Welcome to Bridges

Teach the arts, academics & social emotional learning through hands-on, age appropriate & process-oriented activities.
Elementary school students engaged in Bridges activities and holding up their artwork.
 
 
 

What is Bridges?

 
  • Bridge 1: Multisensory Literate Expression means children explore ideas and tell stories through multisensory activities using physical expression, vocal/sound exploration, visual art and puppet play. Bridge 2: Notice, Describe and Ask Protocol means children's artistic choices are at the center of this conversation protocol which involves richly descriptive and non-judgmental language. Bridge 3: An Artist's Work Process means children discover their own ways of thinking and working through a process in which they imagine, experiment, problem-solve, collaborate, self-reflect and revise.
    ​A model for teaching arts, literacy & SEL together. Bridges...
    • strengthens student agency & expression skills.
    • is grounded in the multisensory storytelling arts of puppetry.
    • can be adapted to any artform and used by artists & classroom teachers alike.
    • was inspired by the impact of a k-5 puppetry curriculum at PS 130 in Brooklyn.
    • was created over 8 years of action research. Learn More about the 3 Bridges Model
  • Four kids exuberantly playing with puppets they drew and taped to wooden sticks in front of background settings they made form torn paper.
    Why puppetry?

    Across the globe, puppetry traditions authentically encompasses a variety of expressive media as rigorous storytelling tools. Puppetry employs visual storytelling (puppet design & movement) supported by sounds, music, dialogue & narration. It builds confidence by offering an authentic storytelling voice to young children as they learn to speak & write

 

Bridges Approaches

Through research, we developed a teaching approach that Bridges from the inner world of children- their curiosity, agency and imagination through the arts – to  literacy, & social emotional learning.

 
  • Students in different kinds of classrooms trying to act out various emotions with their bodies and faces.

    Multisensory Literate Expression

    The multisensory dimension is key to unleashing students’ vitality: offering many modes of expression & avenues into activities.
    Multisensory Literate Expression

  • Notice, Describe and Ask

    This asset based language protocol supports students to discover their own artistic voice, while building their language and observation skills.
    Notice, Describe & Ask
  • Two proud students posing with their finished puppets. Two students engaged in the process of making torn paper backgrounds.
    Artists Work Process

    At the core of the Bridges model is a focus on the process artists use to grow and develop expression. As children work and think like artists as they imagine, experiment, problem-solve, collaborate, self-reflect, and revise.

    Artists Work Process
  • A diagram web with the word
    Activity Library

    Find activity packets which include lesson plans, standards alignments, and classroom tools here

    Activity Library
 

Literacy and Social Emotional Learning

Bridges is effectively activates multidisciplinary arts experiences to boost academic achievement and social emotional learning of participating K-2nd grade students.

 
  • Students using their bodies to act out the characters, problems and solutions listed on a chart behind them.

    Bridges to Literacy

    Bridges is an arts integration approach that builds students literacy and language development in partnership with science of reading programs.
    Literacy Connections
  • Teacher making her face match the expression of her puppet's face to a group of students.

    Bridges to SEL

    Bridges engages the SEL practice of recognizing, and experiencing varied emotions, and communicating thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
    Working with Emotions
 

Research-Based

Research included both a formal research study of 9 years of mixed-method research on the impact of the Bridges program in 12 schools and 120 classrooms. As well as hands-on practitioner research – where classroom teachers utilized our action resear

 
  • Classroom teacher leading students in a game to physicalize their ideas about emotion.

    Practitioner's Research

    We engaged artists, teachers and administrators as practitioner researchers to address inquiry questions, and develop activities.
    Action Research
  • Teaching artist Sarah Provost and and a student try to copy the puppet face that the child has created by winking one eye and moving their mouth off to one side.

    Evaluator Research

    ArtsResearch conducted 9 years of mixed-method research on the impact of the Bridges program. Which showed strong evidence of program effects on literacy and child development.
    Formal Research
 

Try Bridges in your classroom

The Bridges Program was tested and developed over 8 years of co-teaching with, and feedback from, classroom teachers and artist mentors. Activities are exciting and empowering to children, and adaptable for a range of educators.

 
  • Boy holding up and mirroring his puppet's emotions with his own face, happy and shocked.
    Use the bridges activity library to find…
    • resources filtered by content, artform, skills & parts of a lesson.
    • activities, protocols, tools & booklists.
    • webpages with supports for implementation including videos and tools for planning, reflection and building your skills.
    • downloadable supports.
    • concrete ways to integrate the 3 Bridges into your teaching. Find Activities and Tools
  • Students in different kinds of classrooms trying to act out various emotions with their bodies and faces.

    Try an activity thread! Emotion Vocabulary

    Emotion Vocabulary Activity 1
    Play The Statue Game to embody core emotions and engage students in the inferencing process through physical expression. Check out the
    Emotion Statue Game (core)
  • Three students using their bodies and faces to show the three advanced emotion vocabulary words baffled, enraged and panicked.

    Try an activity thread! Emotion Vocabulary

    Emotion Vocabulary Activity 2
    Play the Statue Game to introduce advanced emotion vocabulary & support personal connections through physical expression.
    Check out the
    Emotion Statue Game (advanced)
  • Student uses emotion mapping tool to get ideas for how to draw expressive puppet faces.

    Try an activity thread! Emotion Vocabulary

    Emotion Vocabulary Activity 3
    Use Emotion Mapping to visually compare & contrast advanced emotion words explored in The Statue Game.
    Check out
    Emotion Mapping
  • A composite image 1) two children enjoy using the shapes to create eyebrows on their own face 2) a child copies the puppet face they've made by winking their own eye 3) two contrasting puppet faces made by the same child. One has spread out shapes that give it a suprised expression and one has the shapes squished together giving it a determined expression. 3) A child explains the two contrasting faces she made to the rest of the class.

    Try an activity thread! 5 Shapes Many Emotions

    Explore and Describe how small composition choices about shape, spacing, direction and pattern can transform the expression of a puppet face
    Check out the 5 Shapes Many Emotions activity
  • Kindergartner admires the puppet head she made with a sad face and big eyelashes.

    Toolkit: Working with Emotions

    How can teachers support kids in working through the emotional highs and lows of their art making process?
    Find Tools
  • A composite image. Center- A photo of a first-grade girl showing holding her drawing over the lower part of her face. She has drawn a variety of lines and used shapes to make a drawing of a pencil. Left- A child's pencil drawing of a pattern using spirals inside of squares framed by short dark diagonal lines. Right- A child's pencil drawing of a character made out of squares, circles and triangle teeth & spikes.

    Try a new way to introduce arts skills

    Explore & Describe lessons put children in charge of their artistic choices as they discover new ways to use accessible art materials and tools.
    Explore & Describe Pencil
  • Student smiling and holding up a small puppet of a person she made with torn paper. Student looking at a background she made using lots of small torn paper pieces in many colors filling the page.

    Try a new way to introduce arts skills

    Explore & Describe lessons put children in charge of their artistic choices as they discover new ways to use accessible art materials and tools.
    Explore & Describe Torn Paper Collage
  • Group of students seated at desks working on drawn settings with colored pencils.

    Tool kit: Scaffolding for child driven process

    How can teachers provide young artists with a structure that builds the skills and mindset artists use to develop expression independently?
    Find Tools
 

Choose your adventure

Step into Bridges through an entry path that relates our material to priorities in your field. This website serves multiple audiences interested in our research and resources.

 
  • Settings and cat puppets drawn with colored pencils.

    Arts Educators

    Discover Bridges offerings through the priorities, perspectives and voices of arts educators in Puppetry, Theater, visual, movement, and sound.
    Teaching Artist's Entry Page
  • Two classroom teachers laughing while they practice playing with their puppets.

    Classroom Teachers

    Discover Bridges offerings through the priorities, perspectives and voices of classroom teachers responsible for academic learning.
    Teacher Entry Page
  • Students using their bodies to act out the characters, problems and solutions listed on a chart behind them.

    School Administrators

    Discover Bridges offerings through the priorities, perspectives and voices of Principles and Assistant Principals.
    Administrator's Entry Page
  • Group of educators talking around a table about the observations made during Bridges research.

    Researchers

    Learn about our action research & external evaluation research
    Research Entry Page
 

Kids and Families!

Kids! Have fun and start creating with artist-made videos.

Parents! Support your children to work and think like artists while building their academic skills and confidence.

 
  • Parents and kids with smiling faces holding up art they made together.
    Visit the kids and families page
    • Visual arts activities
    • Storymaking through physical expression & dramatic play
    • Puppet making
    • Puppetry & storytelling
    • Information about family workshops
    Resources for kids and families here
  • Artist looks intensely at a piece of paper he is holding up that he has been drawing lines on with his pencil that is also pressed to the page.
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/hK_A1mHC830

    Explore Drawing Lines with Chris!

    Teaching Artist Chris Ignacio invites kids at home to be curious about their pencils and the lines they can draw!
    More visual arts videos
  • Teaching srtist Psacoya Guinn pretends to catch and grasp stars in her hand while animated stars appear overlayed.
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/zXt3DH0zFak

    Let’s go to outerspace!

    Take a journey to outer space using your imagination and your 5-senses with teaching artist Psacoya Guinn.
    More dramatic play videos
 

Funders

Bridges was made possible by funding from the United States Department of Education:

  • Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination Grant: 2018-2022
  • Professional Development in Arts Education Grant: 2014-2018
 
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