mwilliamsksumed.weebly.commwilliamsksumed.weebly.com/.../0/8/84088616/1.2actionresearch… · Web viewWalker et al (2011) has a similar view saying that art integration “seeks

Running Head: ARTS INTEGRATION IN THE READING CLASSROOM 1

Action Research: Arts Integration in the Reading Classroom

Meghan Williams

Kennesaw State University

ARTS INTEGRATION IN THE READING CLASSROOM 2

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of arts integration in a fourth grade

reading classroom. Through a six week unit of nonfiction research, data was collected and

observed of the engagement and reading achievement in a classroom of mixed ability and mixed

background students. Arts integration with music, visual art, and theatre standards was used to

teach Common Core Informational Reading Standards. It was observed that arts integration

strategies have a significant positive impact on student engagement and a slight positive impact

on reading achievement.

Keywords: arts integration, reading, engagement, achievement


Introduction

Teachers find themselves year after year standing in front of a room full of students.

Students, often of varying reading levels, home lives, ethnic and even language backgrounds,

will be sitting in desks staring back. They will likely have different motivations and feelings

about school and different barriers when it comes to their academic lives. Their teachers will

spend hours pouring over a plethora of resources available to educators trying to decide which

resources and tasks will be most beneficial to their diverse group of students. What instructional

strategies will show the biggest gains at the end of the year while engaging their students in

meaningful literacy activities?

Arts integration is a strategy many schools are starting to adopt in various capacities

(Mishook & Kornhaber, 2006). Even from very young ages, children love singing and dancing

and coloring (Adomat, 2012). It is no surprise that these types of activities can engage students.

While the definition for arts integration varies over almost every piece of literature written on the

topic, for the purpose of this research, arts integration will refer to the use of music, movement,

dance, theatre, and visual arts standards and mediums to teach academic content.

I teach a fourth grade class in an arts integrated magnet school. It is a fairly small school

serving around 350 students in Gainesville, Georgia. Over 75% of these students are Hispanic

English Language Learners. While many were born in the United States, a huge percentage of

our parents immigrated from Central America, mostly drawn by the chicken industry that booms

in Gainesville. Over 90% of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch, a sign of the

significant poverty in the area.

In my classroom, I have twenty-four students comprised of fourteen boys and ten girls. I

have mixed ability students, none of which qualify for special education. One student qualified


for gifted services this year. I have two students on RTI, one on Tier 2 for reading and another

on Tier 3 for writing and reading. Thirteen students in my class qualify for ESOL services, with

six more being monitored after testing out of the program last spring.

With academics, language arts is the weakness for my class. With their third grade

Milestone scores, only four students tested at a proficient level (level 3). Twelve students

received a 1, or beginning learner, score. Currently, I have four students reading below grade

levels, eight students reading on grade level, and twelve students reading above grade level. This

reading level is determined by verbal answers of given questions assessing comprehension based

on either a fiction or nonfiction passage. However, I see that even though students can

comprehend fairly well in reading, their application of these skills is lacking, especially in

written response. I also see a greater difficulty for students when provided with nonfiction

passages versus fiction passages.

The focus of my study is in the reading classroom. I planned to use the engaging nature

of art to help my students delve further into their reading and apply their knowledge and

understanding. My students enjoy singing, creating art and acting out skits, so I used this as an

opportunity to improve their achievement in reading.

The research stems on the questions: What effect does arts integration have in the reading

achievement of students? What effect does arts integration have on the engagement of students

in the reading classroom?

Literature Review

Defining Art Integration


Art integration in the classroom is something of which there is no one definition accepted

by all educators. The role the arts take in conjunction with academic content areas can vary from

classroom to classroom. Grant et al. (2008) defines art integration pedagogy as being “inclusive,

broadening the forms of participation, expression and acknowledgement, and allowing greater

access to multicultural and multimediated worlds.” Walker et al (2011) has a similar view

saying that art integration “seeks to make the school curriculum accessible through multimodal

drama-based strategies.” Of course, drama is not the only form of art used in integrated

classrooms. Teachers may also use dance, music, and visual art forms to enhance their

instruction.

Mishook and Kornhaber (2006) created a list to discuss the possible forms of art

integration.

There are many possible meanings of [art integration]. The use of project-

based learning to address community problems or issues, thematic

instruction, multiple intelligences, transfer of knowledge across artistic

and nonartistic disciplines, the use of arts to enhance the study of

academic disciplines; or interdisciplinarity among different art forms

(Mishook & Kornhaber, 2006, pg 4).

Hardiman et al (2014) offers a broader definition as being “the infusion of visual and performing

arts activities into instruction in nonarts subjects.” Regardless of the specific definition

attributed to art integration, the goal remains the same. These strategies are employed by

teachers who believe that teaching through the arts allows students of all levels to access

academic content in an engaging way that allows them to be successful (Register et al, 2007).


Researchers and proponents of art integration believe that engaging students in dramatic

activities tied to literature or teaching reading skills through song provide unique opportunities

for students to delve deeper into the academic content (Adomat, 2012; Hardiman et al, 2014).

Allowing and fostering student creativity in artistic activities related to literacy challenges deeper

thinking and, as a result, higher academic achievement. Humans are innately creative; it is what

allows us to thrive, thus the use of arts in the classroom encourages academic thriving (Cornett,

2015). Teachers who believe in and correctly implement art integration in their classrooms yield

successful student performances.

The Impact of Theatre Strategies in Language Arts Instruction

A popular incorporation of art includes drama or theatre. Drama is the imitation of a

character through movements and/or words. Teachers often use these such strategies to help

students connect and get inside the story and characters to promote deeper understanding. Drama

can increase motivation and focus, encourage perspective, and enhances communication, both

verbal and written (Cornett, 2015). Drama’s natural connection to literature allows it a

commonplace within the language arts classroom.

Adomat (2012) shares that techniques allowing students to role play, answer and ask

questions as a character (known as “hotseating”), and tableau- creating frozen pictures- allow

students to “move from surface and literal readings of stories to deeper considerations of the

layers of meaning within literature.” Cornett (2015) suggests several strategies including finger

plays, tableau, radio commercials, and pantomime. She also encourages collaboration among

students during these activities. This collaboration strengthens student communication and

deepens textual understanding.


Walker et al (2011) found that national theater standards and literature standards had

natural points of intersection. Through stories and drama, the two disciplines go hand in hand.

Students, especially young students, often create spontaneous performances of their stories.

Teachers can build upon these natural connections and spontaneous performances to assist

students in understanding their stories at a deeper level (Adomat, 2012). Students use drama to

make sense of stories and connect them with personal knowledge and experiences (Walker et al,

2011).

How exactly does drama and theatre challenge students to think deeper about literature?

Adomat (2012) found in her observations of theatre incorporation into language arts lessons that

using drama requires students to think about the details of characters and plot, analyze the

sequence of the story, and recognize cause and effects found in the story. The depth required to

mimic characters movements, thoughts, and words requires students to think about the character

they portray in great detail and glean evidence from the text to motivate their movements and

words. Mantione and Smead (2002) shared that drama emphasizes more on problem solving

than performance as students determine what action and dialogue the characters may take.

Walker et al (2011) performed a quantitative study comparing the passing rate on the

state assessments of students who were in an arts integrated language arts classroom and students

who were in a traditionally taught language arts classroom. They found that 56% percent of

students taught through theatre strategies passed the state assessment compared to only 43% in

traditionally taught classes. In looking at the socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and past academic

achievement, it was found that the only accurate predictor of test scores was the method of

instruction. The passing rate of students receiving theatre based instruction increased by 77%.


Because of the seamless connections between drama and literature, teachers can easily

incorporate simple theatre strategies into their instruction to the benefit of their students. It

engages students in natural processes while challenging them to analyze text more deeply

achieving language arts standards while incorporating theatre standards. Incorporating theatre

into the classroom allows students authentic opportunities to engage socially and express ideas,

questions, and representations of textual meaning (Walker et al, 2011).

The Impact of Music in Language Arts Instruction

Numerous studies have found a link between musical ability and academic success. Such

a belief is evident in common practices such as new mothers playing Beethoven to their babies in

utero or young children’s television programs riddled with catchy (and parents may say

annoying) songs that children beg to hear over and over again. The incorporation of music in

schools ranges from separate music classes to the use of music in general classrooms to support

sight word, decoding, and comprehension skills (Rautenburg, 2015; Register et al, 2007; Walton,

2014).

While the incorporation of music in the general classroom reflects true art integration,

Rautenburg (2015) performed a study to research the effects of specific music instruction in a

music classroom on the reading accuracy of first graders. Rautenburg’s hypothesis is based on

the fact that “both music and language have a rhythmic structure, metre, melody/intonation,

instensity, and phrasing (2015).” Music instruction focused on rhythm identification and

production as well as tonal identification. When students included in music classes performed

the reading accuracy test, their mean scores had improved from 8.6 words to 22.5 words

compared to the control group’s improvement of 11.4 to 18.9 words. With statistical


significance it was shown that rhythmic and tonal training had a positive impact on reading

accuracy at word level (Rautenburg, 2015).

Most educators, however, would argue that true art integration must occur in the general

classroom in content area instruction. While many kindergarten classes incorporate songs in

their daily routine, Walton’s (2014) study incorporated specific songs and movements paired

with lyrics including sight words to teach reading skills such as rhyme, letter sounds, and

phonemes. Students in the classrooms that used songs performed significantly better than the

control classroom’s students in the areas of letter-sound knowledge and initial phoneme sounds

as well as word accuracy with treatment words and new words presented. By engaging students

in songs and showing the lyrics to connect the visual representations of the words, students

greatly increased their reading knowledge.

A study of second grade students found similar conclusions (Register et al, 2007). Again

music was planned and used with specific academic goals in mind in hopes to raise students

mastery in decoding, word knowledge, and reading comprehension. With all three domains,

students who received instruction using music made greater statistical gains from pre- to post-

tests than their peers who received traditional instruction (Register et al, 2007).

Throughout many studies of the effects of music on reading achievement, students of

various ages were seen to make greater gains when they received either music instruction

targeting specific skills or the incorporation of songs and music into their reading instruction.

We see that students easily remember songs and can often learn new words through songs,

especially songs based on rhymes (Walton, 2014). Disney’s Mary Poppins taught quite a few

advanced (and nonsense) vocabulary words to many children with a catchy song and dancing

penguins. It was also found in Walton’s study that the choral aspects of singing provided the


unexpected benefit of scaffolding. Students who struggled to keep up received modeling from

their more capable peers who quickly caught on to the lyrics and movements (2014). Overall,

integration of music helped students on multiple levels.

Student Engagement in Arts Integrated Classrooms

Effective teachers always aim to engage their students and are successful at doing so.

Integrating art into content area teaching often is found to be engaging for students as it allows

them to move around and break out of the normal routine of traditional lecture and paper and

pencil work. Students can be engaged in the creative activities of drama, music, dance, or visual

arts.

Register et al (2007) found that students in their study were engaged and attentive to the

music integrated reading lessons. They also noticed less off task behavior during the integrated

lessons as compared to other lessons during the day. The kindergarten teachers in Walton’s

(2014) study spoke of how the students looked forward to the musical reading lessons. Teachers

and parents reported hearing their children singing the songs and performing the movements

from class on the playground and at home at various times during the day. Such behavior helped

reinforce the words being taught, and students clearly enjoyed the lessons.

Studies found students to be more motivated when their instruction incorporated musical

activities. Rautenburg (2015) states that “musical activities are fun for children, and the

motivation and pleasure they have when they experience music are also important for successful

learning.” The study of theatre integration in middle school language arts classrooms reported a

decreased absence rate in the integrated classrooms than the control classrooms (Walker et al,

2011). It is common knowledge that students who have better attendance at school usually


reflect higher academic achievement, thus engaging students in art integrated lessons motivates

them to be at school and thus exposes them to more instructional time.

Not all arts based activities engage students at the same levels. Studies found that

kindergarten students preferred easy to learn songs with a steady beat and slower tempos

(Walton, 2014). They also found that students preferred songs that incorporated movements

over songs that did not have accompanying movements. Even middle school students can be

engaged in instruction. Mishook and Kornhaber (2006) reported that a history unit on musical

composers engaged students with artwork and by requiring higher-order thinking skills.

The incorporation of art strategies in academic instruction allows students to access

content in creative ways that promotes collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.

Through activities based on drama, music, dance, or visual art students are drawn into lessons

and instruction. This increased attentiveness and involvement can have clear benefits on

students’ academic achievement which is truly the goal of arts integration.

The Impact of Art Integration on At-Risk Students

While coequal arts integration, in which art and content standards are given equal time

and emphasis, is mostly found in low poverty schools (Mishook & Kornhaber, 2006), arts

integration can have a huge benefit for high poverty students, students of minority, and students

labeled as struggling or as having a learning disability. Walker et al (2011) reports that several

studies have found a strong tie between arts integration and the increased academic achievement

for students, including and especially those coming from low-income households. As schools

serving at-risk students are most often the schools constantly searching for more effective

instructional strategies, arts integration should be strongly considered.


In a study of the effect of drama strategies used in language arts instruction, 80% of the

students who began the year in a reading support program were released due to their dramatic

increase in reading achievement (Adomat, 2012). In another study observing the use of drama in

specific classrooms, teachers reported that even their struggling students were engaged and some

created and performed in classroom plays, demonstrating participation for the first time (Grant et

al, 2008). It was found that drama and theatre allowed students to comfortably participate in

reading and writing activities where they had previously struggled.

Targeted integration can be as effective or more effective than intervention strategies.

Students identified as having specific learning disabilities in Register et al’s (2007) study showed

significant growth in the area of reading comprehension, which is often resistant to intervention

strategies. Those students also showed increased achievement in the areas of decoding and

word knowledge following their targeted music integrated instruction. Art integration may also

help struggling students retain information longer than traditional teaching, having a more

significant impact than on their more advanced peers (Hardiman et al, 2014).

In several case studies analyzed by Mantione and Smead (2002), they found that many

reluctant readers enjoyed some art form. When these interests were identified, plans could be

made to incorporate that art form with reading strategies. A particular student who loved visual

arts was easily able to connect to and notice details from prints. Through integration, this student

became engaged in the reading classroom and began naturally making the connections from art

to words.

While arts integration strategies can be effective with any students, it can be particularly

beneficial to at-risk or minority students (Walker et al, 2011). Regardless of ability or

background, art integration has been shown to be effective on academic achievement,


particularly in the area of language arts. While the exact causes of this increased effectiveness is

not clear, engagement certainly plays a part. Engaging these struggling students and allowing

creative access to academic content supports their learning and achievement.

Factors that Inhibit or Enhance Arts Integration

The choice to include arts integration in instruction is dependent upon many things.

While school administration and district administration most often encourage specific

instructional strategies, most teachers do have some freedom in specific classroom activities and

strategies. The United States Department of Education has established a Model Development

and Dissemination Program to encourage schools to adopt arts integration strategies. Their goals

are threefold: integrating and strengthening the arts in core areas of curriculum, strengthening

arts instruction, and improving the academic achievement of students by improving their skills in

creation, performance, and response to the arts (Walker et al, 2011).

In their study and interview with principals from arts dedicated and non arts dedicated

elementary and high schools, Mishook and Kornhaber (2006) found several factors inhibiting the

coequal role of the arts in instruction. Schools that experienced higher poverty levels were much

less likely to have a coequal approach; only one school in their study met the requirements of a

high poverty school as well as coequal integration. They hypothesized that the growing use of

high stakes testing might be causing this effect. Within individual classrooms, teachers were

much more likely to integrate arts with reading and social studies than with science and

mathematics. The cause for this was not clear, but it can possibly deal with the art resources

available as well as teacher comfort with trying new strategies rather than traditional teaching.

On the other hand, schools with high income students were much more likely to put more

emphasis on the arts (Mishook & Kornhaber, 2006). School climate and administration also


played a large role in the integration process. Schools who had a mission statement dedicated to

arts integration experienced a protective effect and were more likely to have a coequal role of the

arts (Mishook & Kornhaber, 2006).

Not many of the studies looked at specific reasons for teachers to choose to include or not

include the arts in their instruction. Most teachers in the studies were chosen or volunteered for

the studies for unspecified reasons. In studies where teachers volunteered, they usually showed

excitement about learning new strategies (Grant et al, 2008). It is possible that the self-views of

teachers on the effectiveness of their current instruction can influence their willingness to

incorporate art integration. No studies mentioned the backgrounds of chosen teachers, it is

possible that personal background can affect the comfort and effectiveness of integration

strategies.

Teachers’ Response to Arts Integration

While it was clear throughout the studies that students showed positive responses to arts

integration in terms of engagement and academic growth, the effectiveness of arts integration

starts with the teachers implementing the strategies into their instruction. While teachers have

long been including some arts in their classroom such as singing songs to remember states or

presidents or creating murals to depict units, most practices placed little to no emphasis in

incorporating authentic art standards (Mishook & Kornhaber, 2006). Once teachers received

proper training for integration, their practices were seen to have shifted.

In the Grant et al (2008) study, teachers volunteered to be part of a case study in which

they received training and worked together to develop integrated lessons to implement in their

classrooms under observations by researchers. The chosen teachers had varying levels of

experience and taught at different grade levels; however, they were very excited to work with


their colleagues to develop activities that their students would be excited about and could be

adapted to their grade levels. During the study, researchers found that the teachers became more

“artist-like” and playful in their activities. They were more likely to encourage exploration with

individuals and groups as well as collaboration.

Effective teachers constantly seek out professional development opportunities in light of

the growing complexity and diversity they see in their classrooms (Grant et al, 2008). In

interviews with teachers involved in their case study, Walker et al (2011) found that teachers

reported deriving “professional renewal and satisfaction from incorporating arts into their

teaching.” Teachers seemed to be excited about the new opportunities that arts integration

training offered and enjoyed the use of new strategies in their instruction.

While many teachers sometimes see many obstacles to incorporating the arts, Grant et al

(2008) study reported on the shift of seeing obstacles turning into opportunities.

[Teachers] tended to shift

-from seeing time as a problem to devoting time for the arts

-from low levels of confidence to an excitement about possibilities

-from uncertain knowledge to improvement in “know how”

-from concerns about maintaining authority and classroom discipline during

“open” activities to trusting children to engage in self-directed exploration

-from concerns about confined spaces to realisation that children inhabit space in

many different ways

-to embracing the arts and the opportunities for more cooperative and

collaborative work


Once teachers experienced integration in their classrooms, they were found to be more open and

excited and the possibilities that art offered them and their students.

Implications

Studies on the impact of arts integration in instruction show overwhelmingly positive

benefits for students of varying backgrounds and ability levels as well as the teachers who chose

to adopt these strategies. Music and theatre strategies were shown to create increased academic

growth in various areas of reading achievement on word level, comprehension, and deeper

understanding of stories than students who received instruction in more traditional manners.

Visual arts have the potential to engage students who may be reluctant in the reading classroom.

The opportunities and advantages of arts integration and the development of effective

integration strategies have only begun to be studied in full, and much more in depth research is

possible. The clear advantages of these programs based on current research should encourage the

continued efforts of arts proponents to train teachers and schools in these programs. These

studies also encouraged this research into the effects of arts integration on engagement and

achievement in the reading classroom.

Methodology

This study was conducted in a fourth grade classroom in a Title I, art integration school.

Twenty-four students were involved in the study, fourteen males and nine females. Students are

primarily Hispanic, English Language Learners. Nineteen students are Hispanic, three

Caucasian, and one Pacific Islander, though all but one Hispanic student were born in the United

States. Thirteen students currently qualify for ESOL services, and six more students have

recently tested out and are being monitored by classroom and ESOL teachers.


The classroom context for this study is a self-contained, mixed-ability classroom taught

by a single teacher. Reading is taught in a 45-minute block every day. The teacher is a third year

teacher, though is teaching 4th grade for the first time. Reading instruction is provided through

the reading workshop format: a 15-20 minute lesson including an active engagement activity

followed by 25-30 minutes of independent work time in which students either read and complete

responses independently or work in a teacher led small group. It usually ends with a 5-10 minute

share time, though this is sometimes skipped if the co-teacher for the next segment arrives early.

Students are accustomed to the workshop model as it is implemented throughout the school.

Procedures for this model were reinforced at the beginning of the school year. Because of

students’ experience and comfort with the workshop model, arts integration activities will be

incorporated into the model.

Over a six week reading unit focusing on nonfiction research focusing on the causes of

the American Revolution, students engaged in various arts based integration strategies. This

integration included standards in visual arts, music, and drama. The purpose of this integration

was for students to strengthen their critical thinking skills in regards to nonfiction texts.

Strategies for integration included masterwork analysis, tableau, and role-playing. Though

integration did not occur in every lesson, an arts based lesson was incorporated at least two times

per week.

Findings & Data Analysis

Data was collected through mixed-method results. Quantitative data was collected

through the administration of pre- and post-assessments (please see Appendix A) analyzing

students’ mastery of comprehension of nonfiction texts, use of details and examples from


nonfiction texts, and identifying the author’s purpose and ideas in nonfiction texts. Qualitative

data was based on teacher observation of the engagement of students during the unit.

Data analysis occurred through comparing pre and post-test scores for students.

Observations of student engagement was also reported. This data will be shown as a comparison

of the class as a whole, a comparison of ESOL and non-ESOL students, and a comparison of

students reading below grade level, those reading at grade level, and those reading above grade

level.

Reading Achievement

To measure student achievement in reading, students completed an identical pre- and

post-assessment at the beginning and end of the unit respectively. Students were scored on

identical criteria to show true growth. Scores from both assessments were compared and

positive or n egative

growth noted. Figure 1 shows pre and post-assessment scores for all 24 students involved in the

study.

Figure 1


To analyze the segments of students who experienced the most growth in achievement

from the unit, students were grouped on two factors: ESOL status and reading level. Figure 2

shows average growth based on ESOL status. Thirteen students currently qualify for ESOL

services, six students are monitored for ESOL, and five students are non-ESOL. As is shown in

the graph, monitored ESOL students showed a larger average growth for reading achievement

than did those qualifying or not qualifying for ESOL services.

Figure 2 Figure 3

Students were also analyzed based on their current reading level. Students were either

below grade level (reading below a fourth grade level), on a fourth grade level, or above a fourth

grade reading level. Figure 3 shows the average growth comparison of these three groups. As is

evident by the chart, students below grade level made significantly larger growth than did

students on or above grade level.

Student Engagement

Student engagement was measured using engagement scans focusing on five

components: positive body language, consistent focus, verbal response, confidence, and fun and

excitement. Students were labeled on a level of engagement of very high, high, medium, low, or

very low. These observations were completed during the independent or group work sessions of

the lesson. Four observations were completed during arts integrated (AI) lessons, and two


observations completed during non-arts integrated (NAI) lessons. Figures 4-8 show the scan

results from each lesson.

Figure 4 Figure 5

Figure 6 Figure 7

Figure 8

As can be seen through the data collected in the scans, there was much higher

engagement in arts integrated lessons when looking at levels of high and very high engagement.

This was pervasive over the five observed areas of engagement. AI2 had the lowest engagement


of the four AI lessons; this particular lesson incorporated a visual arts standard to have students

create word murals to determine the main idea and details of text. The other three AI lessons

included theatre standards, thus suggesting that theatre integration is more engaging than visual

arts, though the amount of data collected is not significant enough to make a determination.

Journaling

Following each arts integrated lesson (two or three times a week), I completed a journal

entry to reflect upon my teaching, plan, and instruction as well as student achievement and

engagement. To highlight themes of these journals, I used a word cloud service which enlarged

common words mentioned in the journal entries (see Figure 9).

Figure 9

Clearly my students were the focus of my journals. I specifically focused on their

engagement and achievement more than my own teaching. It is also made clear that the lessons

centered around group work. I have found that essential with arts integration. Collaboration

seems to be key for many of the integrated activities. Engagement, engaged, and able are also

words that appeared a lot throughout my journals. From these words I feel confident in my


reflections that students were highly engaged and motivated by the arts integration and

demonstrated being able to perform the necessary skills.

Conclusions & Further Study

At the conclusion of this research, I feel that the questions posed for the research yielded

in results showing a positive effect of arts integration in both engagement and achievement.

Based on my experience, I feel engagement was more affected than was achievement among all

students. Throughout the study, I felt confident my students were involved and engaged in

lessons that integrated the arts more so than those lessons taught with more traditional strategies.

I certainly do acknowledge the large growth in achievement for my struggling readers, which

coupled with the improvement in engagement gives me reason enough to continue promoting art

integration in my classroom.

With reading achievement, I do not think the results were completely conclusive. There

was no control group in this study with which to compare growth in assessment scores. Students

may have made growth simply because instruction occurred regardless of the strategies used in

that instruction. Certainly further research would need to be conducted to show a causal

relationship, not just a correlation.

While the study took place in a school that focuses on arts integration, not all teachers

within the school place the same emphasis on integrating the arts. I shared my ideas with

colleagues and accepted input from colleagues, but I found that I was alone in my active pursuit

in incorporating arts heavily into the reading classroom. This suggests that some teachers do

have concerns with the effectiveness of arts integration. Though my colleagues were supportive

and positive about my research process, they seemed hesitant to see it as conclusive evidence for

the benefit of the arts.


In summary, I do feel that arts integration benefits students. My students were more

engaged, more confident, and more excited when given opportunities to read with inclusion of

the arts. I saw students take on roles and use their strengths more so than when they read and

had a written assignment. Students seemed to strive to present their best in the arts. Even

though I cannot definitively relate their experience with the arts to their growth in achievement, I

can conclude that arts integration did not impede their learning. While further research and

development is needed, I feel that arts integration is a worthwhile professional pursuit and will

continue implementing it in my classroom.


References

Adomat, D. (2012). Drama's Potential for Deepening Young Children's Understandings

of Stories. Early Childhood Education Journal, 40(6), 343-350.

Cornett, C. E. (2015). Creating meaning through literature and the arts: Arts integration

for classroom teachers. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Grant, A., Hutchison, K., & Brooke, S. (2008). Creative pedagogies: "art-full" reading

and writing. English Teaching, 7(1), 57.

Hardiman, M., Rinne, L., & Yarmolinskaya, J. (2014). The Effects of Arts Integration on

Long-Term Retention of Academic Content.Mind, Brain, And Education, 8(3), 144-148.

Mantione, R. D., & Smead, S. (2002). Weaving through words: Using the arts to teach

reading comprehension strategies. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Mishook, J. J., & Kornhaber, M. L. (2006). Arts integration in an era of accountability.

Arts Education Policy Review, 107(4), 3-11.

Rautenberg, I. (2015). The Effects of Musical Training on the Decoding Skills of

German-Speaking Primary School Children. Journal Of Research In Reading,38(1), 1-

17.

Register, D., Alice-Ann Darrow, Standley, J., & Swedberg, O. (2007). The use of music

to enhance reading skills of second grade students and students with reading disabilities.

Journal of Music Therapy, 44(1), 23-37.

Walker, E., Tabone, C., & Weltsek, G. (2011). When achievement data meet drama and

arts integration. Language Arts, 88(5), 365-372.

Walton, P. (2014). Using singing and movement to teach pre-reading skills and word

reading to kindergarten children: An exploratory study. Language and Literacy,16(3), 54-


n/a.

Appendix A: Assessment





Appendix B: Engagement Scan


Documents

mwilliamsksumed.weebly.commwilliamsksumed.weebly.com/.../0/8/84088616/1.2actionresearch… · Web viewWalker et al (2011) has a similar view saying that art integration “seeks