Curriculum
Visual Arts
Grades 1-3
The study of visual arts begins with the introduction of skills and concepts that may be new for many of the children. Because of the children’s different developmental levels when entering Grade 1, it is expected that this year will emphasize joyful exploration and discovery. The program should expose children to many manipulative materials and encourage exploration with them in a wide variety of open-ended ways. Mass-produced stereotypical images (e.g., identical jack-o’-lanterns pre-cut by adults) have no place in the program. Such materials provide no or limited opportunities for self-expression and the development of a sense of creative empowerment. Similarly, colouring-in activities and photocopied patterns to cut out limit creativity and are developmentally inappropriate. Primary students work with colour emotionally or randomly. They should have opportunities to look at, feel, and interact with stimuli and to create an individualized response based on their own observations. In Grades 1, 2, and 3, students begin to explore art in the world around them, to understand that people all over the world create and enjoy art, and to develop the ability to communicate about their immediate environment and interests through visual images. They engage in a variety of drawing, painting, print- making, and sculpting activities and are introduced to and learn to use a variety of art tools, materials, and techniques. They learn about some of the elements and principles of design and begin to describe how the elements are used by artists. They generate and develop visual ideas, using imagination, observation, and experiments with materials. And they apply their knowledge of design elements and principles to create works of art that tell stories and express thoughts, feelings, and insights.
*The above information is from page 63 of The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8: The Arts
Grades 4-5
In Grades 4 to 5, students apply the elements of design to communicate for a variety
of purposes and on a variety of themes. The focus of visual arts in these grades is to help students extend their exploration of relationships and personal experience in their own world. Students use a broader range of subject matter and media (tools, materials, processes, and techniques) to produce works of art. They grow more sophisticated in depicting movement, spatial relationships, and emotions. Students at this age display increased manual dexterity; however, their skills may not keep pace with their desire for increasingly elaborate work. This may lead to self-consciousness and insecurity about their artistic ability. The teacher’s role at this stage is to provide a positive working environment, facilitate the growth of technical skills and observational skills, and help students recognize that mistakes can be turned into creative opportunities.
Students use their knowledge of the elements and principles of design to solve artistic problems and analyse works of art. They generate and develop visual ideas in response to a variety of motivations, using imagination, observation, and a study of artists’ works, and incorporate into their art ideas gained from sources such as independent reading.
Students explore and describe how different media influence the communication and interpretation of ideas in their own and others’ work. They look beyond the surface meaning of art works and observe not only what is present but what is missing, in order to analyse and evaluate an artist’s intent. They also analyse and describe how art-making processes and procedures clarify meaning and intentions in their own and others’ work and observe how artists tell stories and create mood in their work. Students use their growing analytical and evaluative skills to investigate the purpose(s) and significance of objects, images, and art works in past and present cultures and to examine the contexts in which they were or are made, viewed, and valued.
*The above information is from page 97 of The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8: The Arts
Grades 1-3
The study of visual arts begins with the introduction of skills and concepts that may be new for many of the children. Because of the children’s different developmental levels when entering Grade 1, it is expected that this year will emphasize joyful exploration and discovery. The program should expose children to many manipulative materials and encourage exploration with them in a wide variety of open-ended ways. Mass-produced stereotypical images (e.g., identical jack-o’-lanterns pre-cut by adults) have no place in the program. Such materials provide no or limited opportunities for self-expression and the development of a sense of creative empowerment. Similarly, colouring-in activities and photocopied patterns to cut out limit creativity and are developmentally inappropriate. Primary students work with colour emotionally or randomly. They should have opportunities to look at, feel, and interact with stimuli and to create an individualized response based on their own observations. In Grades 1, 2, and 3, students begin to explore art in the world around them, to understand that people all over the world create and enjoy art, and to develop the ability to communicate about their immediate environment and interests through visual images. They engage in a variety of drawing, painting, print- making, and sculpting activities and are introduced to and learn to use a variety of art tools, materials, and techniques. They learn about some of the elements and principles of design and begin to describe how the elements are used by artists. They generate and develop visual ideas, using imagination, observation, and experiments with materials. And they apply their knowledge of design elements and principles to create works of art that tell stories and express thoughts, feelings, and insights.
*The above information is from page 63 of The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8: The Arts
Grades 4-5
In Grades 4 to 5, students apply the elements of design to communicate for a variety
of purposes and on a variety of themes. The focus of visual arts in these grades is to help students extend their exploration of relationships and personal experience in their own world. Students use a broader range of subject matter and media (tools, materials, processes, and techniques) to produce works of art. They grow more sophisticated in depicting movement, spatial relationships, and emotions. Students at this age display increased manual dexterity; however, their skills may not keep pace with their desire for increasingly elaborate work. This may lead to self-consciousness and insecurity about their artistic ability. The teacher’s role at this stage is to provide a positive working environment, facilitate the growth of technical skills and observational skills, and help students recognize that mistakes can be turned into creative opportunities.
Students use their knowledge of the elements and principles of design to solve artistic problems and analyse works of art. They generate and develop visual ideas in response to a variety of motivations, using imagination, observation, and a study of artists’ works, and incorporate into their art ideas gained from sources such as independent reading.
Students explore and describe how different media influence the communication and interpretation of ideas in their own and others’ work. They look beyond the surface meaning of art works and observe not only what is present but what is missing, in order to analyse and evaluate an artist’s intent. They also analyse and describe how art-making processes and procedures clarify meaning and intentions in their own and others’ work and observe how artists tell stories and create mood in their work. Students use their growing analytical and evaluative skills to investigate the purpose(s) and significance of objects, images, and art works in past and present cultures and to examine the contexts in which they were or are made, viewed, and valued.
*The above information is from page 97 of The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8: The Arts