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In inclusion classrooms, intentionally designed instruction ensures accessibility for all learners. These spaces, in which students with and without disabilities learn together, value divergent thinking and are built for participation. Teachers search for opportunities to bolster engagement and incorporate best practices to introduce new knowledge and strengthen understanding.

Merging content with the arts can support all levels and types of learning. Adopting an arts-integration approach prompts teachers to implement hands-on activities that develop critical thinking skills, promote collaboration, and embrace multisensory methods. In turn, this approach inspires students to observe, imagine, and construct through authentic experiences. Students meet dual learning objectives when they engage in the creative process to explore connections between an art form and another subject area to gain greater understanding in both (Layne & Silverstein, 2020). As a result, arts integration advances accessibility and equity in classrooms.

Teachers can elevate learning in inclusion classrooms by adapting time, classroom tools, and instructional techniques. These adjustments promote achievement in both the core content area and art form. Shifting to this approach makes learning attainable for all students.

Effective instruction requires the preparation of materials, evaluation criteria, and time allocation for every lesson. Inclusion teachers differentiate for learning needs, collaborate with co-teachers, and implement strategies according to Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504 accommodations. Considering the vast array of responsibilities teachers manage each day, the notion to deviate from conventional learning may seem like an obstacle. However, planning to integrate arts with core content is not an additional step; it’s an approach that enhances teacher autonomy and motivates students to apply understanding through personalized, dynamic projects.

To include art in the learning experience, teachers can begin by engaging “early finishers.” Students who quickly complete assignments benefit from meaningful, open-ended tasks that demonstrate learning in a different way. Creative activities motivate students to apply higher-order thinking through such art forms as visual or performing arts. Learners can mold clay pots, draw a comic strip, invent a game, or tell a story with dance to align with literacy, social studies, and science concepts. In math, students can design tessellations, explore symmetry, or build scenes. Authentic experiences empower learners to accomplish a project and present new opportunities to evaluate learning.

Differentiated instruction requires the development of alternatives to learning barriers. To streamline planning, instructional teams can collaborate to establish criteria for success that meet objectives and activate learning using art forms. By implementing learning menus and flexible workstations, teachers gain opportunities to correct misconceptions and support understanding in real time—allowing them to assess skills during learning, rather than as a separate event. When teachers structure lessons to include student-led discovery, differentiation occurs naturally.

Substituting conventional assignments with opportunities to strengthen thinking and collaboration is also a progressive shift. Teachers can tailor the choices of a project to scaffold according to learning needs and correlate with lesson segments. By exercising choice, students could design a poster to illustrate the timeline of an inventor’s work or role-play a sequence of events. They could take it further by using tools to produce a video to describe the impact of an inventor’s contributions, invent a product of their own, or collaborate with peers to build a new idea. Each of these processes requires content knowledge and unlocks new levels of engagement.

To redesign a learning space for arts integration, teachers can begin with the supplies in their classrooms. Basic items such as crayons, markers, scissors, and glue are not reserved for special projects—they are fundamental elements for problem-solving and constructing new ideas. Clean, recyclable materials, including boxes and cans, generate creativity and provide storage solutions for works in progress. Painting with food and gathering pinecones or leaves suggest new ways to make art using familiar items. Additionally, technology facilitates opportunities to demonstrate learning through media art. In any subject and with every age group, these options bring learning to life.

Inclusion classroom supply orders and wish lists often contain supplemental materials used for accessibility and independence. Items such as adaptive scissors, dot markers, no-spill paint cups, and sponges support fine motor skills. Cushions, mats, and wobble stools introduce flexible seating and provide stability. Slanted surfaces and pencil grips improve positioning for writing and drawing. These tools eliminate barriers by allowing students to participate and express ideas.

In the media arts-integrated lesson, Discovering National Parks, students apply knowledge about national parks to analyze arguments with regard to preserving natural resources. As they collaborate to design an ad campaign to protect the parks, staple classroom supplies are used to produce a vibrant presentation on poster paper. This versatile activity may be adapted to include other art forms, such as a student-created jingle or poem to portray an idea or message. Flexible options encourage independence and communication through creative expression.

Instructional technology and assistive software are also key design tools for accessibility and art exploration. Free programs, such as Google Slides, allow learners to create and present directly from a web browser. Artists can add images, audio, and video to compose an idea, build a storyboard, or sketch a graphic novel. When multiple users contribute to the same presentation, it enables collaboration—and progress is saved automatically. This practical tool is adaptable and appealing to students.

As teachers develop lessons, opportunities to apply expression and imagination can be adapted to align with learning needs and assessment measures. An arts-integration approach allows both teachers and students flexibility to generate and extend learning beyond traditional handout or keyboard tasks. These methods include collaboration, student choice, and differentiated methods for engagement.

Creative collaboration is a process that builds community and presents opportunities to explore concepts as a shared experience. Teachers decide the scope of the project and which materials to supply. Students exercise flexible thinking skills to generate and design ideas. This collective effort allows teachers to support individual needs of students while modeling routines for learning with art, including procedures for managing materials, working in various classroom spaces, and finishing a project.

Another technique is to offer choices for students to demonstrate understanding in a content area. Teachers determine options such as materials and resources, while students select format. Choices equip learners with the independence to think critically and present knowledge in a manner that best represents their style and skill. When teachers provide this level of personalization, students take the initiative, connecting content with creativity.

In the lesson, Oceans: A Sensory Haiku, there are opportunities for choice and self-expression throughout. Students activate their senses by listening to ocean sounds. During this process they discover sensory words to make art and design a sensory haiku display. Teachers must consider the individual needs of students in order to select materials. These decisions may include size and style of paper, specific art supplies or software, and whether to invite flexible seating for collaboration or improved concentration. Artists have the freedom to select a medium, style, and space in which to work. The sensory haiku lesson demonstrates the partnership between core content, arts, multiple means of engagement, and meeting diverse student needs.

In inclusion classrooms, teachers set the stage for student success. They design lessons to engage learners, develop academic and social-emotional skills, and relate new knowledge to real-world understanding. Shifting current practices to include arts provides opportunities to promote critical thinking and inspire creativity. These enriched experiences reinforce core content and improve achievement. Arts integration provides the foundation for accessible, purposeful learning at all levels.

To explore more K-12 arts integrated lessons, visit the Related Resources section at the bottom of this page or Lesson & Activities from the Digital Learning Resources Library.

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