K-8 visual art

 “Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” -Mary Lou Cook

Curriculum Overview

Our K–8 Visual Arts Curriculum provides a developmental pathway that nurtures creativity, technical skill, and cultural awareness through hands-on art-making and artistic expression. Students explore a wide range of materials and design principles as they progress from basic experimentation to more advanced applications. The curriculum emphasizes personal expression, critique, and reflection, encouraging learners to communicate ideas and emotions through their work. By connecting visual arts to history, culture, technology, and other disciplines, it fosters critical thinking, interdisciplinary learning, and an appreciation for the role of art in both personal growth and community life.

Core Goals

Creating (Methods, Materials, Techniques)

• By Grade 4:

  • Use diverse media and materials (crayons, paint, clay, papers, textiles), and understand their visual effects.

  • Produce 2D (drawing, collage, printmaking) and 3D (clay, paper, assemblage) artworks.

  • Learn and use appropriate art vocabulary.

  • Maintain and use tools and materials safely.

• By Grade 8:

  • Expand to a broader repertoire: 2D effects (transparent/opaque, washes, stippling, relief prints) and 3D works (mobiles, carvings, constructed forms).

  • Demonstrate awareness of a range of tools like pens, brushes, printmaking, and sculpting tools.

  • Continue using accurate vocabulary and practice responsible, safe studio habits.

Elements & Principles of Design

• By Grade 4:

  • Experiment with color, line, texture, shape, pattern, space, and composition.

• By Grade 8:

  • Identify and use color properties (hues, tints, tones, complementary/analogous/monochromatic relationships) via objective and abstract studies.

  • Utilize varied line types (contour, calligraphy, observational, imaginative) and differentiate real vs. illusionistic texture.

  • Create complex shapes/forms (organic, geometric, tessellations) and unified 2D/3D compositions using balance, rhythm, scale, proportion, unity, harmony, emphasis, and perspective.

Observation, Abstraction, Invention, & Expression

• By Grade 4:

  • Produce artwork from observation, memory, and imagination using various media.

• By Grade 8:

  • Create representational works to develop observational skills.

  • Employ symbolism in art to convey ideas or emotions (e.g., conflict vs. cooperation, happiness vs. grief).

  • Design abstract symbols that simplify environmental elements, inspired by architecture and craft.

Presenting, Drafting, Revising, Exhibiting & Responding (Combined Practices)

These cross-cutting practices involve:

• • Selecting, organizing, and refining artwork for display and interpretation.

  • Engaging in critique and reflection using art vocabulary and criteria.

  • These facets are embedded in foundational progressions and support analytical thinking and artistic growth.

Connecting (Cultural, Historical & Interdisciplinary Contexts)

Across All Grades (PreK–8):

• • Explore the purposes of art and why it is created.

  • Examine the roles of artists, patrons, and cultural institutions in society.

  • Analyze style, influence, and stylistic change across cultures and time periods.

  • Investigate how inventions and technologies impact artistic creation.

  • Make interdisciplinary connections with ELA, math, science, social studies, technology, engineering, and world languages.

The National Core Arts Standards were developed by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS). In each WRSD Elementary & Middle school music classroom, our team strives to expose students to the following learning objectives by grade 8:

Creating

• Anchor Standard 1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

• Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.

• Anchor Standard 3: Refine and complete artistic work.

Presenting

• Anchor Standard 4: Select, analyze, and interpret artistic work for presentation.

• Anchor Standard 5: Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation.

• Anchor Standard 6: Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work.

Responding

• Anchor Standard 7: Perceive and analyze artistic work.

• Anchor Standard 8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work.

• Anchor Standard 9: Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.
  
  

Connecting

• Anchor Standard 10: Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art.

• Anchor Standard 11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.

For a breakdown of the National Core Arts Standards: VISUAL ART K-8 Click HERE