The Arts Education Essential Standards communicate what students should know and be able to do as a result of instruction at each grade level (K-8) or proficiency level: beginning, intermediate, proficient, and advanced (9-12). Because of the broad base of knowledge and skills involved in creating, performing, responding to, and understanding the arts, experiences and learning must occur in a sequential manner. The Arts Education curriculum consists of four disciplines: visual arts, music, dance, and theater arts.

The visual arts program is designed to develop visual literacy by promoting fluency in the various modes of visual communication. Students learn the visual arts by using a wide range of subject matter, media, and means to express their ideas, emotions, and knowledge. They evaluate the merits of their efforts, and this assessment forms the basis for further growth that extends to all disciplines in school and to life. Through participation in visual arts, students have the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the creativity inherent in all of us.

The music program is designed to develop musical literacy. Through music, students increase their awareness of rich and diverse cultures, beliefs, and societies of humankind. As students examine the role of music throughout history and in different cultures, they develop respect for diversity. The processes of creating, performing, and understanding music are the primary goals of the music program. Through creating, students are able to be imaginative, think critically, and approach tasks in new or different ways.

Because movement as a form of self-expression is intrinsic to our existence as human beings, dance is a natural vehicle that children use to help them understand themselves and the world in which they live. Dance education helps students use movement to creatively express meaning. It provides students with a way of kinesthetically learning and communicating. The dance program is designed to teach students fundamentals in dance and choreography, and to help students develop creativity, problem-solving, self-discipline, and focus.

Children use pretend play as a means of making sense of the world. They create situations to play and assume roles; they interact with peers and arrange environments to bring their stories to life, and they direct and respond to one another’s dramas. Children arrive at school with rudimentary skills as playwrights, actors, designers, directors, and audience members; theatre arts education continues to build on this foundation. The theatre arts program integrates several aspects of the art form: scriptwriting, acting, designing, directing, researching, comparing art forms, analyzing, critiquing, and understanding context.

Arts Education curriculum documents for the four disciplines can be accessed by clicking on the following link:
Arts Education Curriculum Documents – Grades K-12

To access the Arts Education website, please visit: CCS Arts Education website.