Readings by Allison Van Aartsen

The readings about integrating the arts into content area lessons were interesting. The first two articles made me excited about all the ways I could incorporate art into my lessons. I know first-hand from doing a long-term sub in kindergarten how engaged students are when they are working on creative projects. I can also affirm that there are fewer discipline problems during these times. The study in the third article was interesting, as well. I thought it was interesting how the students' focus shifted from blaming the teachers for their lack of learning in non-art lessons to how the students were able to employ problem-solving tactics in art-integrated lessons. It is clear that integrating art in content area lessons taps a student's learning potential in ways that non-art lessons couldn't.