Renaissance in the Classroom : Arts Integration and Meaningful Learning

Explains the process of integrating the arts into school curriculum, & provides teachers with a framework & examples for doing so. The premise is that such integration enhances learning & improves students' ability to think independently & solve problem

This book invites readers to consider the possibilities for learning and growth when artists and arts educators come into a classroom and work with teachers to engage students in drama, dance, visual art, music, and media arts. It is a nuts-and-bolts guide to arts integration, across the curriculum in grades K-12, describing how students, teachers, and artists get started with arts integration, work through classroom curriculum involving the arts, and go beyond the typical "unit" to engage in the arts throughout the school year. The framework is based on six years of arts integration in the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education (CAPE).

Renaissance in the Classroom:
*fully explains the planning, implementation, and assessment processes in arts integration;
*frames arts integration in the larger context of curriculum integration, problem-based learning, and the multiple intelligences;
*provides the theoretical frameworks that connect standards-based instruction to innovative teaching and learning, and embeds arts education in the larger issue of whole school improvement;
*blends a description of the arts integration process with personal stories, anecdotes, and impressions of those involved, with a wealth of examples from diverse cultural backgrounds;
*tells the stories of arts integration from the classroom to the school level and introduces the dynamics of arts partnerships in communities that connect arts organizations, schools, and neighborhoods;
*offers a variety of resources for engaging the arts--either as an individual teacher or within a partnership; and
*includes a color insert that illustrates the work teachers, students, and artists have done in arts integration schools and an extensive appendix of tools, instruments, Web site, contacts, and curriculum ideas for immediate use.

Of primary interest to K-12 classroom teachers, arts specialists, and visiting artists who work with young people in schools or community arts organizations, this book is also highly relevant and useful for policymakers, arts partnerships, administrators, and parents.