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Resources for Educators and Parents

The resources listed here are designed to help educators and parents gain more useful information on the relationship of arts, education, and disabilities, especially for children with disabilities. As a leader in arts, education, and disabilities, VSA arts has produced programmatic resources that have proved invaluable to educators and parents alike.

• Writing Spotlights
  Short literary works with discussion questions and writing activities by authors with disabilities, designed to stimulate dialogue, promote language arts skills, and raise disability awareness in the classroom.
  
• Professional Opportunities
  A list of calls for entry, casting calls, and funding opportunities.
  
• A Portrait of an Artist-Scientist
  An educational kit including student magazine, vodcast, and teacher guide that introduces connections between art and science through an exploration of heredity, DNA, and the artwork of Mark Parsons.
  
• Let Your Style Take Shape
  Provides educators with suggestions for creating inclusive educational environments and provides teachers with cross-curricular lessons that meet national standards for math and the visual arts.
  
• Let the Light In 480 KB (To receive a printed copy contact writing@vsarts.org)
  An Introduction to Writing Poetry in Inclusive Settings
  
• Real Stuff that Matters 456 KB (To receive a printed copy contact writing@vsarts.org)
  An Introduction to Journal Writing in Inclusive Settings
  
• Opening Up the Sky 1.05 MB (To receive a printed copy contact writing@vsarts.org)
  An Introduction to Creative Writing and Bookmarking in Inclusive Settings
  
• Start with the Arts at Home
  An educational resource that uses the arts to assist young children, including those with disabilities, in exploring themes commonly taught in early childhood classrooms in the home setting.
  
• Start with the Arts
  An instructional program for four, five and six year-olds that uses the arts to assist young children, including those with disabilities, in exploring themes commonly taught in early childhood classrooms.
  
• Express Diversity!
  A series of learning modules, lessons and resources to expand your students' sensitivity and awareness about society and the importance of every individual. The topic of disability is infused into the arts in such a way as to promote discussion and new insights.
  
• Playwright Discovery Award Teacher's Guide 640 KB
  An introduction to the VSA arts Playwright Discovery Program, as well as guide to teaching strategies and exercises that have been proven successful in developing students’ playwriting skills. This guide should serve as a tool to enhance your ability to creatively bring disability awareness to your classrooms, improve literacy and language skills, and develop critical thinking skills in your students.
  
• Third Space: When Learning Matters
  A new book based on a recent Arts Education Partnership (AEP) study that urges policy makers and educators to look to the arts as a powerful way to create vibrant learning communities that improve student achievement in all schools, particularly those struggling to improve academic performance.
  
• Tips for Parents
  A series of articles, written for the parents of young children with and without disabilities, containing suggestions for fun, educational arts activities that parents can enjoy with their children.

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