The goal of the Westfield Intermediate Visual Arts Curriculum is to develop an awareness
and appreciation of the visual arts in every learner for grades 6, 7, and 8. Sixth Grade Art
is a required half-year course designed to improve and enhance creative thinking skills and
to provide students with a continuation of artistic skills developed in their primary schools.
Students continue to learn aesthetic guidelines, art as inquiry, art in history and context
and creating art. Students are stimulated to grow creatively, intellectually and
emotionally through opportunities to discover, create and refine their individual artwork.
They make individual choices and creative decisions in their artwork throughout the
various lessons. Students are introduced to the fundamentals in the critique of art with a
culminating exercise at the completion of the course.
Students develop a portfolio displaying their work throughout the year. All students
experience a variety of materials and media. Sixth grade students are exposed to many
examples of influential artists of the twentieth century, contemporary works and art of
other cultures, including classical art examples for making connections to the tangible
projects they have created.
In addition to developing the necessary skills associated with art making, the disciplinebased
teaching approach of studio, history, aesthetics and criticism exposes students to the
diverse and rich cultures of our world, giving a better understanding of how different types
of art evolved. Students gain an understanding that art is an integral part of their total
environment and life experience, as well as develop an awareness, respect and
appreciation for the art of other cultures and eras.