Integrated Arts Unit The Solar System By Lindsay Bray

Lesson Plan 1 Art Project The class will be given a article that describes the planets characteristics. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/ Students will demonstrate how to read an article and pick out descriptions and charactertistics of the planets in the solar system. Students will Create their own Planets by coloring them.

Lesson Plan 1 Students will then take their descriptive/characteristics and draw the planets features onto a coloring worksheet.

Lesson Plan 2 Students will use an interactive Webquest to assist them in learning about the Solar System. http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=184774 Once they have learned about the planets in the Solar System they will be acting as if they were an Astronaut who landed on a planet of their choice. They must put on the astronaut helmet and act out and tell the class what they see while they are on the planet.

Lesson Plan 3 Acrostic Poem Visual Arts Students will Watch The Magic School Bus Gets Lost in the Solar System Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzA_T2ZHClE Students will then take facts they learned from the video and create a Acrostic Poem

Lesson Plan 3 Students will then read there Acrostic Poem out loud for “Poetry Corner” time in class.

Why the Arts are Important.. Integrating the Arts Builds student confidence and self-esteem Allows for students to connect real world experience to learning. Promotes creativity, individualism, and expression of self.

Evidence Supporting Art Integration According to Scholastic News “the process for making meaning directly from the learning experience as opposed to academic learning” is the reason why integrating arts into the classroom is so important. (Scholastic, 2011) A student involved in the arts is four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement (Engebretsen, 2013). Arts integration goes beyond including art projects in class; it is a teaching strategy that seamlessly merges arts standards with core curricula to build connections and provide engaging context (Nobori, 2012).

References Engebretsen, K. (2013). Arts education navigator:facts and figures. Washington, D.C.: American for the Arts. Nobori, M. (2012). How the arts unlock the door to learning. Erlwood , C. (2011). Strategies for arts integration. Scholastic ,