Summary: Common Core Curriculum

Before Common Core Curriculum the Arts known as music, theater, dance and visual art were considered beneficial subjects and not essential to the learning process (Jacobs, 1999). During the research analysis of Critical Links in 2002: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development “provided evidence for enhancing learning and achievement as well as positive social outcomes when the arts were integral to students’ learning experiences” lawmakers started looking at the Arts in education more seriously (Burns, 2003, p. 5). Writer Victoria Jacobs explains, “Arts in elementary schools have often been separated from the core curriculum and instead, offered as enrichment activities that are considered beneficial but not essential”
(Jacobs, 1999, p. 2). Fine Arts have often been phased out of the curriculum based on this thinking, budget cuts and a lack of teacher knowledge on how to incorporate the fine arts into academic lessons. For this reason it is necessary to provide a description of the four art disciplines; dance, theater, music, and visual arts. A brief summary of the content that could be taught within each discipline as well an example of specific academic skills that could be taught using each of the four disciplines will be discussed. Experts in the Arts and Academic fields will be used to support described examples.
Dance is characterized as a form of art performed with the human body through kinesthetic movements in order to express a mood, feeling, or a message. Dance can be performed with or without music. Dance can be solo, with a partner or in a group. Dance can be found in movies, television, and theater or just for fun and exercise. In the classroom dance can have a profound influence on students. Dance can be used to break up the day, exercise, change the mood, and to get the creativity flowing. More importantly, dance has been found to have a significant and positive impact in learning science. While teaching the water cycle through movement and music, students were able to understand the experience of being a snowflake; as they danced their way to the ground students were instructed to close their eyes and visualize the adventure of a snowflake. While creating their own dance, students develop conceptual thinking, which is not always easily expressed verbally (Swan-Hudkins, 2003).
Theater is described as a form of art in which participants sing, dance, act and often play music. Using these elements of art the participants tell a story. This story could be a comedy, dramatic event, romantic situation, musical, or a horror story. Participants play roles or characters. The story can be fiction or non-fiction. Due to the vast nature of theater and its areas of operation, theater encompasses many areas where academic teaching can be achieved. Theater uses set-designers, construction, lighting and sound, management, accounting, hair stylist, make-up artists, clothing designers, and many more I’m certain I have forgotten. Theater teaches students social skills that require team work. Students gain skills in collaboration, problem solving and enhance their conceptual and analytical skills. Through theater students can enhance their English/literature skills. Students improve comprehension, vocabulary, communication, and reading proficiency. Crumpler, T. and Schneider, J.J. (Crumpler & Schneider, 2002) noted that “Student’s written reflections suggest that participation in process drama helped them reflect on and evaluate their own actions and navigate plot and story lines.” S. Dupont (1992) found that creative drama teaching enhances students’ reading comprehension skills significantly. In the classroom students can role play to increase their understanding of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and the meaning of resolution. When students role play they are better capable of distinguishing the parts of literature. Most importantly students learn to read and comprehend better through theater.
Music is characterized as using a variety of rhythms and sounds to convey a mood, feeling or story. Music has a huge medium available to anyone looking to indulge. Available would be instruments in the woodwinds, percussion, horns, and strings family. Also available are spoons, hands, feet, mouths, and just about any vessel can be used to create a musical sound that is pleasing to the ear. Music is an art that may be taken for granted as a teaching tool because it is in our face every place we go. We listen to music in the car, at the grocery store, in movies and television shows we watch. Music is in our exercise class, on our electronic devices and is almost always present. Music heightens our overall sense of presence; if we are sad and listen to a sad country song we will likely become sadder. Music can be instrumental or with vocals. Music has a profound place in our daily lives so it’s no wonder that it should be utilized in teaching our students. Elizabeth Spelke (Spelke, 2008) noted that “Students with music training outperformed students without music training on tasks related to spatial cognition and reasoning.” In lemans terms, students who took music were much better at geometry and estimation. In the classroom teachers can utilize music to help teach fractions. Music can be visual when using notes and bars. Music can be audible when a percussion instrument is added. A great lesson is to give each student blank sheet music and a drum. Provide a fraction card to each student and ask them to create music with the fraction. A ¼ fraction would be four quarter notes in one bar. Have the students play this on his/her drum. This lesson is a fun and engaging lesson.
Visual art as well is a very broad subject and encompasses any piece of work that can be viewed and creates a sense of pleasure to the viewer; hence “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.
For educational purposes visual arts covers primitive paintings, classic portrait paintings, charcoal, pencil, water color, oil, and latex paintings. Visual art also includes multi-medium works, as well as computer rendered, photographic, architectural work, quilting, sculpture in any medium, paper-crafts and oh so many more. Visual art has the ability to play on the senses. Visual art can make you happy, sad and even perplexed. According to the Randolph Township Schools (Visual Arts, 2013) of Randolph New Jersey visual arts enable students to bring shape and order to their changing world. Understanding that our lives and world is forever changing and how to accept those changes is a key factor in studying our society. Social studies attempts to teach students this, but for many the concept is lost. Utilizing visual arts in the classroom students should learn to critique works of art and be able to place values on the aspects of the work that are of interest to them. This process begins to develop a foundation where students learn to accept each other for who they are. New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Visual Arts is founded on the principals of the National Standards for Visual Arts and states through critique methodologies students will demonstrate and apply an
understanding of judgment and analysis. These standards will overlap into daily activities and will enhance the student’s life skills applicable to the diversity of their peers.
In conclusion it can be stated with certainty that teachers should know how to and be utilizing the art of music, dance, theater, and visual arts in all subject areas. There is not one way in which to teach our children but a collective collaboration of disciplines at our disposal.

Works Cited
Visual Arts. (2013). Retrieved August 16, 2013, from Randolph Township Schools: http://www.rtnj.org/index.cfm
Burns, M.
(2003). Connecting Arts Education Policy and Research to Classroom Teaching. Chicago, IL: Presented at The Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association.
Crumpler, T., & Schneider, J. J. (2002). Writing with their Whole Being: a Cross Study Analysis of Children 's Writing from Five Classrooms using Process. Retrieved August 16, 2013, from Arts Ed Search: http://www.artsedsearch.org/summaries/writing-with-their-whole-being-a-cross-study-analysis-of-children-s-writing-from-five-classrooms-using-process#sthash.3O8RUf62.dpuf
Dupont, S. (1992). The Effectiveness of Creative Drama as an Instructional Strategy to Enhance the Reading Comprehension Skills of Fifth-Grade Remedial Readers. Retrieved August 15, 2013, from Arts Ed Rearch: http://www.artsedsearch.org/summaries/the-effectiveness-of-creative-drama-as-an-instructional-strategy-to-enhance-the-reading-comprehension-skills-of-fifth-grade-remedial-readers#sthash.Xq6mD1OS.dpuf
Jacobs, V. a. (1999). Teaching Core Curriculum Content through the Arts. Ontario, Canada.: Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research
Association.
Spelke, P. E. (2008). Effects of music instruction on developing cognitive systems at the foundations of mathematics and science. Retrieved August 15, 2013, from Arts Ed Search: http://www.artsedsearch.org/summaries/effects-of-music-instruction-on-developing-cognitive-systems-at-the-foundations-of-mathematics-and-science#sthash.v2C7BsDo.dpuf
Swan-Hudkins, B. (2002). The Effect of an Elementary Fine Arts Program on Students '. M.A. Thesis, Salem, West Virginia.