Mariko Nobori's How The Arts Unlock The Door Of Learning

Integrating the arts in the general education classrooms is important. According to Mariko Nobori author of How the Arts Unlock The Door of Learning, integrating the arts increases comprehension and long-term memory. Students are elaborating when they create stories, dramas, draw pictures. Students become occupied with the content they are learning when the arts are integrated. Teaching to contrasting modalities is vital because all students are unique and need to garner new knowledge in multiple ways. “Successful teachers, when planning a lesson, include all three learning modalities to ensure the highest learning occurs in the classroom. Examples include: Aural, visual, and kinesthetic” (Fallin 2011). Both teachers and students can benefit
Drama is vital because drama can help students Like English Language Learner’s (ELL’s) build language and character. Incorporating arts, such as music, drama and movement help students interpret and analyze stories and expand their vocabulary. For example, Linda Diamond, author of Teaching Vocabulary gives a couple examples of how to teach ELLs idioms such as teaching them the phrase ‘Hold your horses’ means to be patient The whole expression "to hold your horses" actually means "to slow down, wait a minute, or be more patient." For example, if you were impatiently waiting for your sister to get off the phone, your sister might say to you, "Hold your horses. I'll be off the phone in a minute!" To have someone act out being on the phone and another student to act as their sister, would be a great visual aid for struggling students.

Drama also develops empathy and allows students to see life from multiple perspectives. For instance, putting on a drama. Students can learn about immigrants and how they travel to get here, then they can put on a mini-drama or simulation that involves a group of students being immigrants and a group of students playing Human Resources, an activity like this can help students think globally about real-world problems and put themselves in others’
Brewer mentions that students enter the alpha brainwave state while listening Baroque music composed by Bach, Handel, or Telemann. Students focus best when they are in a brainwave state where they are calm, yet alert enough to keep focused, this is because we want to students to enter the alpha state. Younger students have lots of energy and need help focusing in the classroom, so music will help students attention span, and can help decrease tension that the teacher and student may have. I have found that while writing a paper or studying for a test, my brain is more alert while I’m listening to calming music. Even while write this paper write now, the music is helping me focus and relax more. In the classroom, students need to be exposed to a variety of