'Let Your Style Take Shape' for Teachers Nationwide

'Let Your Style Take Shape' for Teachers Nationwide VSA arts and Lifetime Learning Systems(R), Inc. Partner to Help Students Improve Math Skills Through the Arts WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- VSA arts, and Lifetime Learning Systems, Inc. today announced a new education program designed to help students in grades five through eight improve their math skills through the arts. The program -- Let Your Style Take Shape -- is now available free to classrooms nationwide. VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the participation of people with disabilities in the arts; and Lifetime Learning Systems, Inc. is a leader in the development of unique educational programs. Let Your Style Take Shape provides suggestions for creating inclusive educational environments and cross-curricular lessons that meet national standards for both math and the visual arts. "Through the arts, children develop critical cognitive, literacy, and social skills that excite them about learning and lay the foundation for academic and professional success," said Soula Antoniou, president of VSA arts. "This new education program includes teaching strategies and lesson plans designed to encourage math, art, and special education teachers to use the arts as a teaching strategy in order to reach students with varied learning styles and abilities." Let Your Style Take Shape introduces students to successful visual artist and art teacher, Kong Ho, his work and his disability. As a result of polio, Ho uses heavy leg braces for walking. The images in Ho's artwork are influenced by his interest in patterns found through math and science. His unique integration of art and math inspired VSA arts and Lifetime Learning Systems to develop the education program. Through the lesson plans, students can use Ho's artwork to further explore the many places math can be found in nature and use this knowledge to create their own designs. "We believe this curriculum will help middle school students build their confidence in their math skills, plus look at math in a different way," said Katy Dobbs, editorial director for Lifetime Learning Systems, Inc., a division of Weekly Reader. The Let Your Style Take Shape education program includes a four-page teacher's guide, four reproducible student activities, a wall poster, a program evaluation form, and an educator's reply card. For more information about Let Your Style Take Shape, and to download a free copy of the teacher's guide, please visit http://www.vsarts.org/. About WRC Consumer and Custom Publishing Group WRC Consumer and Custom Publishing Group includes the custom educational publishing company Lifetime Learning Systems(R) (Lifetime). Lifetime is the recognized leader in developing unique educational programs customized for sponsors such as corporations, nonprofit associations and government agencies that want to cost effectively reach target audiences through established channels. WRC Consumer and Custom Publishing Group is part of WRC Media Inc., a leading publishing and media company that creates and distributes innovative supplementary education materials for the school, library, and home markets. In addition to WRC Consumer and Custom Publishing Group, WRC Media's operating companies include AGS Publishing, CompassLearning(R), Weekly Reader Corporation, and World Almanac Education Group, Inc., which together market some of the best-known brands in educational publishing. About VSA arts Founded in 1974, VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the participation of people with disabilities in the arts. A leader in arts based teaching and learning, VSA arts' programs support key national education goals: literacy and school readiness, teacher training, and parental involvement in education. Working through a network of affiliates nationwide and in more than 60 countries, VSA arts' programs focus on engaging students in the arts by helping teachers create more inclusive learning experiences for students of all abilities; empowering artists with disabilities by encouraging their career paths; and supporting arts access by promoting complete access to community cultural facilities and activities for people with disabilities. VSA arts is the creator of Start with the Arts(C), a comprehensive early childhood learning resource for classrooms that encourages the development of literacy and school readiness skills; Express Diversity!(C), a program of instructional materials for increasing disability awareness through the arts; and the VSA arts Institute, professional development training for teachers, teaching artists, and arts administrators offering arts based teaching strategies to include students with disabilities. To learn more about VSA arts, please visit http://www.vsarts.org/ Source: VSA arts CONTACT: Sue Kennedy of VSA arts, +1-202-742-3851, +1-202-628-2800, or suek@vsarts.org Web site: http://www.vsarts.org/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment