Inspiring children to learn and create.

Research:

Critical Links
This compendium of 62 research studies on the impact of learning in the arts on the academic and social development of students is available in PDF format or by mail from the Arts Education Partnership.

Project Zero
This is the website for Project Zero, an educational research group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. "Project Zero's mission is to understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts and other disciplines for individuals and institutions."

National Arts-in-Education Program and Service Providers:

Young Audiences, Inc.
Young Audiences (YA) is a network of chapters and affiliates providing arts-in-education programs and services in 32 locations around the U.S. Arts Partners is an affiliate of YA. This site not only has information on arts-in-education activities in the Young Audiences network, but it also contains links to many other arts and education sites.

Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts
The Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts provides arts-in-education services for children ages 3-5 and their teachers and families through the disciplines of drama, music and movement. Arts Partners is home to the newest regional program of the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts.

National Arts Organizations:

Americans for the Arts
The site for a national organization working to make the arts more accessible to everyone contains arts advocacy information, research, and related links.

National/International Arts Education Organizations:

Arts Education Partnership
This is “a national coalition of arts, education, business, philanthropic and government organizations that demonstrate and promote the essential role of the arts in the learning and development of every child and in the improvement of America's schools.”

ArtsEdge
ArtsEdge, the National Arts and Education Network site at The Kennedy Center, contains a great deal of excellent information focusing on lesson plans, standards, advocacy, and exploring the arts.

VSA
An international nonprofit organization with state affiliates, VSA (formerly Very Special Arts) serves people with disabilities through teacher training and workshops on topics related to special education or disabilities adaptation in the arts so that “people with disabilities can learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts.”

Consortium of National Arts Education Associations:

American Alliance for Theatre & Education
The AATE is a “professional organization for theatre educators, theatre artists, and educators who use drama and/or theatre in the classroom.”

MENC: The National Association for Music Education
MENC provides information on national standards for music education, advocacy, and research as well as ideas for using music in the classroom.

National Art Education Association
This site contains information on the value of art education and offers a wide variety of publications related to art education.

National Dance Education Organization
This advocacy group offers information, lots of links to arts education sites, and a variety of publications related to dance education.

Lesson Ideas and Resources:

Arts for Learning
Both teachers and teaching artists will find this comprehensive site useful in designing lessons that emphasize learning in and through the arts.

ArtsEdge Lesson Plans
There are more than 400 lessons plans here that you can sort by grade levels, art form, and/or other subject areas.

ArtsWork Lesson Plans
This site from the Hershberger College of Fine Arts at Arizona State University has standards based lesson plans in five categories: dance, music, visual arts, drama/theater, and integrated arts.

Guide to Building Visual Arts Lessons
This guide from the Getty includes a general guide, a grade-by-grade guide, definitions and examples of the elements of art, and a lesson plan template.

J. Paul Getty Museum Lesson Plans
Search by grade/age level or subject for a wide variety of lesson plans that focus on artwork from the Getty’s collection.

M.U.S.I.C.
Musicians United for Songs in the Classroom, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that promotes the increased use of popular music in education. This site contains lesson plans as well as information on popular music and related links.

National Arts Standards Online
Thanks to the Kennedy Center’s ArtsEdge, here you'll find the complete text of the National Standards for Arts Education.

PBS TeacherSource
The Arts & Literature section of this easy-to-navigate Web site allows teachers to search for lesson plans by topic and grade levels.

Science of Sound
This site has both online and "hands-on" classroom activities to help your students learn about the science of sound.

Kansas Links:

Kansas Citizens for the Arts
This statewide grassroots organization supports arts funding and education so that every Kansan has the opportunity to enjoy and learn in and through the arts, both in their schools and in their communities.

Kansas State Department of Education
Here you will find information on Kansas education initiatives, education resources, education agencies and K-12 schools in Kansas as well as publications and data.