On this site, you will find resources to bring arts integration into your classroom, opportunities for professional learning, and fun ways to be artistic with your students.
-The left image is of a lesson about storytelling through cut paper art. The viewer is encouraged to guess the story from the image, then lift the piece to read the story underneath.
Weekly Feature - April 2025
Many students are studying ecosystems this time of year, here are some ways to enhance your units!
Ecosystems + Art = Tunnel Books!
Tunnel books are books that stand up and show a picture through the pages. When you look at one, you should be able to see to the back page in one place. This creates layers and visual depth. Students create pages featuring producers, consumers, decomposers, etc in each layer. They can incorporate many art elements, from texture and color to perspective and space. How to make tunnel books.
Ecosystems + Dance = Movement sentences
A movement sentence is 16-32 counts of music paired with movement to convey a message. The "conversation" should flow the way a person would speak. This is most easily done by assigning topics the the counts. For example: Counts 1-8 producers growing, counts 9-16 consumers eating producers, counts 17-24 predators hunting prey, and 25-32 decomposing. Students would work in small groups to create movement for each set of 8, and then link the pieces to form a dance. The teacher should set the expectations for which elements of dance to include in the movement sentence.
Wells Branch opened its doors as a traditional elementary campus in 1985 and became an arts integration academy in 2016. All WBE students learn with and through the arts, meeting content area and fine arts standards in the same lessons. Students also take weekly dance, music, theatre, and visual arts classes. Wells Branch offers an optional Suzuki-inspired violin program for our students in grades K-5.
With a background in elementary music and middle school band, Jennifer has been the Arts Integration Coordinator at Wells Branch Elementary Arts Integration Academy since 2016. She is passionate about working with new teachers, co-teaching with her colleagues, and bringing joy + art to student learning. She loves learning to paint with watercolors, reading, hiking, and supporting her family of artists.