Parent's Guide - Visual Art

Art is at the core of universal communication

Art education in the Woodbridge School District is at the core of the educational experience for students in kindergarten through grade six. Art is a universal language that crosses all disciplines, culture and history. Art teachers provide the catalyst for student learning, problem solving, and expression of the child's unique creativity, interests, abilities, and emotions. Art should also provide experiences that enable children to use their talents to construct new ways of seeing. The inventive spirit is an important attribute in the visual field where ideas form the work. Students learn to become critical observers of their environment and understand that art is an integral part of their everyday lives. It's in the clothes they wear, the cars they will drive, the movies they see, and the buildings they enter.
Students educated in art are able to invent, reflect, and set quality standards for their artistic growth and development. They are able to articulate the meaning of their artwork and that of artists they have studied.
The collaborative, cooperative, and visually stimulating atmosphere of the art classroom provides the opportunity to develop teamwork, self-esteem, and creates a positive, inclusive school atmosphere.
Art has always been the indicator of a civilization's level of achievement. Through the study of visual art, we gain an understanding and appreciation for the history, values and contributions of many civilizations and cultures.

 What you can do to encourage visual arts

  • Encourage children to always to do their own work.
  • Exhibit all the children's work.
  • Teach children to be independent.
  • Encourage children to be original and inventive.
  • Encourage children to finish their work.
  • Encourage children to talk and write about theirwork.
  • Provide ample time and opportunity to engage in theprocess.
  • Encourage children to be observant and aware ofvisual characteristics of real objects and pictures.
  • Teach children to care for and clean up materials
  • Teach children to concentrate on their thinking andfeeling.
  • Encourage children to be imaginative
  • Encourage children to experiment with materials.
  • When drawing, use real objects as models whenpossible, rather than drawings by others. Keep a fileof photographs on many subjects (animals, travel,food, eyes, noses, etc.) to use as drawing models.
  • Always motivate with specific objectives in mind.
  • Encourage your child to think in new directions.
  • Point out and discuss works of art that you and yourchild encounter in daily life.
  • Go to art museums, galleries, exhibits, festivals,sculpture parks.
  • Save your child's art work.
  • Visit school to see the art works on display.
  • Take out or buy books about art and art history.
  • Get involved. Offer to volunteer in an art class inschool.
  • Consider summer art experiences (EU WhitneyMuseum, Creative Arts Workshop, Silvermlne Schoolin Norwalk, Beecher's Summer Enrichment Program)
  • "Tell me about your art," is a safer approach than saying, " Oh, that is a great dog," when in fact it is a horse.

Grade

Materials and
Techniques

Elements of Design

Process

Art History

Art Criticism

Interdisciplinary
Connections

 K• Drawing
• Painting
• Cutting and pasting
• Modeling
• Paper weaving
• Masks/
puppets 
• Art safety
• Mobiles
• Clay or dough

• Line
• Shape
• Colors:
• Primary
• Secondary
• Pattern
• Texture
• Scale

• Drawing:
- Crayon
- Markers
• Painting:
• Tempera
• Watercolor
• Collage
• Sponge painting 		• Master Artists
- Picasso
- Van Gogh 		 • Vocabulary
• Compare and contrast
• Describe own works

 

• Art and music
• Art and science
• Art and children’s books, fairy tales
• Art and world culture/ celebrations:
- Native America
- China
- Africa
 1• Drawing
• Painting
• Cutting and pasting
• Clay
- Doves or animals
• Paper weaving
• Masks/puppets
• 3D
• Art safety
• Mural
- dinosaurs
• Line
• Shape
• Color
• Primary
• Secondary
• Warm/cool
• Pattern
• Texture
• Space
• Symmetry
• Drawing:
- Landscape
- Figure
- Portrait
• Pencil
• Crayon
• Markers
• Chalk
• Painting:
- tempera
- watercolor
* wet on wet
* salt
* crayon resist
• Collage
• Stamping/Sponge Clay
• Master Artists
- Picasso
- Van Gogh
- Matisse
- Rousseau
- Monet
•Vocabulary
• Analyze and
reflect on
own works
• Self -expression
• Using personal
experience as
inspiration
• Art and music
• Art and science:
- dinosaurs
- frogs
• Art and language. arts
• Art and world culture/
celebrations
- Native America
- Japan
• Introduction to
architectural terms
 2• Drawing
• Painting
• Cutting, pasting, and
folding
• Paper reliefs
• Mural
• Clay
- pot
• Print making
- styrofoam print
- texture printing
• Weaving
• Masks/puppets
• 3D Form
• Clean up skills
• Mobiles
• Line
• Shape
• Color
• Primary
• Secondary
• Tertiary
• Pattern
• Texture
• Space
• Volume
• Proportion
• Abstract
• Drawing:
- texture
- figure
- nature
- landscape
- self-portrait
• Use of pencil, crayon,
pastels, markers,
charcoal
• Painting in tempera
and watercolors
• Collage
• Mixed media
• Stencils
• Master Artists
- Picasso
- Van Gogh
- Klee
- da Vinci
- Chagall
- Calder
•Vocabulary
• Analyze and reflect
on the works of the
masters and their
own
• Discuss work of
classmates
• Art and theater
• Art and science
- nutrition
• Art and book
illustration, esp.
Caldecott winners
• Art and world culture
and celebrations
- Native America
- China
- Australia
- Mexico
- Egypt
• Appearance of design
choices in daily life

 

Grade Stage of Artistic DevelopmentMaterials and TechniquesExperiences
 3Symbol Stage
• exaggeration of parts that are more important
• draw sky at top, air in middle, ground on
bottom
• objects are usually drawn on the ground line
near the bottom
• symbols for people tend to look alike
• children omit details they did not think about
• relate color to objects
• tempera paint
• variety of brush sizes
• variety of crayons
• assortment of paper types
• clay and other modeling materials
• colored chalks / oil pastels
• scrap materials
• glues, scissors, felt pens, pencils, ink pens
• Paris craft, papier mâché
• print-making materials
• self-portrait after study of Faith Ringold
• portraits of witches, goblins
• architecture
• impressionism through Vincent Van Gogh
• post-impressionism through Henri Matisse
• symmetry, positive and negative space
• illustration - exaggeration
• color theory: tints of red
• naming colors to create emotion
• Artists studied: Keith Haring, Jim Dine, Jasper
Johns
• clay: animals in motion; human figures
• paper sculpture
• Still life: Henri Matisse, Janet Fish, Paul Cezanne
• Hat design: Amiele Matisse
 4Realistic Stage
• figures more closely resemble visual reality
• overlap objects; make distant objects smaller
• make distant objects less intense in color
• use design qualities: repetition, color,
harmony, texture
• include many more objects and depict care-
fully observed details of objects
• watercolor paints
• tempera paints
• variety of brushes
• charcoal, pens, pencils, oil crayons and
pastels, wax crayons, felt-tip pens,
colored chalk
• paper of various sizes and textures
• print types: gadget, cardboard, linoleum,
silk screen, mono
• cloth of different textures, cardboard
boxes, papers, magazines, strings, fibers,
wire, wood, clay, found objects
• weaving and stitchery supplies
• self-portraits: the quilts of Gees Bend
• painting: Native-American portraits
• pattern: Native-American motifs to create patterns
through print making
• kachinas: wood sculpture and story writing
• clay: pinch method
• dragons: Chinese New Year group mural
• color theory: paper sculpture
• flower paintings through Georgia O'Keeffe
• industrial design inspired by natural forms
 5Realistic Stage
• figures more closely resemble visual reality
• overlap objects; make distant objects smaller
• make distant objects less intense in color
• use design qualities: repetition, color,
harmony, texture
• include many more objects and depict care-
fully observed details of objects

It is understood that each child
sees the world in their
own unique way.
Therefore, no two pieces of art
will ever be the same.

• self-portraits: the quilts of Gees Bend
• introduction to elements of design: shape, color,
line, value, texture
• composition: through David Hockney
• shape: positive and negative; leaf compositions
on paper or nature print paper
• texture: pattern and repetition through Louise
Nevelson
• color theory: pop art through Wayne Thiebaud
• value: perspective
• field trips: Yale Center for British Art including
artist study George Stubbs
• sculpture: pop art through Claes Oldenburg.
 6Realistic Stage
• figures more closely resemble visual reality
• overlap objects; make distant objects smaller
• make distant objects less intense in color
• use design qualities: repetition, color,
harmony, texture
• include many more objects and depict care-
fully observed details of objects
 
• self-portraits
• personal art journal
• review composition; parallel with writing and
music
• artist study: Chuck Close - realism, scale,
proportion, color theory
• abstraction: masks, makeup, fashion design
• cubism through Pablo Picasso
• pop art through Roy Lichtenstein
• surrealism through Salvador Dali and Chris Van
Allsburg
• political cartoons and art for political statement

o much in life is a matter of connected circumstances that comprise an interdependent web of people and ideas, which can motivate and spin into creative acts. The idea that art and life are inseparably intertwined like vines growing in and out of the branches of trees is predominant in our art curriculum at Beecher. Disciplined art skills and aesthetic awareness should enhance every area of life. Help your child discover art in the world around us: architecture, fashion and jewelry design, graphic design, the play of sunlight casting shadows of positive and negative shapes on the textured grass. Help your child understand the importance of respecting the differences between our own aesthetic choices and those of others. Parents are children's first teachers and therefore must learn how to promote sensory awareness and creativity in order to enhance affective and cognitive growth.
A studio atmosphere at home is a must. Art is a human necessity and, therefore, an environment where you and your child can participate in addressing visual problems, finding alternative materials for those that are unavailable, improvising, and creating. The studio should have plenty of collage materials, drawing surfaces, supplies, and blank papers giving it an atmosphere where problem solving, testing tools and materials, making mistakes, inventing, and reinventing can occur.
Information gathering cannot replace hands-on experience. The opportunity for guidance with studio practice is very important. Tactile manipulation is a fundamental necessity for human development. Adults should not be impatient. Do not encourage a fine product. It is the process that is key. Learning how to share experiences without being overly intrusive is an important skill in the art of doing anything together. When creating with your child, emphasize learning coexistence and respect for differences of both viewpoints and abilities.
Ideas do not magically come from thin air. Some of our deepest memories evolve from combined sensory impressions. Sensory impressions can be transformed from one medium to another. Practice with art materials sharpens sensory awareness in a manner that simply looking at things cannot. By doing art together, you can benefit from each other's insights and build from the collective strength of more than one mind. Emphasize trying new things and experimenting.
Learn to observe and communicate visually. Learn to transcribe personal feelings and thoughts into art media. It is crucial that your child feels that what they create is theirs, all theirs, and only theirs. This form of expression transcends barriers raised by verbal languages.
Become an advocate for arts education in school. Investigate Americans for The Arts at http://www.artsusa.org/.
Art is humanity’s most essential,
most universal language.
It is not a frill; but a necessary part of communication.
The quality of a civilization can be measured
through its music, dance, drama,
architecture, visual arts and literature.
We must give our children knowledge
and understanding of civilization’s
most profound work.
Dr. Ernest Boyer