Unit 1 — Creating
Description
Students are introduced to media arts and visual arts by exploring materials, ideas, and how they can be used to tell stories. Students connect with multiple art movements, a variety of cultural art throughout history, and diverse artists. Upon exposure to these works, students are inspired to create their own artwork. The unit emphasizes imagination, brainstorming, experimentation with materials and tools, and the development of creative ideas. Students learn safe procedures for handling art materials and equipment while building foundational skills in observation and artistic expression.
Essential Questions
- How do media artists and visual artists generate ideas and formulate artistic intent?
- How do artists work, experiment with materials, and learn from trial and error?
- How can artists construct artwork that conveys purpose, meaning, and artistic quality?
- What conditions, attitudes, and behaviors support creativity and innovative thinking?
Learning Objectives
- Engage in individual and collaborative exploration of materials and ideas through multiple approaches, from imaginative play to brainstorming, to solve art and design problems.
- Engage in individual and collaborative art-making through observation and investigation of the world, and in response to personal interests and curiosity.
- Build skills and knowledge of materials and tools through various approaches to art-making via experimentation.
- Demonstrate safe procedures for using and cleaning art tools, equipment, and studio spaces.
- Create art that represents natural and constructed environments and identify and classify uses of everyday objects through drawings, diagrams, sculptures, or other visual means.
- Discover, share, and express ideas for media artworks through experimentation, sketching, and modeling.
- Brainstorm and improvise multiple ideas using a variety of tools, methods, and materials.
- Create and assemble content for media arts productions, identifying basic principles such as pattern, positioning, attention, and repetition.
Supplemental Resources
- Markers for exploration of color and line in art-making
- Construction paper for collage and mixed-media projects
- Colored pencils and crayons for drawing and design activities
- Printed images or photographs of artworks by diverse artists for reference and inspiration
- Chart paper for group brainstorming and idea development
Music - Creating
Media Arts - Creating
Students engage in identifying elements and principles of art, counting and categorizing visual properties, and recognizing shapes and spatial relationships in artwork.
Students observe patterns in natural and constructed environments, investigate materials and their properties, and explore how design solutions work through experimentation with art materials and tools.
Students discuss and describe artwork using visual arts vocabulary, ask and answer questions about artistic choices, and express ideas and responses through drawing, writing, and oral communication.
Formative Assessments
- Group work and collaborative creation activities
- Discussion and question-and-answer sessions about artistic choices and ideas
- Observation of student exploration and experimentation with materials
- Student reflection on creative processes and refinement of work
Summative Assessment
Students complete tasks that demonstrate an understanding of the elements and principles of art. Tasks include identifying elements and principles of art from a variety of artworks and creating artwork that employs the elements of art and principles of design to express a personal response to a creative problem.
Benchmark Assessment
— not configured —
Alternative Assessment
Students may demonstrate understanding through hands-on manipulation of materials, pointing to or selecting visual examples of elements and principles of art, or explaining their artistic choices verbally with teacher support. Visual supports such as image cards, color samples, and labeled material examples may be provided to scaffold learning during creation and discussion.
IEP (Individualized Education Program)
Students with IEPs may benefit from visual supports such as picture-based direction cards and step-by-step modeled demonstrations when introduced to new art materials and tools. Teachers should offer alternative ways for students to express their ideas, such as pointing to images, dictating descriptions of their artwork, or using gestures during discussion and reflection activities. Providing a model of the finished or in-progress artwork can help students understand expectations before they begin exploring independently. Extended time and frequent check-ins during experimentation with materials will support students who need additional processing time or help staying on task.
Section 504
Students with 504 plans should have access to preferential seating during demonstrations so they can clearly observe how materials and tools are introduced and used safely. Extended time during open-ended creation tasks and transitions between activities supports students who need additional time to settle into and complete exploratory work. Reducing visual or auditory distractions in the workspace can help students focus during brainstorming and material exploration.
ELL / MLL
Teachers should use visual demonstrations and physical examples of art materials, techniques, and finished works to make content accessible without relying on verbal explanation alone. Key vocabulary related to art materials, elements, and tools should be introduced with picture support and repeated across lessons to build familiarity. Simple, direct directions paired with physical modeling allow MLL students to participate fully in hands-on creation activities, and pairing students with a supportive peer can help bridge communication during collaborative work.
At Risk (RTI)
Students who may struggle to engage with open-ended creative tasks can be supported by beginning with familiar, concrete starting points — such as drawing or building something from their own environment or personal experience — before moving toward more abstract exploration. Offering a limited, carefully chosen selection of materials reduces decision overwhelm while still allowing for meaningful experimentation. Teachers should affirm all creative attempts positively and highlight the process of exploration over the finished product, helping students build confidence and willingness to take creative risks.
Gifted & Talented
Students who demonstrate readiness for greater challenge can be encouraged to investigate how a specific artist or cultural tradition uses the elements of art to communicate meaning, and to intentionally incorporate those observations into their own original work. Teachers might invite these students to brainstorm and pursue a self-directed creative problem, experimenting across multiple materials or techniques to find the most effective solution. Encouraging students to reflect on and articulate their own creative decision-making — not just what they made, but why — deepens engagement with the artistic process beyond basic skill-building.