#SCCSD Elementary Art
Sioux City Community Schools - 2nd Quarter
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"Why" Art Education
Why is Arts Education Important for 21st-Century Learning?
Here are 5 critical skills students learn through an arts education.
Creativity: In a word full of trained professionals and highly educated workers, creativity is one of the top skills that set someone apart from the pack. Of course, being qualified in your field is important, but having the ability to think imaginatively and bring fresh ideas to the table are essential to innovation and progress. Art education allows students to express themselves and think outside of the box.
Collaboration: Working together for a common purpose teaches children that their contribution is important, which is perfect for the collaborative nature of the arts. By working collaboratively on a project, students learn to communicate more effectively, compromise when necessary, and work hard even if their role may seem small. All of these skills are vital in any work environment where teams come together for a common goal.
Confidence: The arts create a safe space for students to explore their talents and build their confidence. Students who are shy in a normal classroom setting may gain the assurance to stand up and talk about their artwork. The sense of pride gained through a finished product encourages the students to keep trying and striving to accomplish more. With this confidence, they are more likely to take risks and step out of their comfort zone to try new things in other areas of their lives.
Cultural Awareness & Empathy: The arts provide a unique platform to discuss many different cultures, socioeconomic levels, and current events. Through the arts, students have a place not only to learn about different cultures than their own, but also to ask questions and be more informed about the daily struggles and realities of people who may seem different. By learning about other people, children are able to develop their ability for empathy, essential in working with people from all walks of life, and realize that we have more in common than not.
Critical Thinking: When students are making a work of art, the process includes conceptual and interpretational thinking that helps build their critical thinking skills including observation, reasoning, and problem-solving. During the creative process, children use logic and problem solving to strategize how to reach their intended outcome. Critical thinking skills are also in play when observing and analyzing famous works. This ability to think critically to solve problems in a unique way is key to the 21st century workplace.
Choice-Based Curriculum
New Curriculum
- This year in art we will be cultivating creative thinkers.
- We want art class to be a time for students to become real artists.To do this they need to be comfortable in their art studio. Our art rooms will be set up in studios with different media choices.
- Throughout the year, students will be challenged with several Teacher Instructed Art Ideas in which students will learn and practice a "Must Do" lesson. Following the lesson, students will have choice on how to explore the idea further.
- There will also be opportunities for students to practice skills, in which they will come up with an Idea, Plan it, Create, Reflect, and finally Share.
- A part of the art process is practice and experimenting. Some things your artist may make will not necessarily appear "finished" but that is okay because we want to experiment and create things confidently in the art studio.
- This means your artist will learn to trust his or her ability to learn and be an innovative thinker. Our goal is that your student will be prepared for the future equipped with "thinking outside the box" creativity skills.
What is Choice Art?
Choice Instruction focuses on an artistic theme or idea and students have choice about how they demonstrate understanding of the idea whether it is through experimentation or a final art piece. During their art time there is a "Must Do" lesson that the whole class participates in to learn an idea. When finished they may choose to explore the idea further on their own utilizing their Choice of materials and their own idea.
Teaching and Learning in Elementary Art in Sioux City Community Schools
In elementary art we have the opportunity to work with each individual student in each class. Our educators are working hard to help our students to be proficient on the Iowa Fine Arts Standards. Through this newsletter we are going to showcase the standards that your child will be focusing on for 2nd quarter. These standards will be assessed throughout the quarter. Here is the link to the Iowa adopted standards:
TK/Kindergarten
Students will be working on developing the skills needed to:
- VA:Cr1.1.Ka: Engage in exploration with materials through painting.
- VA: Cr1.1.Ka: Engage in exploration with materials through the use of Primary colors.
1st Grade
Students will be working on developing the skills needed to:
- VA:Cr1.1.1a: Engage collaboratively in exploration with materials through painting.
- VA:Cr2.1.1a: Explore uses of materials and tools to create works of art or design through the use of secondary colors.
2nd Grade
Students will be working on developing the skills needed to:
- VA:Cr1.1.2a: Experiment with various materials and tools to explore personal interests in a work of art or design through painting.
- VA: Cr2.2.2a: Demonstrate safe and proper procedures for using and cleaning art tools, equipment, and studio spaces.
3rd Grade
Students will be working on developing the skills needed to:
- VA:Cr1.1.3a: Elaborate on an imaginative idea.
- VA: Cr1.2.3a: Apply knowledge of available resources, tools, and technologies to investigate personal ideas through the art-making process.
4th Grade
Students will be working on developing the skills needed to:
- VA:Cr2.1.4a: Explore art-making techniques and approaches through painting.
- VA: Cr1.1.4a: Brainstorm multiple approaches to a creative art or design problem.
5th Grade
Students will be working on developing the skills needed to:
- VA:Cr.3.1.5a: Create artist statement using art vocabulary to describe art choices.
- VA: Cr.2.1.5a: Experiment with art making techniques and approaches through practice with paint.
Thank You!
Bryant Elementary: Mrs. Kaskie
Clark Early Childhood Elementary: Mrs. Kaskie
Hunt Arts Plus Elementary: Mr. Nguyen
Irving Dual Language Elementary: Ms. Winter and Mr. Nguyen
Leeds Elementary: Mrs. Nelson and Mr. Kuchera
Liberty Elementary: Mrs. Grigg and Mrs. Garcilazo
Loess Hills Computer Programming Elementary: Mr. Melo and Mr. Kuchera
Morningside STEM Elementary: Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Weltz
Nodland Elementary: Mrs. Weltz
Perry Creek Elementary: Mr. Hankins
Riverside Elementary: Mrs. Garcilazo
Spalding Park Environmental Science Elementary: Mr. Hovland and Mr. Kuchera
Sunnyside Elementary: Mrs. Weltz
Unity Elementary: Ms. Ellsworth
Non-Discrimination Statement
The Sioux City Community School District offers career and technical programs in the following areas: Business & Marketing, Family & Consumer Science, Health Science, and Industrial Arts, Technology, & PLTW.
The Sioux City Community School District is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. It is an unfair or discriminatory practice for any educational institution to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information (for employment), national origin, religion, age (for employment), disability, socioeconomic status (for programs), marital status (for programs), or veteran status (for employment) in its educational programs and its employment practices.
Inquiries or grievances, including Section 504 grievances and grievances under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, may be directed to Jen Gomez, Director of Student Services & Equity Education at 627 4th Street, Sioux City, IA 51101, (712) 279-6075, gomezj2@live.siouxcityschools.com. Please see District Board policies 103 and 504.4 for additional information on available grievance procedures.
Connect
Pat Toben
Arts and Community Engagement Program Coordinator
Sioux City Community Schools
Email: tobenp@live.siouxcityschools.com
Website: https://www.siouxcityschools.org/
Location: 627 4th Street, Sioux City, IA, USA
Phone: 712.279.6667
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artsandcommunityengagement/
Twitter: @MrsToben