Visual Art Standards Themes and Corresponding Strategies

Visual Art Standards Themes and Corresponding Strategies
Theme	Strategies
Creative involvement and expression	Rotate materials in the art center so that children are exposed to a variety of media, techniques, and processes. Involve children in conversation about materialsfor example, talking about how drawing with chalk produces results that are different from drawing with markers, or what happens if the side of a crayon is used rather than the point. Include a florist as one of the classroom jobs; keep a selection of real or artificial flowers and greenery and a variety of interesting items on hand. Create a file box with interesting pictures, photographs, and postcards that children can use for reference and that include images contributed by children and their families. Display interesting items in the art area with a variety of shapes, textures, and colors. Take “drawing walks” with clipboards and encourage children to draw what they see. (Always take clipboards/paper on field trips!) Collect interesting natural items such as leaves, flowers, and seashells for collages. Press flowers and leaves between sheets of waxed paper.
Performing and sharing	Ask children to describe what they are working on and transcribe their comments on the back or create a label with their words for three-dimensional work. Ask about art children might see at homeon the wall or collected by their parents. Make blank books with different topics such as animals, flowers, and birds and encourage children to contribute pages. Regularly display childrens artwork in the classroom and hallways with labels that represent how the children describe their work. Be on the lookout for picture frames at garage sales and use them for displays, so that children understand that their work is important. Periodically involve the children in creating a mural or group sculpture that will promote group discussion and decision making.
Responding to the work of others	Look at artwork during group times and ask children to describe it, noting differences in the responses they provide. Display original art or reproductions representative of the cultures of the children in the group and artists from the local region. Invite a local artist to visit the classroom. Visit an art museum, local gallery, or community festival where art will be on display. Look at pictures of art from earlier periods in history. Provide books and display examples of art from different cultures. Display a piece of artwork with a poster (or sticky note for each child) that includes each childs comments about it.
Making connections with other areas of the arts and curriculum	Periodically, use opportunities to create artwork for a particular purpose, such as a school event, greeting cards, or “get well” cards. Go on a walk and point out different ways art is displayed in the environment, such as murals, signs or advertising posters, artwork in an office, or a sculpture in a park. Include examples of art in other interest areas, such as botanical prints in the science area, framed book jacket covers or posters in the book corner, an art print from the cubist period in the math center, etc. Display examples of artworks that serve different purposes, such as a calendar, framed decorative print, wallpaper, printed fabrics, or CD covers. Play music while children are engaged in the art center or encourage them to respond to music with different kinds of media. Involve children in making props or backdrops for the dramatic play center or child-created skits or plays.