Art in Elementary School

Painting by PST

An art curriculum is an extensive result of research from resources and dedication to the development of a guideline in art lessons adopted by the school district. Many of these lessons are influenced by the many classroom teachers that offer input on the national and state standards. This standard is used to plan art classes, integrate art and other studies like language arts and social studies.

Teachers are encouraged to develop an approach where he or she will use a theme to influence the area of study. These resources are influenced by artists locally and historical in the profession. Local artist are asked to volunteer their time to introduce the many practices in the art curriculum. Students tend to learn more and enjoy meeting local artists and experiencing the knowledge the artist offers or the talent visualized by the students with the encouragement of the artist. This can promote art as a specialized field that students would choose as a career.

Introduction

The National Standards for Arts Education (NSAE) was published in 1994. I was an elementary reading specialist at the time, and researched this extensively. What I can remember is the NSAE defined that every young American should know what they could do in the arts. This was a cumulative collaboration of worldwide educators in developing these standards. These standards were published and later accepted officially by the U.S. Department of Education. Fortunately, every state was given the freedom to define content specific to the individual needs of each state. 

Before After

Standards have been written to guide students through instructional sequencing of instruction that will allow them to understand the elements and principles of art, as well as art performance, historical, and cultural context of the arts.

In these two photos the students look at a blank canvas. Then the students differentiate what they would like the space to look like when they are finished. In this example, the students wished to make a 3-D bulletin board that reflects a spring setting. Studies in critical response, enables the students to understand how to determine the techniques and to compare and contrast works in the arts to give them a scene in 3-D. The studies performed in aesthetic response enables the children in understanding the emotional impact of the art. In this example the students saw a natural setting in nature. The content standards are measured through a sequencing process. Each aspect of this board was executed on a sequenced table enabling the students to understand how the space is created by a series of events. 

In this appreciation to art, the context of understanding how nature is created can be assessed. The enjoyment of creating this scene was implicit in the process, and the students made an educated decision in the art. Another process was adding a sensory to the context of the lesson. At the end of the project, the first instructor distracted the children in imagining that the student's were at this scene by having the second instructor spray a room freshener that was scented with a country essence. When the children focused on the bulletin board instead of the discussion, some students imagined they could smell the flowers, the wind, trees, and some of the elements in the art. This sensory effect can implant the process in enjoying the creation of artistic development at an early age. This project was made at a kindergarten level so the experience would begin early in the student's life.  

The curriculum that follows was designed to accomplish the needs of all students at the elementary school level. This curriculum meets the national and state standards as it adapts to local resources and the demographic differences among socioeconomic class requirements in the district. These concepts can be measurable, so the lessons can be taught through instructional plans driven and standards based for assessment. These lessons are designed for all students to teach context with other subject areas. This provides a comprehensive foundation for arts. The following list is created by the N.S.A.E. to use during early education. 

In standards of art, the student will:

Explore the use of markers, crayons, and pencils

Experiment with a variety of methods of applying paint

Participate in various cutting and pasting experiences

Create patterns and designs using printmaking methods

Use modeling materials to create shapes and textures

Create forms from paper

Create sculptures

Build structures using blocks, boxes, or other materials

Develop pride in his/her work

Show respect for the others’ work

Clean up after an activity

Use materials safely

Design and Function

Students will begin to develop a perception of the elements of design, i.e., shapes, colors, and lines

Make and use shapes to create artwork

Use primary colors

Mix primary colors to create and use secondary colors

Use of design elements to create artwork

Content and Creative Expression

The student will identify and use representational subjects in artwork, e.g., family, friends,

Animals, plants

Create artworks based on personal experiences and familiar

People/things/places

Create artworks based on imagination

Art Heritage

The student will view and discuss artworks from different cultures and eras

View and discuss religious art

Learn about places where art is displayed

Begin to develop an awareness of art in the home, school, and church

Inquiry in the Arts

The student will have an opportunity to view a variety of artworks

Discuss and ask questions about artworks presented in class

Discuss the subject matter of artworks presented in class

Discuss the subject matter of his or her individual work

Inter-Disciplinary Study

The student will participate in lessons integrating art with other subject