New Orleans? Now That’s What I Call Integration!
What should a school look like that is implementing an arts integrated approach to education? When members of the staff for one school in which I work were asked that question they said things like...
View ArticleReflection – A Key to Professional Development
The words evaluate and observe seem to have taken on a negative connotation in the education world when it comes to teacher evaluation. There are good reasons for that, unfortunately, because...
View ArticleFostering Grit with a Growth Mindset
I am hard on myself. I always have been. Over the years I have come to intellectually understand that being hard on myself has not served me, that it has only led to stress and made achievement a...
View ArticleAustin’s Butterfly – An Opportunity for Arts Integration
Austin’s Butterfly. With a name like that I figured I was going to like this video that had been suggested to me at a workshop I attended. Even though the viewer never actually gets to meet Austin,...
View ArticleFacilitating Creative Process in the Classroom
Everyone can learn. Everyone has an artist within. Everyone has something to say. If we accept those statements as truths then the challenge is getting our students to believe it and structuring...
View ArticleTeam 20: A Game for Fostering Cooperative Learning Skills
Cooperative learning is a popular teaching strategy that allows students to take more ownership of their own learning when done well and strengthens the 21st Century Skills of communication and...
View ArticleArts Integration Lesson: Character Pitches
Children are natural actors. They do not require an acting class to change their voices or body shapes and levels to represent a lion or a giant, a mouse or a little boy. What they may not have,...
View ArticleCompare and Contrast: A Tried and True Technique
Good teaching is good teaching, period. Whenever I learn a good technique (or am reminded of one) presented in one context, chances are pretty good it will apply to another area as well. Just...
View ArticleThe Informance: A Celebration of Learning
It is June. For many, the school year is winding to a close (if it hasn’t already ended). For some, (like myself who teaches in schools that do not conclude until the end of July) the school year is...
View ArticleListening: A Lost Art?
People love stories. Long before there was recording of any kind – writing, audio or video recording, the only way to know something about the past was to remember it from someone telling you. The...
View ArticleWhen Learning is the Dance, Share the Lead
The first time I took a ballroom dance class, the instructor gave me some feedback that I will never forget, “Let him lead you.” I was an Irish step dancer and a ballet dancer with little partnering...
View Article10 Ways to Inspire Creativity with Everyday Things
I remember loving the poetry units I did when I was a student in elementary school. The poems that stick out in my mind are the concrete poem (I made a cloud with raindrops falling down – each drop...
View Article“It’s Not My Fault!” Using Theatre Games to Improve Student Cooperation
“We didn’t have enough time.” “He wasn’t listening to the directions.” “They were doing it wrong.” How many times have you heard these excuses from students who have not met an objective while...
View ArticleWhy Arts Integration? It’s Just Best Practice!
The response: “It’s not about the arts, it’s about best practice.” The question: “How do I get teachers to buy into an arts integrated approach?” This is my paraphrase of an exchange I heard between a...
View ArticleTop Five Arts Integration Implementation Tips for Your School
As I come to the close of my first year at a school trying to implement an arts integration program school-wide there are some things that stand out as being incredibly important. Here is my list of...
View ArticleThere’s Just Something About Performing…
“Ms. Moore, I’m so nervous. I’m not ready for this. I had no idea there would be that many people in the audience,” said a student of mine right before she went on stage with a smile that stretched...
View ArticleMy Latest “Duh” Moment: Families and Arts Integration
When is the last time you had one of those “duh” moments? I consider a “duh” moment to be much like an “aha” moment except that when the “aha” registers it seems so obvious you cannot believe you are...
View ArticleCommitment: How to Captivate Your Audience
The Fringe Festival – it started in Scotland and it’s taking over the world! San Diego recently held its own Fringe and I was lucky enough to take in a few performances. I wish I had unlimited time...
View ArticlePuppets Anyone?
Puppets. I admit it. When I hear the word, it doesn’t excite me. It doesn’t motivate me. I don’t feel drawn to seeing puppets (even though I’ve had great experiences with puppet shows I’ve seen)...
View ArticleClassroom Beautiful: Floral Design in the Classroom
Imagine opening your classroom to your students on the first day of school. The students walk in and the room is empty – no furniture, no decorations, nothing. It’s tough to imagine that, isn’t it?...
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