K-6 Visual and Performing Arts
Curriculum Guide:
Examples of Integrated Lessons
Produced by:
Los Angeles County
Office of Education
in cooperation with
Los Angeles Unified
School District
Project Coordinator,
Geraldine Walkup
National Consultant,
Karen Erickson
Before we open up the Arts Integrated Lesson Guide, let’s
take a few minutes to look at some of the work and
thinking that went into the guide.
Elementary arts specialist teachers and elementary
classroom teachers with experience in arts integration
were brought together for a summer workshop to
produce the arts integrated lessons in the guide.
This work was facilitated by Los Angeles Unified and
the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
The group of teachers worked with a national
consultant, Karen Erickson of Creative Directions. In
their work together, they explored some of the
underlying concepts of arts integration as well as the
specific lesson planning needs for each arts discipline:
dance, music, theatre and visual arts.
Underlying concepts in arts integration…
There are essentially three ways that the
arts are taught in schools.
1) The arts as the curriculum—
standards-based lessons in dance,
music, theatre and visual arts, usually
taught by an arts specialist teacher. For
example, a lesson on singing technique is
taught by a credentialed music teacher.
Underlying concepts in arts integration…
2) The arts enhance the curriculum—
the arts help to create
understandings in other curricular
areas. For example, a classroom
teacher uses a song to teach the
letters of the alphabet.
Underlying concepts in arts integration…
3) The arts are integrated with another
curriculum in a balanced way that supports
learning in the arts discipline and in the
other curriculum. For example, learning
about meter and musical notation is
integrated with the understanding of “parts
to a whole” in mathematics.
The arts and arts integration in the
schools are enriched and supported when
students are able to experience high quality
artwork and high quality performances of
dance, music and theatre.
Questions for reflection…
What types of arts lessons or activities have you
taught in your classroom, if any?
Have you had any experiences in using the arts
(dance, music, theatre or visual arts) to enhance
another curriculum?
Have you tried to integrate the arts with another
curriculum area? How did that go?
In what ways do your students have access to high
quality artwork and performances?
Underlying concepts in arts integration…
Here are two definitions of arts
integration from organizations with many
years of experience in this work…
1) Arts Integration is…
an APPROACH to TEACHING
in which students construct and demonstrate
UNDERSTANDING through an ART FORM.
Students engage in a CREATIVE PROCESS
which CONNECTS an art form and
another subject area and meets
EVOLVING OBJECTIVES in both.
The John F. Kennedy Center
for the Performing Arts
Underlying concepts in arts integration…
2) Arts Integration is instruction combining two or
more contents, wherein the arts constitute one of
the integrated areas. The integration is based on
shared or related concepts, and instruction in
each content area has depth and integrity
reflected by embedded assessments, standards,
and objectives…
Continued on next slide.
Underlying concepts in arts integration…
Integrated arts lessons can be extremely rich and
deeply layered learning experiences for students
who experience them. Teachers report that with an
integrated curriculum that includes the arts,
students have moments of exhilaration,
personal transformation, and academic or life
choice change…Many teachers, parents,
students, and administrators believe that
integrating the arts makes classrooms better
learning environments. The arts provide a
window to understanding the connections
among all subject areas.
Southeast Center for Education in the Arts (SCEA),
University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
Questions for reflection…
What exciting ideas jump out at you about arts
integration?
How does this connect with your personal arts
experiences or your work in the classroom?
What do these two quotes make you wonder about?
Do you have any “big idea” questions?
Now let’s open up the Arts Integrated Lesson Guide,
and take a look at the table of contents…
Questions for discussion…
What does each grade level have in common?
What are the differences among the grade levels?
How are the four arts disciplines: dance, music,
theatre and visual art organized at each grade?
--Click for answers after discussion-You may have noticed that each grade level contains
one lesson for each arts discipline and one lesson
each for ELA, Math, Science and Social Studies.
However, the combinations are different at each
grade level. Also, the arts disciplines are listed in
alphabetical order and color coded: dance, music,
theatre, and visual arts
Now it’s time to dive into the
Arts Integrated Lesson Guide!
And discover how learning in the arts…
Integrates learning throughout the curriculum.
And why is that important?
I wonder…
This presentation was created by Robert
Bullwinkel, VAPA Coordinator for the Fresno
County Office of Education.. This work was
funded by the William and Flora Hewlett
Foundation through a grant to the California
County Superintendents Educational Services
Association’s Arts Initiative.
All images used in this work are nonrestricted. This work may be used free of
charge for all non-commercial applications.
Please give appropriate credit as listed above.
K-6 Visual and Performing Arts
Curriculum Guide:
Examples of Integrated Lessons
Produced by:
Los Angeles County
Office of Education
In cooperation with
Los Angeles Unified
School District
Project Coordinator,
Geraldine Walkup
National Consultant,
Karen Erickson