Elementary Art Curriculum

  • The courses of study contained within the Elementary Art Curriculum grades 1 through 6, have a Disciplined-Based Art Education (DBAE) structure. The disciplines of art history, art criticism, aesthetics/philosophy, and art production provide the four unifying strands in all art courses. Within each discipline, every course of study includes a scope & sequence and a detailed pacing guide to aid the art teacher in creating unit and lesson plans that are sequential in nature. Students will build skills gradually, which will help expand their knowledge base about art and the world, as they will have a wide variety of experiences in the visual arts. The knowledge and skills that every student will gain through these courses of study will lay the foundation for a deeper study of art at the secondary level. All units of study align with the PA visual arts standards & employ the creative process, with specific, daily, and ongoing formative feedback. This Creative cycle is a progression that will repeat until a point of completion is determined.

    • Inspire & Research
    • Plan, Sketch, and Practice
    • Envision, Create & Revise
    • Share, Reflect and Assess
     
     

    Grade 1 artwork First Grade

    First-grade students will be given the opportunity to develop a vocabulary that will enable them to begin to develop the skills necessary to describe various artworks.  Students will learn how to use lines, shapes, and colors to convey meaning.  They will explore a variety of subject matters and become aware of their cultural and environmental influences.  First-grade artists will explore Eastern and Western artists.   

     

    Grade 2 Stilllife Second Grade

     

    Students at the second-grade level will build on skills acquired in first grade as they learn new skills and techniques with an emphasis on the elements of art focusing on texture and shape.  Students will have introductory and developmental experiences in printmaking, drawing, painting, three-dimensional craft processes, art history, and art criticism.  Students will learn to differentiate among the functional and decorative arts of European American and Indigenous People.  Students will expand their art vocabulary enabling them to extend their descriptive language. 

     
     
     
    Grade 3 artwork

    Third Grade

    Third-grade student students will continue to develop knowledge and skills that will encourage a deeper understanding of art history, production, criticism, and aesthetics. The design elements of color, value, shape, and form will be explored. Students will be given the opportunity to practice various 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional media techniques to express ideas. They will learn how to recognize and create special relationships in the artwork. While students will learn how to use these design elements in their own work, the students will also learn how to formulate a subject and/or objective statement, and how to provide specific reasons to support such statements. Students will be involved in art history activities which will integrate their study of  Egyptian, Greek and Roman art with tier Social Studies units. 

     
     
     
    Grade 4 artwork

    Fourth Grade

    Fourth grade students will continue to develop the knowledge and skills needed to produce more advanced and successful work in Art.  Emphasis will be placed upon the development of critical and artistic skills emphasizing the elements of space, form, and color.  Complex color systems will be investigated, as well as systems of perspective.  Specific drawing techniques in pastels will be taught, and students will explore the use of visual symbols within artworks while expanding their artistic vocabulary.  Students will explore the role of the art historian and will study the art history of the Medieval and Renaissance worlds.  Additionally, students will be involved in art history activities which will integrate their study of Pennsylvania and Bucks County art and artists with their Social Studies unit of Pennsylvania. 

     
    Grade 5 artwork

    Fifth Grade

    Students at the fifth-grade level will build upon the knowledge and skills acquired in the first through fourth grades as they learn new skills and techniques with an emphasis upon an understanding of color, value, and perspective.  Students will have developmental experiences in drawing, painting, three-dimensional form, art history, and art criticism.  Specific drawing and painting techniques will be taught in order to aid the students to attain a certain degree of realism I their work, and to depict ideas and emotions.  Basic color theory will be emphasized in order to help student to understand the role that lighting plays in our perception of objects.  Students will also explore the art of the 18th and 19th centuries in relation to their studies of studio techniques.  Students will also explore the processes that art historians use to attribute works of art to specific artists and/or cultures.  Finally, students will become involved in the initial phases of writing about artworks (art criticism) employing the same steps as the art critic. 

     
     
    Grade 6 artwork

    Sixth Grade

    Students at the sixth-grade level will build on skills acquired in the first through fifth grades as they learn new skills and techniques, emphasizing the elements and principles of design focusing on Compositional Balance.  Students will have developmental experiences in drawing, printmaking, three-dimensional form, art history, art criticism, and analysis of a work of art.  Students will explore historical interpretations of Modern Art, suggesting what the visual content of that artwork may have meant to the people of the 20th Century.  Additionally, students will analyze compositional elements present in a work of art while expanding their artistic vocabulary.