their poses memorized, ask them to sit down again.
Pair students.
While they’re seated, pair the students in groups of two. Assign each student an “A” or “B” designation. It’s best to pair students sitting near each other, but if you need to pair students that are away from each other, make sure they know who they’re working with but don’t have them move until all of the students have been paired. Students who are A’s will be the front number (so the 1, if the answer is 17) and students who are B’s are the back number (the 7, if the answer is 17). If you have an odd number, create a three-person (A/B/C) group, and have one member rotate out on each turn. You can also have a student work with you, or another adult in the classroom.
Now, it’s time to play!
Show an addition equation on the board. Each team will be responsible for showing you the correct answer with their body poses/movements. Repeat as many times as you like! I always like to end the activity with a “number dance” where we dance in place, or in a designated space, using our number poses. It’s fun to freeze the dance and see if you can guess what number each student has become.
Reflect
Allow students time to reflect on the experience of the lesson. Ask them the following questions:
Think like a mathematician: How did you solve the problem so quickly?
Think like a dancer: what kind of movements did you use to represent numbers?
Think like a teammate: What was it like to have to work with a partner to solve the problem?
Having students think about the activity in different ways helps their learning stick.
This is an easy activity to adapt to your student's needs. If you’ve got a class that likes a little competition, you can award homework passes to the team that shows the correct answer the fastest. This could also work for greater than or less than units (using teams of three with one student showing greater than or less than), and subtraction, multiplication, or division, as students are ready.
Using arts integration in the classroom should be fun, but it can feel overwhelming when you’re trying it for the first time. We hope these no-fuss activities will help build your confidence in using arts integration with your students throughout the school year!
And remember! Arts integration may be new for your students too. Try not to expect perfect performances the first time — just like it takes practice to improve math skills, fine arts skills take practice too!
Want more support to help develop your arts integration skills? Contact us to find out more about what the PAIR Program can do for your school!
