Put the A in STEM

What is so important about "the arts"? Is it just so we can teach our students how to use crayons or markers to draw a picture or draw out an answer instead of writing it? No, it is way more than that. Art is more than just drawing a picture of Abe Lincoln for president's day or a bat for Halloween. Art is a way of communication whether that be through painting, dancing, building a sculpture, or music. Art is everywhere in our lives and in our schools. Our students need to be exposed to all the different components of art as they are learning the various subject areas. Almost every science standard has an ELA component and if that is not motivation enough to incorporate the arts in almost everything you teach then let me explain a little more. Including the arts in a science lesson might mean having the students give a science explanation orally or in writing. Students can also incorporate "making" in the ELA lessons. For example, having them build the house from the three little pigs or building the tree from chicka chicka boom boom that can hold as many letter as possible. Anything is possibly if you as a teacher can think outside of the box and let the students take responsibility for their own learning and learn through building and creating various things. 

I learned a lot about this topic. I learned that the arts are way more important than most teachers think they are. ELA can be connected to every subject level and can be incorporated into any lesson giving the students a more well-rounded education where they are just focusing on one subject at a time. This gives our students a firm foundation for when they step into the real-world and need skills in various subject areas. I will definitely use the arts in my classroom and incorporate it into my STEM lessons. I will strive to always have an ELA component in my lessons so that my students will be well-rounded in their learning and understand that are not separated in the real world. I will always stress the importance of the arts and give my students the opportunity to create a dance or write a speech or even write a song about whatever the topic may be that we are learning at the time. ALWAYS bring in the arts!

 Watch the video below to see STEAM compared to traditional education!