Arts Integration & Project Based Learning
With a background in Arts in Education and Special Education, Kristin Anclien uses creative disciplines as a way to help students connect with how they learn best. Through her work as Arts Integration Coordinator at Bridges Public Charter School and in her visual arts leadership at McLean School, she builds interdisciplinary projects that mix hands-on artmaking with core academics. By making art a natural part of the everyday classroom, she helps kids with all kinds of learning profiles build confidence, practice executive functioning skills, and find their own creative voice.While her work primarily leverages the arts as a catalyst for learning, Kristin has taught across all core subjects and contracted as a curriculum designer for social studies and language arts programs. She firmly believes that working toward sustained, real-world goals is key to helping students build lasting knowledge and skills.
Women of Congress Sticker Set
Social Studies X Visual Arts
Geography X Earth Science X Visual Arts
In 2017, 3rd graders at Bridges PCS in Washington, DC visited the Textile Museum at George Washington University. There, they learned about different fabrics and how they are used to make clothing. Students studied various geographic regions and the different climates that exist in different parts of the world. Then, drawing on what they learned about textiles, students designed clothing for people living in various climate zones. Clothing for Every Climate
Language Arts X History X Visual Arts
In 2026, 5th grade students at the McLean School studied impactful figures in history and learned research skills that helped them identify the lasting impacts that these important people have had on us today. In art class, students studied portraiture and learned acrylic painting and created small portraits of the figures that they studied. Using what they learned about symbolism and intention in art, they chose colors and designs for the backgrounds of their portraits that helped to bring further meaning to the figures they were studying.Tiny Portraits
The Good Morning McLean Show
Language Arts X Media Arts
At the McLean School, 7th Graders have an opportunity to participate in the creation of the Good Morning McLean Show, a video series that airs once a week during homeroom. Students collaborate to create the show from the ground up each semester-conducting market research, deciding on the concept, writing the content, recording their work, editing video and audio, creating their own set designs and logos, etc. In doing this work, they strengthen their skills in language arts in areas such as writing, speaking and listening, and presenting.
Civics X Visual Art
United Differences
United Differences Class of 2031 & Class of 2032 Mixed Media Collage October 2024
United Differences is a 10 ft x 5.26 ft mixed media collage created in the fall of 2024 by the 5th and 6th graders at the McLean
School in Potomac, Maryland. Students gathered tissue paper, construction paper, scraps of copy paper, and other recycled
materials. Next, they created various textures and designs on them using an array of materials such as acrylic paint, oil pastels,
crayons, and paper punchers. Students then worked together to assemble the paper pieces into the traditional stars and stripes
pattern of the American flag.What do the artists want you to notice about this work?
It is important to the artists that people notice that each piece of this artwork is unique. They would like for the viewer to see that
the coming together of different pieces, which may or may not be beautiful alone, are united here to create a magnificent and
stunning work of art.“I want people to notice all of the differences put into it and all of the beautiful things in it?” -Nadia ‘32“[I want people to notice] our personalities and our unique artwork. Different people have different meanings of art.” -Brady ‘32“I want people to see the detail, the texture, and I just want people to take 30 seconds and notice it.” -Hana ‘31“Just like America, this project has been torn apart and joined together again.” -Misho ‘31“I want them to notice that America is a good place.” -Jalea ‘31“That it’s made by people collaborating.” - Trey ‘32“What I want people to notice about the flag is that we worked hard on it and everyone had a different idea of the same thing.” -Charlotte ‘32What does this work represent?
Throughout this project, students discussed their feelings, trepidations, and hopes about our country and what our flag represents, has represented, and could represent. Students learned that art can be both a celebration and a protest. We discussed how the difference in our opinions are represented in the pieces that make up our flag, and when we work together, our differences can come together in positive ways.“It represents McLean’s community of 5th and 6th grade and it represents all the differences and all the beautiful things people put into it and it also represents our country.” -Nadia ‘32“Freedom to live in peace.” -Maya ‘32“That election day is coming.” -Nicho ‘32“We the people and everyone’s strengths and differences.” -Jo ‘32“Our differences and our similarities.” -Matias ‘32“It represents the hardships and the good moments that we had in this country over the years.” -Jamie ‘31“To me our flag artwork represents freedom, opinion, perspective, and diversity.” -Avi ‘32
Language Arts
Even Weirder Stuff Happened is a compendium of stories by 7th grade students at the McLean School. Students set out to write children’s stories to share with students at the McLean lower school campus. Seventh grade students worked individually or in pairs to craft their stories from scratch drawing from what they learned about theme, conflict, rising and falling action, and character development.
Students presented their work at a book festival where selected students read their work aloud for an audience.Even Weirder Stuff Happened
