The Benefits Of Arts Integration In The Classroom

Introduction

Hook

School without arts and music would be like a hamburger with no buns.

Background information

Arts and music are both great ways to express yourself. More and more schools are going back to having arts and music classes as part of their core curriculum.

Thesis statement

The benefits of art and music being taught at school far out ways the No Child Left Behind Act focus of only having reading, writing and arithmetic and high-stakes testing.

1st body paragraph

Topic sentence: In elementary school kids learn best through all their senses, arts and music helps stimulate their learn.

• Claim: Kids feel the slimy cold finger paint as they recreate a picture of the American Flag in History class. They might use clay to create a dike to hold back water during a Science class discussion on a lesson about soil layers. Everyone is familiar with children learning their ABCs through a song. Drawing or coloring a page that was related to a history lesson helped me remember that history lesson for years afterwards. Each piece of art is different because each students is expressing their own unique feeling through their artwork. We are turning out people from the school system not a grade or a statistic.
• Evidence: Art develops motor skills through learning to hold a paintbrush or cutting with scissors to which help with the dexterity needed for writing.

2nd body paragraph

Topic sentence: In junior high and high school arts and music help break up the heavy reading, writing and arithmetic courses.

• Claim: Many graduates have expressed that they need a break after high school graduation due to the heavy load and stress that comes with 12 long years of school. Something needs to change. School needs to be funnier and more creative. Teens need more than a physical recess throughout their school day to break it up. They need arts and music to give them an emotional break. Arts and Music don't feel like work. When school is enjoyable, students will be more likely to want to continue schooling after high school graduation.
• Evidence: According to Kenneth Elpus, "As adult, echoing their higher levels of postsecondary education optimism reported as adolescents, former arts students were 55. 38% more likely to have attended any postsecondary school by adulthood than were former non-arts students. Each additional year of arts study was associated with an 18% increase in the likelihood of having attended any postsecondary schooling. "

3rd body paragraph

Topic sentence: Where parents may not always see, teachers have seen first hand evidence of happier students when arts and music are a part of many aspects of classroom learning. Additionally they can see how making inferences about a painting or artwork can help a student make inferences in Language Arts assignments and peer group discussions.

• Claim: All learned knowledge bleeds over into every other learning experience. Every one of my friends are different, and they can express themselves through art and/or music. Teenagers feel that they have a voice the same as adults. It is easier for teens to express how they feel about every subject in school if they can do it through arts or music medium.
• Evidence: A fifth-grade teacher Lorenza A. Yarnes shares, "An important part of the English Language Arts Common Core standards is reading closely for evidence. I learned that close reading is not limited to text. You can closely read a visual artwork, and these skills also transfer to reading words. "Conclusion: As you can see, arts and music are a benefit that allow children and teens to be creative as well as express themselves.