The Art of Diverse STEM
by Amy Crider & Emily Trace
Have you been looking for ways to integrate art and creativity into literacy instruction? Look no further! There are many opportunities to engage in authentic learning experiences centered around art and focused on processes of making. The activities we (Amy & Emily) share in this article can be implemented in a wide variety of grade levels and can be connected to curriculum and content areas in a multitude of ways. Our hope is that you find something worth duplicating or sharing and feel empowered to begin creating in your own classrooms (or even at home)!
The response activities that we are going to share with you go beyond teacher-directed crafts and sometimes encourage the use of process art. First, let’s talk a little about what the term process art really means. Process art is a child-directed, choice-driven form of art that allows the artist to focus more on the process of what they are creating and not strictly the outcome or final product. This allows for a great amount of creativity and exploration and encourages socio-emotional skills by encouraging students to relax and not focus on a final product (which is very different from how they usually respond to literature). Responding with art also has an impact on problem-solving skills and planning, which relates directly to many other content areas.
Below, we have highlighted some observations and conclusions we have made over our years of using art and STEM in our classrooms:
Why STEM?
STEM amplifies students’ learning
Encourages creative thinking and problem solving
Experimentation and trying new things teaches flexibility and adaptability
Allows for teamwork and collaboration
Builds resilience and determination as we learn that failing forward is okay (failing forward is a phrase used to describe learning from our mistakes)
Increases self-knowledge and understanding the perspectives of others
Many opportunities for cross-curricular connections
Great for vocabulary building and making real-life connections
Why Art?
Art allows students to explore, create, and express themselves
Process art lets students learn through artistic expression without worrying about a final product
Encourages risk-taking and inventiveness
Helps younger students with development of motor skills
Learning through visual art can make difficult concepts easier to understand
Art is a critical part of the engineering design process
Can be a unique launch for writing or reading response activities
Traditionally, we as teachers read a story and spend time allowing students to respond to open-ended questions or with a graphic organizer or a writing response journal entry. Instead, we challenge you to think about other ways that students can respond to literature using art or STEM. For example, after reading the story Jimi: Sounds like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix by Gary Golio, primary students can respond in a variety of different ways. The story has many beautiful examples of figurative language, so students could find and illustrate figurative language used within the text.
You could also take students on a musical journey by asking them to visualize what a certain genre of music sounds like and have them illustrate this emotion or build something that represents how the music makes them feel. Using art tools and building materials, students can express how the music makes them feel but more importantly, use their words to explain what they have created and why they created it. Talking about a creation is a vital part of the engineering design process and also helps students strengthen their critical thinking skills and storytelling abilities!
Here are some of our favorite ways to incorporate the arts and STEM into literacy instruction:
Process Art: Using varying mediums, create a piece of art in response to a story (focus can be on theme, genre, plot, setting, mood, etc.)
Magazine and Paper Art: Using paper and/or magazines, create a collage of artifacts that relate to a certain story, character, setting, etc. Feeling ambitious? Try exploring further with paper folding, mathematical art or recreating a story with paper figurines!
For the Reluctant Artist: Use directed drawings or other art alternatives to inspire learners who might be more timid around art processes. This form of art is also great for biographies, character selfies, or creating comic strips to retell.
Engineering Design: Using a variety of building materials, allow students to recreate or retell a story. This is a great alternative for younger students and further encourages the ability to retell a story or share cause and effect relationships! This can also be great for reluctant writers because creating a scene and talking about it can help inspire ideas or topics that can transfer into writing time.
Pixel Art: Using blocks, pegs or beads, students can create a pixelated image or symbol from the story. This pairs well with writing response and/or text-analysis because it gives learners the opportunity to explain the reasoning behind their creation. Feeling bold? Try experimenting with 3D pens or 3D printing to design and create this symbol instead!
Tech-Based Art: Learners can recreate scenes from stories or create their own story using tech tools and apps. This is great for exploring dialogue, retelling scenes or chapters, writing your own story and much more! Some of our favorite (& free) tech-based tools are:
ChatterPix Kids (app) - Allows you to take a picture of something (even something you’ve created) and make that object talk for up to 30 seconds. These creations can easily be saved and shared!
ScratchJr (app) - Allows you to recreate scenes and code characters using basic block coding (perfect for even the novice coder)
Stop Motion Studio (app) - Great for making short animations or recreating plots from stories with figurines or LEGO bricks.
Storyboard That (website) - Digital storytelling and retelling by creating scenes and adding characters/props
We hope you have been inspired to include more art and STEM in your classroom! Additionally, here are some websites that you can explore for further creative ideas:
Asia Citro’s 150+ Screen-Free Activities for Kids
With 8 years of experience as a school librarian, Amy Crider has a passion for using diverse literature in every content area! She is also a firm believer in the use of art for creative expression, learning, and mental health benefits. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and roller skating!
With 10 years of experience as classroom teacher and 3 years as a primary school STEM teacher, Emily Trace has explored many hands-on approaches to teaching STEM infused literacy. She is passionate about using engineering and robotics in the classroom to enhance everyday lessons. When she is not teaching, she loves to read and travel with her family!ces
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