The Arts: Visual Arts

  Curriculum Standard 4

Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade four students will be able to:

• Know that the visual arts have both a history and a specific relationship to various cultures.



• Identify specific works of art in particular cultures, times, and places.



• Describe how history, culture, and visual arts influence each other.



• Create a work of art that reflects an understanding of how history or culture can influence visual art.

Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade eight students will be able to:

• C ompare the characteristics of works of art representing various cultures, historical periods, and artists.



• Describe and place a variety of art objects by style and artist, and by historical and cultural contexts.



• Describe how a given work of art can be interpreted differently in various cultures and time.



• Analyze, describe, and demonstrate how factors of time and place influence visual characteristics that give meaning and value to a work of art.

Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade twelve students will be able to:

• Differentiate among a variety of historical and cultural contexts in terms of characteristics and purposes of works of art.



• Analyze relationships among works of art in terms of history, aesthetics, and culture, using their observations to inform their own art making.



• Understand various critical models of interpreting works from several historical periods and cultures.



• Analyze common characteristics of visual arts evident across time and among cultural/ethnic groups to formulate analyses, evaluations, and interpretations of meaning.

  Curriculum Standard 5

• Identify various purposes for creating works of art.



• Describe how people’s experiences influence the development of specific art works.



• Understand that people may respond in different and equally valid ways to specific art works.



• Describe their personal responses to specific works of art using visual art terminology.

Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade eight students will be able to:

• Compare multiple purposes for creating works of art.



• Analyze the meanings of contemporary and historic artworks.



• Evaluate the quality and effectiveness of their own and others’ work by using specific criteria.



• Compare a variety of individual responses to their own art works.



• Describe their own responses to, and interpretation of, specific works of art.

Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade twelve students will be able to:

• Research and analyze historic meaning and purpose in various works of art.



• Defend personal interpretations to better understand specific works of art.



• Reflect critically on various interpretations to better understand specific works of art.

Social Studies: History

  Curriculum Standard 16

• Construct time lines of significant historical events in their community, state, and nation.



• Interpret data presented in time lines in order to determine when events took place.



• Identify and discuss the main ideas in historical narratives, their purpose, and the point of view from which they were constructed.



• Examine historical data related to ideas, events, and people from a given time-frame in order to reconstruct a chronology and identify examples of cause and effect.



• Demonstrate an understanding that people, artifacts, and documents represent links to the past and that they are sources of data from which historical accounts are constructed.



• Examine historical documents, artifacts, and other materials and classify them as primary or secondary sources of historical data.



• Understand the significance of the past to themselves and to society.



• Display historical perspective by describing the past through the eyes and experiences of those who were there, as related through their memories, literature, diaries, letters, debates, arts, maps, and artifacts.

Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade ten students will be able to:

• Construct and interpret parallel time lines on multiple themes.



• Group events by broadly-defined eras in the history of the state, nation, or area under study.



• Analyze historical documents, artifacts, and other materials for credibility, relevance, and point of view.



• Examine historical materials relating to a particular region, society, or theme; analyze change over time; and make logical inferences concerning cause and effect.



• Use historical materials to trace the development of an idea or trend across space or over a prolonged period of time in order to identify and explain patterns of historical continuity and change.



• Develop and implement research strategies in order to investigate a given historical topic.



• Critically analyze historical materials in order to distinguish between the important and the inconsequential and differentiate among historical facts, opinions, and reasoned judgments.



• Perceive past events and issues as they were experienced by the people at the time to avoid viewing, analyzing, and evaluating the past only in terms of the present (present-mindedness).



• Explain, using examples from history, that not all problems have clear-cut solutions.



• Explain that judgments and generalizations about the past are often tentative and must be used carefully when dealing with present issues.



• Utilize knowledge of the past and the processes of historical analysis to carry out historical research; make comparisons; develop and defend generalizations; draw and support conclusions; construct historical explanations, narratives, and accounts; solve problems; and make informed decisions.

  Curriculum Standard 17

Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade six students will be able to:

• Explain, using examples, how folklore, literature, and the arts reflect, maintain, and transmit our national and cultural heritage.

  Curriculum Standard 18

Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade six student will:

• Demonstrate a basic understanding of the origin, development, and distinctive characteristics of major ancient, classical, and agrarian civilizations including the Mesopotamian, Ancient Hebrew, Egyptian, Nubian (Kush), Greek, Roman, Gupta Indian, Han Chinese, Islamic, Byzantine, Olmec, Mayan, Aztec, and Incan Civilizations.



• Discuss the connections among civilizations from earliest times as well as the continuing growth in interaction among the world's people including the impact of changes in transportation and communication.



• Demonstrate an understanding of major landmarks in the human use of the environment from Paleolithic times to the present including the agricultural transformation at the beginning; the industrial transformation in recent centuries; and the current technological revolution.



• Demonstrate a basic understanding of the distinctive characteristics of major contemporary societies and cultures of Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

Proficiency Standards
By the end of grade ten student will:

• Discuss the political, philosophical, and cultural legacies of ancient Greece and Rome.



• Compare the origin, central ideas, institutions, and worldwide influence of major religious and philosophical traditions including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.



• Discuss the contributions of Judaism and Christianity to the development of Western civilization.



• Demonstrate an understanding of major developments in Europe during the Middle Ages including nomadic invasions from the Eurasian Steppes; interactions with the Muslim world; Byzantine Empire; Black Death; and feudalism and the evolution of representative government.



• Demonstrate an understanding of major developments in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries including the Renaissance and the Reformation; the rise of the Ottoman Empire; the origins of capitalism; and exploration and colonization.



• Discuss the evolution of Western culture and ideas during the Enlightenment including the scientific revolution of the 17th century and the intellectual revolution of the 18th century.



• Discuss the significance of major cultural, economic, and political developments in the 20th century including the development and internationalization of art, music, and literature; the worldwide quest for democracy, political freedom, and human rights; the making of the European community of nations; the growth of international trade; and new approaches to worldwide cooperation and interdependence.

Proficiency Standards