Aesthetic connections to multicultural literature: Supporting all elementary children’s literacy development through arts integration.

In past years the word literacy referred to the ability to read and write. However, in response to expanded notions of literacy and the literacy learning needs of the multitudes of children who struggle with reading and writing in United States schools, there is increasing momentum among scholars and in national and state education standards to consider literacy broadly—composed of multiple sign and symbol systems (i.e., all forms of communication). Accordingly, some classroom teachers have expanded their reading and language arts instruction to include the arts. However, many teacher education programs do not incorporate experiences to help teachers learn how to teach literacy connected to the visual and communicative arts. In this article, we present data that illuminate the benefits of aesthetic and literacy learning connections for all children. We also depict two authentic scenarios that begin with the arts connections, literacy instruction, and relationships to the Common Core Standards incorporated in the lessons in which teachers unite literacy instruction with the arts.