A group of brightly colored puppets.

Toolkit: Educators & Schools


The Arts Education Program of Utah Arts & Museums has partnered with BYU Arts Partnership to develop the Native American Curriculum Initiative. The following lessons have been carefully written in order to honor and respect each tribal nation's wishes:

Native American Curriculum Initiative Lessons (PDF)

Arts Education Research Compendium (PDF)

The Arts Education Research Compendium is a collection of citations from arts education research articles, sorted by topics pertinent to arts education (produced by the Beverley Taylor Sorenson A.R.T.S. Initiative of the McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University and Utah Arts & Museums).

Arts Education Program Resources

Professional development resources and links

Educators, artists and school administrators can find lesson plans, curriculum guides and funding opportunities utilizing the links below:

American Alliance for Theatre Education - A networking organization for theatre artists and educators that provides services and programming. Provides opportunities for idea exchange, leadership, creativity, artistry, mentorship, recognition, and advocacy.

Americans for the Arts - The leading association in America for local arts organizations. They have an electronic arts education newsletter that often includes new and obscure funding for artists and teachers. They also provide an Arts Education Field Guide.

Arts Education Partnership - A primary source for research and advocacy materials that can be downloaded and shared. The partnership includes the Council of Chief State School Officers, National Endowment for the Arts and National Assembly of State Arts Agencies.

ArtsEdSearch - The nation's hub for research on the impact of the arts in education.

ArtScan - A searchable clearinghouse of the latest state policies supporting education in and through the arts from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

ArtsFusion - ArtsFUSION strives to increase the quantity and quality of arts learning experiences for children in Southern Utah.

BYU A.R.T.S. Partnership - Offers professional development, lesson plans, and other resources for teachers.

Carnegie Hall Music Educators Toolbox - This set of free online resources for music teachers includes lesson plans and activities, summative and formative assessments, video examples, and documented best practices.

Classics for Kids - Classical music lesson plans, activities, and more.

Crayola Dreammakers - Utah's own Mary Wells is the representative for Crayola, and she also provides free workshops for teachers and students. Lesson plans for teachers are available on this site.

The Dana Foundation - Arts Education - Information regarding grant procedures and deadlines for arts education grants.

Dance and the Child International - Dance and the Child International (daCi) is a nonprofit organization that organizes dance teachers and students to create more opportunities for all children to dance. State, national, and international conferences are held once every three years. The daCi Utah Day of Dance is held on a Saturday in November.

GrantsAlert.com - A listing of education grants and  new funding opportunities for organizations, schools, districts, consortia and state education agencies.

The Kennedy Center ARTSEDGE - This site has terrific arts education lesson plans and instructional resources in dance, music, theatre, and visual arts, as well as multidisciplinary resources. Also has a great list of links to other resources in all of the disciplines.

Kimball Art Center is dedicated to providing arts access, education, engagement and experience to everyone. Provides lesson plans.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY) - Art history timelines.

Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation - A nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting music through donation of musical instruments to young musicians.

National Art Education Association (NAEA) - A group devoted to a belief in the power of the arts in developing human potential, offering ideas about teaching, leading, and learning, as well as an annual convention. Provides an instructional resources gallery.

National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) - Provides professional development, leadership, support services, research, and advocacy for artists, educators, and administrators in dance education across all genres of dance.

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) -  Arts learning grants, due dates, applications and other information.

National Gallery of Art - Offers online resources, loan programs, school tours, teacher workshops, lesson plans, and other resources.

National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts - Through the MetLife Foundation Partners in Arts Education Program, the Guild distributes best-practices guides, makes grants and produces training institutes to support high-quality, sustainable arts education partnerships with public schools. 

National Opera Teacher and Educator Source (NOTES) - A recently launched website by OPERA America, this offers a wide range of lesson plans among other resources that are easily accessible to busy educators.

Neuroscience and the Classroom - By gaining insights into how the brain works - and how students actually learn - teachers will be able to create their own solutions to the classroom changes they face and improve their practice.

Repertory Dance Theatre - Offers teacher in-service workshops, lesson plans, student matinees, resource materials, mini-residencies, long-term residencies, school partnerships, lecture demonstrations, and summer workshops for teens.

Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company - Offers summer workshops, lesson plans, POPS outreach, educational videos, free dress rehearsal attendance, student matinees, and teacher discounts.

Springville Museum of Art's StateWide Art Partnership (SWAP) - A collective of Utah museum and arts educators which aims to help establish visual art education as a part of the curriculum. Programs are funded byt he State Office of Education through POPS (Professional Outreach Programs in the Schools). Programs include art talks, evenings for educators, and lesson plans.

Tanner Dance at the U of U  - Supports 800 scholarship students in area schools. The scholarships are part of a residency designed to help teachers incorporate movement into the curriculum. Other outreach services include teacher workshops, lecture/demonstrations, and school performances. Participating teachers receive grade-specific lesson plans based on the Utah State Core Curriculum.

Timpanogos Storytelling - Offers lesson plans, a summer festival, a midwinter event, a fall retreat, assemblies, and workshops.

Utah Advisory Council of Theatre Teachers - Lesson plans, an annual summer retreat, a listserv, mentoring program, resource guide, production galleries, and professional development opportunities.

Utah Art Education Association (UAEA) - Offers advocacy resources, a listing of grants and scholarships, an annual conference, and other resources.

Utah Book Arts Program - Since 1998, the Book Arts Program has provided hands-on education in art, history, cultural studies, and literacy appreciation to Utah's schoolchildren and educators. Offers teacher workshops, lesson plans, and classroom kits.

Utah Chapter, American Orff-Schulwerk Association (UAOSA) - This organization offers four workshops in Orff Schulwerk throughout the fall, winter and spring. Orff Schulwerk is a way to teach and learn music, based on singing, chanting rhymes, clapping and dancing. Orff Schulwerk is active involvement in music-making that incorporates speech, singing, movement and instrument-playing in a creative environment.

Utah Dance Education Organization (UDEO) - Focuses on professional development, research, documentation, assessment, and leadership. Offers conferences, newsletters, lesson plans, and other resources.

Utah Film Center - SHIFT is a program of the Utah Film Center that provides curriculum resources and lesson plans, professional development and curriculum in the integration of the filmmaking process to educators.

Utah Museum of Fine Arts - Offers art classes for kids, docent-led tours, evenings and lesson plans for educators, school partnership programs, a teacher resource center, and a newsletter.

Utah Music Educators Association - Open to all music educators in both public and private institutions, from pre-K to college level, offering resources and opportunities for learning and growth in the field.

Utah PTA - Offers grants annually to encourage local schools to develop, promote, and provide quality art programs. Grants are $500 maximum and are for units in good standing (paid dues and submitted bylaws and membership fees).

UtahPresents - Offers matinee performances during the school day for students and for senior citizens from SL county Aging Services senior centers; artists who visit schools to perform or do workshops; and professional development for teachers through our Kennedy Center Partners in Education program with SLC School District and Youth Theatre at the U.

Utah State Board of Education Division of Fine Arts - For fine arts core curriculum and teacher guides, curriculum maps, and resources for teachers in dance, music, theatre and visual arts.

Utah Symphony | Opera - Offers a multitude of events and activities for teachers and students.

Utah Theatre Association - An annual conference, scholarships, a newsletter, and a guide to Utah theatre resources.

Utah Valley University Department of Theatrical Arts - UVU offers theatre programming for children and youth, student matinees, an educators' evening, and a performing arts summer camp for kids.

Weber State University Arts Learning Collaborative - Lesson plans, year-round professional learning opportunities in arts integration for K-12 teachers, instructional coaches, arts specialists, and WSU students. The collaborative hosts an annual Arts Integration Conference and supports the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program -  a statewide K-6 arts integration program.