Montague Township School District
Visual Arts Curriculum Guide
Grade 4
2025-2026
Melissa Neamand
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Description
The Grade 4 Media and Visual Arts curriculum is organized around four interconnected artistic processes: Creating, Producing/Presenting, Responding, and Connecting. Students develop artistic literacy and fluency by generating ideas, experimenting with materials and techniques, analyzing and critiquing artworks, and understanding how art reflects culture and society. Throughout the year, students work with both visual arts and media arts, exploring elements and principles of design while engaging with diverse artists, movements, and cultural traditions. The curriculum emphasizes that the arts develop creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration skills essential for success in the 21st century.
Big Ideas
- Creativity and innovative thinking are essential life skills developed through artistic practice, experimentation, and constructive critique.
- Artists make meaning by investigating cultural experiences and connecting artwork to personal, social, and community life.
- The creation, presentation, and analysis of art develop aesthetic awareness and critical thinking skills applicable across disciplines.
- Art serves as a vehicle for self-discovery and understanding diverse perspectives, cultures, and historical contexts.
- The elements and principles of art enable artists and designers to communicate ideas and influence audience experience.
Essential Questions
- How do artists generate ideas and develop artistic intent through experimentation and creative risk-taking?
- What role do elements and principles of art play in communicating meaning and intention?
- How do life experiences, cultural backgrounds, and personal perspectives influence the creation and interpretation of artwork?
- How do museums, galleries, and other venues preserve and present artwork to shape understanding and appreciation?
- How does art reflect the values, beliefs, and experiences of individuals and societies across time and cultures?
Music - Connecting
Music - Creating
Music - Performing
Music - Responding
Media Arts - Connecting
Media Arts - Creating
Media Arts - Presenting
Media Arts - Responding
Students apply mathematical thinking and measurement concepts when designing and analyzing visual and media artworks, including use of geometric shapes, symmetry, patterns, and spatial reasoning to create compositions.
Students engage in scientific inquiry and design thinking processes when creating media and visual artworks, including observing patterns in nature, planning investigations, and testing solutions to design problems.
Students analyze how artworks reflect community cultural traditions, historical contexts, and diverse perspectives from different time periods and cultures. Students examine the role of art in informing values, beliefs, and social change across societies.
Students develop communication skills by discussing and describing artworks using formal and conceptual vocabulary, engaging in collaborative critiques, and writing reflections about artistic choices and cultural connections.
Students are assessed throughout the year using formative, summative, and benchmark approaches aligned with the four artistic processes. Formative assessments include teacher observation, group discussions, peer and self-evaluations, and ongoing critique. Summative assessments consist of performance tasks, projects, and rubric-based evaluations where students demonstrate understanding of concepts and skills. Benchmark assessments measure achievement at key points through questioning, projects, and analysis of student work. Teachers use a variety of tools such as digital rubrics, checklists, and learning management systems to track student progress. Assessment tasks require students to apply skills in multiple contexts, including collaborative brainstorming, artwork creation, museum-style presentations, and comparative analysis of artworks across cultures.
| 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 |