Montague Township School District
Visual Arts Curriculum Guide
Grade 3
2025-2026
Melissa Neamand
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Description
The Grade 3 Media and Visual Arts curriculum develops students' creative and critical thinking through four interconnected artistic processes: creating, producing/presenting, responding, and connecting. Students engage with visual and media arts as both creators and audience members, generating ideas, refining techniques, analyzing artworks, and making connections to personal experiences and diverse cultures. Throughout the year, students work with elements and principles of art, collaborate with peers, and develop aesthetic and empathetic awareness. The curriculum integrates cross-curricular connections and emphasizes that artistic experiences help students understand themselves, others, and the world.
Big Ideas
- Creativity and innovative thinking are essential skills that develop through experimentation, practice, and constructive feedback.
- Artists use elements, principles, and a variety of media and techniques to express ideas and solve problems.
- Analyzing and critiquing artworks deepens understanding of artistic intent, cultural contexts, and diverse perspectives.
- Creating, sharing, and responding to art enriches people's lives and builds awareness of communities, cultures, and global issues.
Essential Questions
- How do artists and media artists generate ideas, develop creativity, and refine their work through practice and feedback?
- How do artists and audiences interpret, analyze, and evaluate artworks using criteria and visual vocabulary?
- How do artworks and media arts reflect and shape personal, cultural, and social understanding across different times and places?
- How do objects, artifacts, and artworks communicate meaning and influence beliefs, values, and community experiences?
Music - Connecting
Music - Creating
Music - Performing
Music - Responding
Media Arts - Connecting
Media Arts - Creating
Media Arts - Presenting
Media Arts - Responding
Students apply mathematical thinking to visual arts and media arts projects through measurement, spatial reasoning, and data representation. Students count, measure, and analyze visual elements and compositions.
Students engage in scientific inquiry and observation when creating and analyzing artworks. Design thinking and problem-solving processes connect to engineering and technology applications of science.
Students examine how art reflects cultural traditions, historical perspectives, and community values. Students learn how artworks communicate beliefs and inform understanding of different societies and time periods.
Students use vocabulary, discussion, and written reflection to analyze, interpret, and communicate about artworks. Students engage in collaborative dialogue and express ideas about artistic intent and meaning.
Students explore artworks from diverse cultures and international perspectives, connecting to global artistic traditions and cultural experiences.
Students are assessed throughout the year using formative, summative, and alternative assessments. Formative assessments include teacher observation, discussion, group work, and peer critique. Summative assessments include performance tasks, projects, and rubric-based evaluation of student artwork. Students demonstrate learning through digital rubrics on learning management systems for media arts and traditional rubrics for visual arts. Assessment tools also include self-evaluation, class displays, and end-of-year art shows. Teachers use assessment data to measure students' progress in creating, producing, responding to, and connecting with visual and media arts.
| Unit | Formative | Summative | Benchmark | Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01Creating | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| 02Producing/Presenting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 03Responding | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| 04Connecting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Coverage | 4/4 | 4/4 | 2/2 | 4/4 |
| Unit | IEP | 504 | MLL | At-Risk | Gifted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01Creating | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 02Producing/Presenting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 03Responding | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 04Connecting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Coverage | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 |