Integrating the

Arts into Social

Studies and
Science
by: Abby, Victoria,
Casey and Sae

We will be discussing...
Breakdown:
Chapter 5: Social Studies
Learning w/ the Arts: Abby Learning Through the Arts: Casey

Chapter 6: Science
Learning w/ the Arts: Sae

Learning Through the Arts: Victoria

Arts within Social Studies

-Direct Quote of Purpose of SS:

In documenting and retelling our pasts, we consider, interpret, analyze and question events
and actions in reference to how they affect our lives in the present.

-Art serves several functions within SS:

-FIRST: art is documents of the past cultures. Individuals interpret it differently.

-art represents as the voice of people and the images of their lives.
-SECOND: powerful tool for social change
E.g. the power of music within social change
Events of the past are used to understand current events

Learning Social Studies WITH the

Arts
-Art examples provide students with a primary source to examine.
-Builds onto their portrayal of particular time period/culture/etc.
-Show that events in life are experienced in multiple ways through multiple lenses
Example: songs on slavery

-Young children typically are more interested in interpreting forms of art

rather than reading a textbook.
-Bigger chance to develop a deeper understanding and make personal connections to the
material
-Benefits students who are visual or auditory learners

Types of Art..
Poetry: can address conflicting events that happen within history.
Includes facts, but also presents ideas for the reader to think about/examine
Visual Arts: Different perspectives/meanings can be discovered through the different emotions the
paintings evoke, detail within the images, etc.
Photography: Effective ways to capture historical events and stories.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/the-most-touching-photos-ever-taken#.ibpxnEkwo
Music: creates an auditory understanding. Students develop critical listening skills.
Drama: dances, plays and literature give a feel for a certain time period. It integrates the subject area of
the curriculum in a genuine and engaging fashion.

Learning Social Studies THROUGH

the
StudentsArts
can become social scientists and historians.
-

More likely to become interested in the subject matter

Creating Art curiosity and asking more questions

Engage in activities that promote discovery and ownership

Students can become more in touch with the subject.

-

Using art as a means of representation increases desire to produce detailed project

Presentations w/ more art grab the audience increases learning/interest

Types of Art...
Puppetry: effective for any age, highly creative, puppets have nothing to lose, increases critical thinking, and
opens new doors for discovery of topics
Mural Making: allows students to make and connect with a timeline, easily connected to math, science, and
reading, promotes decision-making
Quilts: focus on self-expression, focus on hardship in history (slavery, womens rights, etc.), fantastic for
representing culture and history, can also connect to math
Geography and Papier Mach: making a globe reveals what students know and what they dont know,
confronting assumptions (U.S. is not the biggest country), leaves room for expansion and choice (students
can decide what to include: rivers, mountains, capitals, etc)
SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND

http://www.pdesas.org/Standard/Views#108|781|0|0

Chapter 6: The Wonder of

Discovery: Science and Arts

Science and Arts

Scientist and artist live parallel lives, although they express
themselves through different media.

Similarity
Share curiosity about the world.
Like to express or communicate their understandings.
They are investigators on a mission to explore or answer questions.
Both tend to create new questions in addition to uncovering findings.

Differences
The scientist asks questions about the working of the natural world.
The artist ask questions about the ways in which the world can be
interpreted and recreated.

Scientific Process
Observing
Classifying
Inferring
Measuring
Communicating
Predicting
Hypothesizing
Experimenting

Artist Process
Perception
Creation
Evaluation

Learning with the Arts

Painting: Let students examine the landscapes paintings, and using the
following questions discussed about the natural world:
How would you describe the weather in the different paintings?
Can you Predict the weather?
What are you clues?
What kinds of clouds are depicted?
What elements of nature are shown in each painting?

Music
Take students to musical listening field trips. This help students to document the
songs and sounds of nature.
Introduce musicians who have incorporated or imitated the sounds of nature in
their compositions.
Study the sounds of drums as they vibrate.
Discuss the ways the music expresses an aspect of nature, and what type of
instruments are played, what tempos, feelings, or moods are created and so on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5GOB3ncrTI

Poetry
Introduce poems that has the topic of nature and science.
Poem can stir young childs imagination during scientific investigation.
Poems can give another perspective of the topic.
Curious fly,
Vinegar jug,
Slippery edge,
Pickled bug.

Learning Through the Arts

Singing : Students learn new vocabulary, phrases, and concepts when learning a
new song. Singing helps to provide faster recollection of concepts.
Example: Take a familiar song and change the lyrics to reflect what students are learning.
Take the Yellow Submarine song and adapt the lyrics to your lesson about the different creatures
in the ocean
helpful for ELL students because it builds language acquisition
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/174866398001058402/ Water Cycle Song
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/229191068506483009/ Elements
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d4KyRJCbGo Photosynthesis

Dance
Having students observe dance can relate to many different subjects
Anatomy: Which muscles are being used?
Physics: How does the dancer create energy or use momentum?
Biology: The motion of atoms
Students can also create dance movements and combine them with a song to help
them remember terms, cycles, processes, etc.
Example: For young students, Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes helps build basic
anatomy vocabulary
Dance allows students to actively learn and move around, keeping them engaged.

Origami
asking students to create animals can make them more interested in learning
about the specific animal they choose to make.
to expand on this activity: have students write an original story about their animal.
allows students to be creative and also incorporates language arts

Drawing
Have students become familiar with their surroundings in a nature setting by
drawing what they see
This makes the observation part of science a little more fun for young children,
because they dont have to use words to record what they see
Very helpful for ELL students because they can express what they see without
having to worry about a language barrier

Gardening Journal
draw what the plant looks like
take pictures of the different plants
write creative poems about the plants
paint pictures of the plants
create songs about the plants

Science related poetry

Teacher brings in an object and students have to record their questions and
observations about the object. Students can brainstorm, but the final product
will be a poem that they composed using their observations, questions, and any
content specific vocabulary words that relate.
gets students to express themselves in a new way
provides an opportunity to use the vocabulary words that may not be used otherwise because they
are content specific

Science and Artist Study

Students are taught the idea that anything in nature can be
categorized into one or more of the Five Patterns in Nature.
Spiral, Meander, Packing, Branching, and Explosion. (Examples:
Spiral: a seashell, a spider web; Meander: a snake's trail through
the sand, ripples in the water; Packing: honeycombs of a beehive,
grains of sand; Branching: trees, veins on a leaf; Explosion: a
sunflower, a snowflake.)
Students reviewed the five patterns in nature and were
introduced to the artwork of the American artist Andy Warhol.
They created a grid using rulers and pencils and filled in their grid
with abstract interpretations of the five patterns in nature. This is
reminiscent of many of Warhol's screenprints, such as the famous
print titled "Marilyn Monroe". Students noticed Warhol's vibrant
use of color in his images, and they used bright markers to color in
their own pictures.
http://www.mrsbrownart.com/3rd.htm