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Curriculum Overview

Themes: We cycle through two thematic units, our Cultural Unit and our Time Travel or Movement Unit. Both themes incorporate the different careers in art.

  • On school years ending in odd years, students are presented art through different cultures. We travel the world together right inside the art room!  We will work our way through Pre-Columbian art, Native American art; European and American folk art, as well as folk art around the world; east Asia art; African art, including Egyptian; west Asia art; and art of the Aborigines. 
  • During school years beginning in even years, students travel through time learning about the different artist and the time frames or "art movements" they created their art. We explore Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Expressionism, Realism, Surrealism, Cubism, Fauvism, Renaissance, Art Nouveau, OP (optical illusion) Art, POP (popular) Art, and Abstract Art.

Student Centered: My students get to be THE ARTIST.  Try your hand at painting, drawing, printmaking, fashion design with textile or paper, 3D design, or collage.  I am a firm believer in allowing the students to make thoughtful and meaningful choices about their art as long as they follow the particular criteria being assessed. This can be difficult for some students which is why I am continually working on providing examples for those students and various projects.

Media used/Materials used: Throughout students' six years here at Forwood, they will all have the opportunity to work with pencil, markers, scissors, glue, watercolor, tempera paint, charcoal, air dry clay, beads, weaving, sculpture, portraiture, and more!  It is my goal to have each child's artwork on display at least once during the year. My goal is to have my students experience as many different types of art possibilities/mediums I have available. 

 

GRADING: 

  • National Core Art Standards and Delaware Core Arts Standards: Your child is assessed on their growth toward these standards on a 4 point scale. 4 meeting, 3 progressing, 2 needs improvement, 1 below the standard.  The Delaware Core Art Standards can be found at: https://www.deartsstandards.org/sites/default/files/Visual%20Arts%20at%20a%20Glance%20-%20new%20copyright%20info.pdf however, you are welcome to peruse the Arts "I Can" statements for the state that I and other arts teachers helped put in place to make understanding the standards a little easier here just be sure to click on the correct grade and arts subject. The art subjects on this page include: dance, media art, music, theater, and visual art.
  • Understanding of the Concept being taught:  4 meeting, 3 progressing, 2 needs improvement, 1 below the standard. 
  • The concept is the understanding of key vocabulary being taught.  Examples include but are not limited to: line, shape, landscape, portrait, still-life, sketch, symmetry, pattern, balance, movement, contrast, & emphasis.
  • Application of Skill: 4 meeting, 3 progressing, 2 needs improvement, 1 below the standard.
  • This is the way in which the student uses and applies the media. When a student does not have work to show the application grade can fall due to not being able to show they can properly apply the skills in that medium (painting with select types of paint, cutting, gluing, drawing, coloring-with various media, and materials with 3D skills)
  • Behavior: Students receive a separate grade for behavior. Behavior should not factor into a student’s ability.  At times, a student’s behavior of not participating, talking, or not doing the work assigned does have an effect on the other grades when the student has incomplete work or has no work at all.

Technology: I am very fortunate to have eight school iPads which my students use for Artsonia. Artsonia is an APP that I use to document students’ progress. I use this as a teaching tool for portfolios, photography, and students to learn from their own progress.

 

Blue Fox Art Exhibit: All students will be displayed at our Blue Fox Art Exhibit.* This is a student created exhibit.  In following with the age appropriate standards, my students select their artworks for this show, determine the responsibilities of the different people who work in art venues and have to prepare art shows, categorize artwork for our exhibit, identify exhibit space, determine how art should be displayed, take into considerations all the possible things that could affect the art, and how to safely and properly present artwork to name a few standards which help students gain a hands on knowledge of museum and art venue exhibitions.

*If your child's artwork is not in the exhibit it could be due to one of the following reasons: the student never wrote his/her name on any of the work, the child decided not to put artwork in the show, the student was absent on most of the days of the selection and hanging process and was unable to participate fully, or your child was not following our school rules of responsible, respectful, and safe during the entire three week process of preparing the show.