artcurriculum

Arizona Arts Standards are rigorous

In brief, the Standards specify that by the time stu-dents have completed high school they should:

Be able to communicate at the essentials level in the four arts disciplines;

Be able to communicate proficiently in at least one art form;

Have an informed acquaintance with exemplary works of art from a variety of cultures and historical periods;

Be able to develop and communicate basic analyses of works of art.

Arts are Essential to Learning

The arts are a strong motivator for students to develop self discipline and social skills.

The arts are essential to an understanding of personal, local, national, and global cultures past and present.

The arts become essential learning tools by providing students “being there” experiences, experiences with emotional markers, experiences appropriate to different learning styles—all of which enhance motivation and make learning possible for the broad range of students in Arizona schools.

Each art form brings special ways of perceiving the world and mentally organizing and retrieving information—of thinking and problem solving.

Expression in the arts helps students develop cognitive and physical skills.

Art criticism helps students develop observation, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation skills that can be translated to other areas of study.

Arizona Arts Standards are integrated

A State School Board goal is to have innovative arts instruction integrated within in the four arts disciplines and across the other subject areas. Following are sample Third-grade Integrated Arts Standards. These Standards were prepared for AAAE as a way to facilitate local curriculum building. Italic items are categories sequenced across grade levels.

Creating Arts

Students know and apply the arts disciplines, techniques, and processes in original or interpretive work. Building on previous knowledge and skills, they:

Describe arts elements (review and new) and simple arts structures; identify their process of creating (concept);

Demonstrate personal, social, and physical skills tHat prepare them for the role of the artist as communicator;

Perform, in informal settings, dances and music from diverse cultures, improvised scenes, display art works, in informal settings;

Improvise, in the classroom, dance movement, musical ostinatos, and dramatic stories;

Create simple art works, expanding on media and techniques, to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.

Art in Context

Students analyze works of ad from their own and other cultures and demonstrate how interrelated conditions (social, economic, political, historical) influence the development and reception of thought, ideas, and concepts in the arts. Building on previous knowledge and skills, they:

Describe the role of arts and artists in their community and countries being studied (function);

Describe arts elements in exemplary art works (dance, music, theater, and visual art) from or about selected cultures;

Identify sources from their culture that serve as motivation for dance, music, theatre, and visual art works (interactive effects of art and culture).

Art as Inquiry

Students reflect upon the concepts and themes and assess the merits of their own work and the work of others. Building on previous knowledge and skills, they:

Describe the interactive role of the artist and the audience in the communication of ideas, feelings, experiences, and stories (concepts);

Describe their own art work and what they saw and heard in the creations and performances of others, identifying basic art elements;

Analyze the basic elements of an ad work or performance to explain what is communicated to them;

Reflect on the meaning art works have for them (interpretation);

Continue to be a respectful audience