Arts Integration is an approach to teaching in which students learn academic content through an art form. Here are some examples of ways in which Metro Theater Company has blended the arts with core curriculum:

• Second grade students across the University City School District stepped into role as Jr. Detectives to examine the lives of early explorers.

• Celebrate St. Louis Stories is a cultural exchange residency with two middle school classrooms in geographically distant schools. The residency focuses on creative writing, public speaking, listening, and interview techniques while bridging relationships between students at the separate schools and breaking down preconceived notions they may have of how the other lives.

• At The Family Center in Clayton, early childhood students explored the solar system, body control, and sharing through creative movement and music. 

Unsure about how much time you can make for this in your classroom? Our residencies can be as few as five (60-minute) visits, or can be weekly visits made throughout an entire school year.

If you’re interested in developing an arts integration residency with us, contact Karen Bain, Education Director, at 314.932.7414 x110 or email her at karen@metroplays.org. (As our staff continues to work remotely, email is preferred.)

Throughout our unit, the lessons and activities prepared fit seamlessly into our class work. They took my goals and objectives and taught material I was worried about getting in! I was apprehensive at first about giving up ‘class time’ but they enhanced the students learning in ways I often neglect to make time for.

— Whitney Strubhar, Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle School