This paper focuses on two questions: (1) Can visual arts be an effective way for students to express what they have learned in social studies?; and (2) Can creative activity improve motivation, participation, attitude, and enhance learning in social studies? The sample for study was drawn from 75 fifth-graders in 3 classes in a school located in a predominantly blue-collar neighborhood of California. The ethnic breakdown was 63% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 3% African American, and 31% Caucasian. The principal investigator teaches social studies and art to all three fifth-grade classes from which the sample was drawn. A teacher's log of anecdotal records and comparison of student work before and after the integration of art into social studies were the research methods used. The topic for student study was a unit on world explorers, coupled with a discipline-based art education less on on Marc Chagall with students then creating their own interpretations of their favorite explorer. The study concludes that visual art increases understanding of social studies by giving students an opportunity to process information two ways, verbally and visually. (EH)