About

Young Audiences Arts for Learning

Young Audiences’ most complete national program, Arts for Learning Lessons (A4L Lessons) © is a ground-breaking supplemental literacy program that joins the creativity and discipline of the arts with learning science to raise student achievement in reading and writing and to develop skills for learning and life.  The program consists of five text-based instructional units for Grades K-8, taught by classroom teachers, that integrate an art form, and related residencies delivered in the classroom by a teaching artist, that accentuate the art form while reinforcing literacy skills.  Each Unit and Residency incorporate a particular art form-one each on theater, music, and dance, and two on visual arts.  Working back and forth with reading, writing, and art, each A4L Unit and Residency improves student achievement of specific literacy objectives while building children’s capacities to think imaginatively, work cooperatively, and communicate effectively in words, images and performance.

The idea for the Arts for Learning blog emerged during discussions  about how to stimulate productive attention to important issues at the intersection of arts and education.   Through this blog, we intend to strengthen connections among teachers, artists, administrators, policy makers, and organizations concerned about issues such as how to provide strong, individualized engagement in education for achievement of high common standards, building learning and life skills through curricula with high content, nurturing individual interests and aptitudes with equitable access to public resources and efficiency in use of resources while fostering high quality and well-rounded education for all students.

Founded in 1952, Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA) is the country’s first and largest arts-in-education network.  Through its network of 30 affiliates located in 22 states across the country, YA reaches seven million school children annually, and includes programs in music, theater, visual and design arts, dance, and the literary arts.