Arts Integration in Diverse K–5 Classrooms

Liane Brouillette is a professor at the School of Education, University of California, Irvine and editor of the Journal for Learning Through the Arts.

“It is obvious that this book will be of great use to the classroom teacher looking to expand student success through the application of theoretically sound and practically successful arts integration strategies. It is also an important contribution to the general field of the arts in education.”—Journal for Learning through the Arts, UC Irvine

• Contents1. Deepening Understanding Through Arts Integration 1Understanding Arts Integration 1Benefits of Comprehensive Education 52. Making Meaning Through Verbal Interaction : Laying the Foundation for Literacy 11The Critical Importance of Oral Language Development 12Supporting English Language Learners 15Integrating Drama and Dance Activities 19Visual Thinking Strategies 233. Making Meaning of Narrative Text 27How Written Narrative Influences Thinking 28Deepening Children’s Understanding of Narrative 32Classic Story Structures 424. Making Meaning from Informational Texts 45Using the Arts to Teach Close Reading 46Meeting the Challenges of Content Area Texts 48Using the Arts to Scaffold Science Lessons 52A Crucial Dimension of STEAM 575. Building Effective Oral Communication Skills 59Learning Oral Communication Skills Through Puppetry 60Introducing Children to Social Studies 61How Music Builds Rapport 66Viewing the Past from Multiple Perspectives  71Introducing Varied Perspectives in K–5 Social Studies 746. Expression Through Narrative Writing 77Combining Images and Writing in the Primary Grades 78Images as Inspiration for Writing 78Using Memories for Inspiration Within Classrooms 84The Poets of El Sol Academy 85Writing Stories from Personal Experience 89Skills-Based Gains in Student Writing Abilities 917. Expression Through Informational and Persuasive Writing 95Teaching Writing Through the Arts 97Responding to Literature 998. Building Executive Function Skills with Arts Activities 107What Is Executive Function? 107Evidence from Research 1119. Bringing the Arts Back to the Language Arts 121Choosing Arts-Based Activities That Reinforce Learning 122Exploring Human Relationships Through Stories 123Teaching Abstract Concepts to Concrete Thinkers 124The Acquisition of Narrative Skills 125Making Connections and Revealing Underlying Structure 126Enhancing Executive Function 127Arts Integration Versus Transfer 128References 131Index 143About the Author 154