Over at the website Teaching Channel, teachers can browse more than 500 videos to get inspired and learn new techniques to use in the classroom.
The website was launched as a professional development resource for teachers in 2011, and has been growing ever since. Several of the website's new videos focus on arts integration. We hear a lot about arts integration as classrooms across the country prepare to make the shift to Common Core teachings standards. But it's easier to understand the effectiveness of the teaching method when you see it in action.
In this 15-minute video, teacher Shyrna Gilbert discusses the philosophy and technique she uses to teach a history lesson through drama. Her students take on the roles of famous explorers like sea explorer Henry Hudson and cartographer Captain James Cook.
In the video, Gilbert explains that using theater to teach history helps keep her students engaged.
"They see it's a lot of fun and they don't want to miss out on the fun," she said.
Teaching Channel offers 57 videos that focus on the arts, and many of them give tips for how to integrate art lessons with instruction on subjects like history and writing.
For more from Teaching Channel, check out its one-hour TV show for teachers called "Tch." You can catch up with 20 past episodes on its website.