Incorporating Performing Arts Projects Into The K–8 Curriculum

Abstract

Incorporating the performing arts into classroom projects can often build teachers’ anxiety due to the 
feeling of pressure to produce a final performance. In fact, using drama and music can be great 
classroom tools for enriching activities and projects. This paper describes project-based learning in a 
primary- and middle-school context where the student population comprises both L1 and L2 English 
speakers. The article begins with a literature review of three central topics: drama-inspired activities, 
the use of songs, and project-based learning. It then reports on three performing arts projects, which 
were used in third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade classes in support of a theme-based curriculum built 
around essential questions. Based on the outcomes of these projects, we contend that using dramainspired activities and songs in project-based learning can heighten students’ motivation, promote 
their creativity, enhance their oral fluency, and increase their confidence.