The desire to create art springs from a child’s experiences, observations and imagination.
In Art class children are given an opportunity to express themselves in a two-dimensional (example: paper) or three-dimensional (example: sculpture) visual way.
This is accomplished by:
- Development of manual skills
- Use of various techniques and tools that are developmentally appropriate for the age level and abilities of the child
- Looking and learning about art, artists and artistic styles
- Projects emphasizing the elements of good design, color, shape, line, value and texture
- Emphasis on process, not product of making art
- Allowing the child to make choices and experiment with various mediums
- Verbal discussion of creative problems and solutions
- Appreciation of classmates’ work and differing perspectives
- Demonstration of technique where applicable
- Positive encouragement and guidance
Visual Arts Benchmarks
Kindergarten
By the time your child completes Kindergarten, s/he will be able to:
- Recognize and describe patterns found in environment and works of art
- Name art material
- Describe how artists use tints and shades in painting
- Describe theme, genre, and differences in artworks
- Identify the elements of art (line, color, shape, texture, pattern)
- Observe elements of art in nature
- Use lines to create shapes
- Use lines, shapes, and colors to make patterns
- Make a collage
- Mix secondary colors from primary colors
- Demonstrate beginning skill with sculpture
- Use basic art making tools: print making equipment, brushes, scissors, glue
- Use art media including oil pastels, water colors, tempera, clay, markers, pastels
- Explore art ideas in personal sketch book
- Express ideas about family and neighborhood
- Express feelings in drawings
- Use geometric shapes
- Create a work of art using warm or cool colors
- Use symmetry to create visual balance
- Create an original artwork using a printing process
- Self-assess artwork using art language
Grade 1
Skills and concepts introduced in Kindergarten will be extended, practiced, and refined. In addition, your child will be able to:
- Recognize and describe characteristics of abstract and representational art
- Create a representational sculpture based on people, animals, or buildings
- Paint and draw a landscape
- Create a pinch pot ceramic vessel/Native American studies
Grade 2
Skills and concepts introduced in Grade 1 will be extended, practiced, and refined. In addition, your child will be able to:
- Describe concept of proportion
- Use conventions of facial and figure proportions in a figure study
- Use various observational drawing skills to depict a variety of subject matter
- Use conventions to create an expressive portrait, figured drawing, or painting
- Paint a seascape
Grade 3
Skills and concepts introduced in Grade 2 will be extended, practiced, and refined. In addition, your child will be able to:
- Create a Japanese tea bowl/Asian studies
- Describe how artists use tints and shades in painting
- Create a color wheel using tempera paints
- Identify and describe foreground, middle-ground, and background
- Write an artist’s biographical essay
- Identify complementary colors
- Mix and apply tempera paints to create tints, shades, and neutral colors
- Depict the illusion of depth in artwork, using overlapping shapes, relative size, and placement in the picture plane
- Create a ceramic relief sculpture
Grade 4
Skills and concepts introduced in Grade 3 will be extended, practiced, and refined. In addition, your child will be able to:
- Describe how negative and positive shapes are used in artwork – use concept to create linoleum print
- Use tools safely
- Create a slab construction sushi tray with nature/
- Use shading (value) to transform a two-dimensional shape into what appears to be a three dimensional figure
- Assemble a found object sculpture or a mixed media two-dimensional composition
Grade 5
Skills and concepts introduced in Grade 4 will be extended, practiced, and refined. In addition, your child will be able to:
- Create a ceramic slab container with personal image
- Use one point perspective to create the illusion of space
- Create gesture and contour observational drawings
- Apply the rules of three point perspective in creating a work of art
- Use perspective in an original work of art to create a scene
Grade 6
Skills and concepts introduced in Grade 5 will be extended, practiced, and refined. In addition, your child will be able to:
- Demonstrate beginning skill in manipulation of digital imagery
- Use various media to connect with World Civilization studies
Create an original ceramic tile using personal imag




