In this article, the authors recount their experience designing a program for one of their restructured middle schools that reflects a national movement in middle level reform. Inspired by Howard Garner's (1993) theory of multiple intelligences, the authors, together with a team of teachers, administrators and parents in their small mid-western urban school district, designed the arts-integrated thematic unit for the 51 sixth graders in the pilot program. The authors describe how they created the thematic units and how the students increased their interest in attending school. The authors' experience in designing and implementing the program that integrates the arts with the core academic curriculum demonstrates that it is possible to energize teachers to provide instruction that engages students, keeps them excited, and keeps them learning. (Contains 7 figures.)