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Susan Riley

Susan Riley

About Susan Riley

Founder

Susan Riley is the Founder of the Institute for Arts Integration and STEAM. This is the world’s largest online resource for educators interested in integrating the arts. She has presented at events and authored articles for many educational organizations including The US Department of Education, Palmetto State Arts Education, Edutopia, Education Week, Americans for the Arts, ASCD, and NPR. She regularly presents at national and international events each year. She is the author of three books and is a sought-after collaborator for innovative educational projects around the globe. Susan brings creativity, practicality, dedication and passion to the education landscape. She is well-respected for her pioneering work in the fields of Arts Integration and STEAM education with a standards-based approach. As an educator who taught for 10 years in public schools, as well as served in central office leadership, she understands the fast-paced change, challenges and promise of 21st century schools. As an entrepreneur, she has successfully taken what was once a simple education blog and developed it into a rapidly-growing and highly-respected educational institution. The Institute now supports over 500,000 educators each month worldwide. Susan holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the prestigious Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ and a Master of Science in Education Administration from McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. She lives in Westminster, MD with her husband and daughter. Email Susan

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making room for better days
Resources

The Better Days Project

Mekhi Hill of The Better Days Project shares how to weave mental wellness into arts and STEAM lessons and help students find their voice.

Strategies

Direct and Defend

Direct and Defend asks students use blocking to build a visible argument about a story's arc, shape, and narrative momentum.

Strategies

Respond in Sequence

Respond in Sequence moves students from basic lists to movement-based timelines.

Strategies

Evaluate the Frame

Evaluate the Frame shows students that photography isn't neutral.

Strategies

Sequence and Storyboard

In Sequence and Storyboard, students plan out ideas visually, making narrative structure visible before writing their first word.

Strategies

Construct and Compare

Construct and Compare is a strategy showing how medium shapes a message.

Strategies

Freeze and Flow

Freeze and Flow keeps everything that makes freeze dance work and replaces the one thing that makes it purely a game: the randomness.

Strategies

Summarize, Synthesize, and Score

Summarize, Synthesize, and Score uses pitch, pace, and texture to convert students' understanding into an intentional score.

Strategies

Annotate the Image

Annotate the Image teaches students visual literacy.

Strategies

Micro-Doc

Micro-Doc asks students to create a 15-second, narration-free documentary with intentional editorial choices that have to do the work.

Strategies

Identity Palette

Identity Palette has students choose colors for aspects of who they are, then find where their palette overlaps with someone else's.

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