Kindergarten The study of Visual Arts begins in kindergarten with the introduction of skills and concepts that will be completely new for most of the children. Due to the children’s different developmental levels when entering kindergarten, it is expected that this year will emphasize joyful exploration and discovery; mastery is a process that will require repetition at subsequent grade levels.
The emphasis at this grade level is on:
Personal experience and/or imagination
Exploring a variety of media (paint, pencil, markers, and clay) to develop fine and gross motor skills
Learning care and use of tools and equipment
Following safety rules
Family, five senses, counting, and retelling stories in pictures
Learning about a variety of artists and art forms, including architecture
Art elements – color, shape, and line
First Grade The study of Visual Arts is cumulative and sequential, to include learning introduced and emphasized at previous grade levels.
The emphasis at this grade level is on:
Teaching art using students’ favorite books
Recognizing that mistakes can be turned into creative opportunities
Repetition, pattern, geometric shapes, and texture
Telling and recording original stories through art
Observing how artists tell stories through their art
Second Grade The study of Visual Arts is cumulative and sequential, to include learning introduced and emphasized at previous grade levels.
The emphasis at this grade level is on:
Awareness of themselves and their own community
Trying a variety of techniques (collage, print, clay, drawing, paper maché) and imagery to enhance the design solution
Emphasis and movement
Weather and seasons
Recognizing how artists create moods/emotions in their work
Reality and fantasy
Third Grade The study of Visual Arts is cumulative and sequential, to include learning introduced and emphasized at previous grade levels.
The emphasis at this grade level is on:
Research and personal interests
Demonstrating ease in using a variety of media (paper maché, clay, paint, and pastels)
Use of space and balance in art
Fables and myths, measurement, calligraphy, plants
Differentiating between landscape, portrait, and still life
Fourth Grade The study of Visual Arts is cumulative and sequential, to include learning introduced and emphasized at previous grade levels.
The emphasis at this grade level is on:
The ability to organize and sequence
Incorporating multi-step processes (i.e. with clay: slab, fire, glaze)
Value
North Carolina history, animals, symmetry, narrative writing
Exploring the art of North Carolina
Recognizing the styles of artists (i.e. Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh)
Comparing and contrasting art movements
Fifth Grade The study of Visual Arts is cumulative and sequential, to include learning introduced and emphasized at previous grade levels.
The emphasis at this grade level is on:
Integrating and synthesizing subject matter, current events
Evaluating results and recognizing which media will be successful in given situations
