WHY Arts Integration?

• Leah Wanner
• Posted 9/21/21
• 0 comments

As music teachers, we are often asked to link what we do in the music classroom to the curriculum in general education classrooms. Chanting math facts to a beat or singing about animals is nice, but authentic arts integration is so much more than that!

Carefully constructed arts integration lessons allow kids to interact with content in ways that promote creativity, collaboration, and personal expression. I have witnessed the power of this approach many times in both the music classroom and the general education classroom.

I have seen disengaged kids become motivated and excited to participate! Gifted students are allowed to challenge themselves and fully utilize their depth of knowledge. Marginalized kids gain a sense of belonging and validation. A well-crafted arts integration lesson creates a special buzz of excitement and ownership that is simply magical!

Yes, But…

Some music teachers might feel like integrating music with other subjects lessens the value of music on its own. However, a balanced arts integration approach would never require a music teacher to stop teaching “music for music’s sake”!

Students cannot integrate music without first having a solid repertoire of rhythmic, melodic, and expressive skills and understandings. Focused instruction on these skills still happens. But in addition to that, an arts-integrated classroom leverages the power of music to spark interest, promote critical thinking skills, and produce more complex meaning in other subjects. When done correctly, there is no compromise to the integrity of the musical experience during arts integration!

Digging Into the Definition

Let’s take a closer look at the definition of arts integration according to Layne and Silverstein (2020) with the Kennedy Center:

Arts integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process that connects an art form and another subject area and meets evolving objectives in both. 

Two key pieces of this definition are often lacking in integrated lessons. First, students should “construct” something to demonstrate their understanding. Simply singing about animals does not require the student to create anything new. Students might learn a vital science concept from the lyrics, but this is simply ‘arts enhancement’ and not proper integration. If students write lyrics to show what they learned about animal adaptations, that is much closer to the Kennedy Center’s definition.

The second part of the definition critical to providing an integrated experience is that it “meets evolving objectives in both” subject areas. In the example above, the students meet the science objective of understanding how animals have certain features that help them survive in their environments. An authentic arts integration would also include an objective related to a music standard. If the students writing lyrics about animal adaptations also compose a melody for their words, now outcomes in both subjects are represented equally.

Awesome! Now What??

Learning to teach with an arts integration approach takes time and effort, but the payoff is worth it! A significant first step would be to explore some of the wonderful (and free!) lessons available online through reputable websites like The Kennedy Center, Edutopia, and Education Closet (now Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM).

An important next step would be to spend time becoming familiar with common core standards. Familiarizing yourself with the common core allows you to find natural connections between music and other content areas to build lessons.

Finally, you can approach other content area teachers and stir up some excitement and support for this approach! Connect with the creative educators in your building who are willing to collaborate with you and take a risk. Brainstorm…plan it…try it…and tweak it!

After what has been a challenging year for educators everywhere, arts integration just might be the shot of enthusiasm you need to keep going and provide rich, relevant, and memorable musical experiences to your students.

References

Layne, Sean & Silverstein, Lynne B. (2020, January 14). What Is Arts Integration? The Kennedy Center. https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-re sources/articles-and-how-tos/articles/collections/arts-integration-resources/what-is-arts-integration/