MI Standards

ARTS EDUCATION
CONTENT STANDARDS AND WORKING DRAFT BENCHMARKS

Elementary Visual Arts

Content Standard 1: All students will apply skills and knowledge to perform in the arts.

ART.I.VA.EL.1         Use materials, techniques, media technology, and processes to communicate ideas and experiences.

ART.I.VA.EL.2          Use art materials and tools safely and responsibly.

ART.I.VA.EL.3         Use visual characteristics and organizational principles of art to communicate ideas.

ART.I.VA.EL.4         Be involved in the process and presentation of a final product or exhibit.

Content Standard 2: All students will apply skills and knowledge to create in the arts.

ART.II.VA.EL.1         Apply knowledge of materials, techniques, and processes to creative artwork.

ART.II.VA.EL.2         Apply knowledge of visual characteristics and organizational principles communicate ideas. 

ART.II.VA.EL.3         Explore and understand prospective subject matter, ideas, and symbols for works of art.

ART.II.VA.EL.4         Select and use subject matter, symbols and ideas to communicate meaning.

ART.II.VA.EL.5         Know different purposes of visual art to creatively convey ideas.

ART.II.VA.EL.6         Use technology as a tool for creative expression.
         
Content Standard 3:  All students will analyze, describe and evaluate works
of art.

ART.III.VA.EL.1         Generalize about the effects of visual structures and functions, and reflect upon these effects in personal work.

ART.III.VA.EL.2         Identify various purposes for creating works for visual art.

ART.III.VA.EL.3         Understand there are different responses to specific artworks.

ART.III.VA.EL.4         Describe and compare the characteristics of personal artwork.

ART.III.VA.EL.5         Understand how personal experiences can influence the development of artwork.

Content Standard 4: All students will understand, analyze, and describe the
arts in their historical, social, and cultural contexts.

ART.IV.VA.EL.1         Know that the visual arts have a history and specific relationships to various cultures.

ART.IV.VA.EL.2         Identify specific works of art as belonging to particular cultures, times, and places.

ART.IV.VA.EL.3         Demonstrate how history, culture, and the visual arts can influence each other in making and studying works of art.

Content Standard 5: All students will recognize, analyze, and describe
connections among the arts; between the arts and other disciplines;
between the arts and everyday life.

ART.V.VA.EL.1         Explain how visual arts have inherent relationships to everyday life.

ART.V.VA.EL.2         Identify various careers in the visual arts.

ART.V.VA.EL.3         Understand and use comparative characteristics of the visual arts and other arts disciplines.

ART.V.VA.EL.4         Identify connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum.


National Visual Arts Standards:

In Kindergarten–Grade 4, young children experiment enthusiastically with *art materials and 
investigate the ideas presented to them through visual arts instruction. They exhibit a sense of 
joy and excitement as they make and share their artwork with others. Creation is at the heart of 
this instruction. Students learn to work with various tools, processes, and *media. They learn to 
coordinate their hands and minds in explorations of the visual world. They learn to make choices
that enhance communication of their ideas. Their natural inquisitiveness is promoted, and they 
learn the value of perseverance. As they move from kindergarten through the early grades,
students develop skills of observation, and they learn to examine the objects and events of their 
lives. At the same time, they grow in their ability to describe, interpret, evaluate, and respond to
work in the visual arts. Through examination of their ownwork and that of other people, times, 
and places, students learn to unravel the essence of artwork and to appraise its purpose and 
value. Through these efforts, students begin to understand the meaning and impact of the visual 
world in which they live.

G r a d e s K – 4 
1. Content Standard: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
Achievement Standard:
Students 
a. know the differences between materials, techniques, and processes
b. describe how different materials, techniques, and processes cause different responses 
c. use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences,and stories
d. use art materials and tools in a safe and responsible manner
 

2. Content Standard: Using knowledge of structures and functions
Achievement Standard:
Students
a. know the differences among visual characteristics and purposes of art in order to convey ideas
b. describe how different *expressive features and *organizational principles cause different responses
c. use visual structures and functions of art to communicate ideas


3. Content Standard: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and
ideas Achievement Standard:
Students

a. explore and understand prospective content for works of art
b. select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning
 

4. Content Standard: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
Achievement Standard:
Students

a. know that the visual arts have both a history and specific relationships to various cultures
b. identify specific works of art as belonging to particular cultures, times, and places
c. demonstrate how history, culture, and the visual arts can influence each other in making and studying works of art

 

5. Content Standard: Reflecting upon and *assessing the characteristics and merits of 
their work and the work of others
Achievement Standard:

Students
a. understand there are various purposes for creating works of visual art
b. describe how people’s experiences influence the development of specific artworks
c. understand there are different responses to specific artworks
 

6. Content Standard: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines
Achievement Standard:
Students

a. understand and use similarities and differences between characteristics   of the visual arts and other arts disciplines
b. identify connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum