Teachers use arts-based techniques to engage their students’ minds, bodies, and emotions, adding vitality and context to day-to-day learning experiences:

• At Maria Mitchell Elementary School in Denver, Colorado, Penny Suazo raises achievement in her class of active fourth- and fifth-grade boys, who have a variety of special needs. Some have limited English proficiency, some have cognitive delays, and some are identified by their teacher as gifted. To engage all her students, she fills her lessons with color, rhythm, movement, drama, and other sensory experiences.


• At Ridgeway Elementary School in White Plains, New York, third-grade teacher Monica Bermiss has her students act out skits to help them better understand the concept of cause and effect.


• At Browns Mill Elementary School in Lithonia, Georgia, Hazel Lucas integrates visual art into her fifth-grade social studies classes with projects that invite students to reflect on their personal histories.