Arts for Learning Literacy Programs

Professional Development for Educators & Classroom Implementation

Arts for Learning (A4L) Literacy Units form a ground-breaking supplemental literacy program that blends the creativity and discipline of the arts with learning science to raise student achievement in reading and writing.

Working with a design team from the University of Washington led by cognitive scientist Dr. John Bransford, Young Audiences crafted five A4L Units for use by grade 3-6 classroom teachers. Young Audiences and collaborating teachers have adapted the Units for use in grades 7-8. The A4L Units also have been adapted for after-school and summer school programs. These units are designed for teachers with little or no arts experience or background. Anyone can learn these dynamic arts-integration techniques!

Each Unit includes 18-20 hours of sequential, cumulative lessons anchored in at least one well-recognized literary work.

Five units address specific literacy skills and can be adapted to grades K-8.
Teachers can be trained in each unit in as little as 3 in-service hours. Select only the units you want.
Each unit contains between 13 and 19 lessons that can be delivered to students in 18-20 hours.

The Framework includes:
- Instruction
- Guided Practice
- Independent Practice
- Reflection & Revision
- Opportunities to Perform and Inform
Teacher training provided by experienced Young Audiences Staff in conjunction with your district literacy specialists.
Embedded assessment allows teachers to monitor student improvement.
Each unit comes with the following teacher support materials:
- a teacher’s guide
- literary texts and approved excerpts
- student handouts and reproducibles
- units 4 and 5 include a music CD

Download our Arts for Learning Services Catalog

Arts for Learning Companion Residencies

There are five A4L Companion Residencies that give students the opportunity to work with professional teaching artists to explore and translate texts into new art forms while also improving their literacy skills.

Each A4L Residency involves students in an active process of reading and translating a text into a new art form.
Each A4L Residency can be done in as little as 5 one-hour sessions.
A4L Residencies can follow the A4L Unit they were designed to complement or they can stand alone.
All A4L Residencies are designed for teacher participation and active involvement.
A4L Residencies can be customized to accommodate more ambitious goals for a culminating performance or exhibition.
We bring any special materials or supplies needed for the Residency.
A4L Residencies all follow the “How People Learn” model developed by Dr. John Bransford. This model involves a gradual transfer of the responsibility for learning from teacher to student.

Download our Arts for Learning Services Catalog

Young Audiences of Virginia, Inc.
420 North Center Drive, Suite 239
Norfolk, Virginia 23502
Phone: 757-466-7555, Fax: 757-455-9859
Toll Free (Outside Hampton Roads) 1-800-314-ARTS (2787)