This document discusses arts education and provides guidance on planning arts curriculum. It outlines three goals for arts education: cultural/historical, critical/responsive, and creative/productive. It recommends that arts education be a required subject equivalent to 200 minutes per week, divided between dance, drama, music, and visual art. Effective arts education provides opportunities for creative expression, self-confidence, cultural understanding, and student voice. High-quality planning involves identifying outcomes, assessments, essential questions, themes, activities, and resources. Assessment should evaluate both creative process and products, using tools like rubrics, journals, and demonstrations.

1. Arts Education
 Why?

2. To enable students to
understand and value art
expressions throughout life
3 Goals: C/P, C/R, C/H

3. Cultural / Historical (CH)
This goal focuses on the
role of the arts in
various cultures, the
development of the arts
throughout history, and
the factors that
influence arts and
artists.
 .

4. Critical / Responsive (CR)
 Students will respond to
artistic expressions of
Saskatchewan, Canadian,
and International artists
using critical thinking,
research, and
collaborative inquiry
 .

5. Creative / Productive (CP)
This goal includes the
exploration,
development, and
expressions of ideas in
the language of art. This
requires reflection and
creative problem-solving.
 .

7. Arts Education IS a Required
Subject – part of Core Curriculum!
 Time Allotment – equivalent* over the year to:
200 minutes per week =
 Dance – 50 minutes
 Drama – 50 minutes
 Music – 50 minutes
 Visual Art – 50 minutes
(*may be “clustered”)

8. An effective arts education provides:
Opportunities to...
 Use creative processes in
a variety of art forms
and media.
 Develop self-confidence
in their own creative
abilities.
 .

9. Opportunities to...
 .  Recognize that artists are
thinkers, and that their
imaginations and creativity
help us understand
ourselves
 Investigate community and
global issues explored by
artists

10. Opportunities to...
 Discover through the arts
how societies express their
histories, values, and beliefs.
 Celebrate Saskatchewan’s
and Canada’s rich cultural
and artistic heritage
 .

11. Student Voice
Arts Education is one of the most effective
ways to empower students to reflect on, act
on, and give voice to their own opinions,
beliefs, and ideas through the creation and
presentation of their own arts expressions.

12. Putting it all together…
High quality art education
requires careful planning
“know your destination
before starting out
on your journey”

13. Planning for Learning
in/about/through the Arts
 Grade level FOCUS –  Theme - context: what are we
learning about?
 “Big Question(s)” – Why are we learning about this?
(re: Outcomes) - What is important to know?
 Outcome + selected Indicators – How will we learn to
find the answers to our questions? How do we start to
explore possible solutions?
 Assessment – How will we know if we are learning?
 Resources – What will help us to learn?

14. Inquiry Learning
 Construct ‘BIG’ essential questions to
provide a purpose and direction for the
learning activities.
 To support inquiry into some of the ‘big
ideas’ of interest to artists, and to provide a
meaningful context for inquiry, a different
focus has been identified for each grade...

15. Grade 1 Focus: Patterns
How can we use patterns in
our artwork?
How can we use lines,
colours, shapes, textures to
make patterns?
How do artists use patterns
(movement patterns, sound
patterns, word patterns…)

16. Grade 2 Focus: Community
What works of art are there in
our community?
How can stories from our
community give us ideas for art?
What can we tell people about
our community through the arts?

17. Grade 3 Focus: Environment
How can we use the arts to
show what we know about our
natural or constructed
environment?
How do artists use the
environment?
How can we tell people our
concerns about the
environment?

18. Students will create and
study works of art that
express ideas about
Saskatchewan
Grade 4 – Saskatchewan Voices.

19.  How could our arts expressions express what we think and
feel about Saskatchewan?
 How do professional dancers, dramatic artists, musicians,
and visual artists represent Saskatchewan?
 How do First Nations artists express ideas about
Saskatchewan through various arts expressions?
Grade 4 Inquiry Questions – for example:

20. Students will create and study works of art
that are part of, or influenced by,
mainstream pop culture.
Grade 5 – Pop Culture

21.  How do the media and pop culture
influence our lives?
 How could we use pop culture in our own
arts expressions?
 What did pop culture look and sound like in
different eras of history?
Grade 5 Inquiry Questions

22. Grade 6 Focus:
Identity
Creative/Productive Outcomes
Students:
 create dance, drama, music,
and visual art works that
express ideas about identity
and how it is influenced (e.g.,
factors such as pop culture, peer
groups, cultural heritage, personal
and family interests, gender).
 .

23. Grade 6 Focus
Identity
Critical/Responsive Outcomes
Students:
 investigate perspectives on identity as expressed
through the arts in Saskatchewan, Canada, and beyond.
 examine how arts expressions reflect diverse personal
identities, backgrounds, and worldviews.

24. Grade 6 Focus
Identity
Cultural/Historical Outcomes
Students:
 identify ways that First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists
express cultural identity in contemporary work.
 compare traditional and contemporary arts expressions
from a diverse range of cultures, and analyze how cultural
identity is reflected in the work.

25.  If we were to represent our school or community identity, what would
it look and sound like?
 In what ways could our arts expression show people what we value?
 How could this song, dance, drama, visual art work, or film tell
people about our family histories or cultural backgrounds?
 In what ways does an arts expression reflect the identity of its creator
or community?
 How do media and pop culture influence our identities and choices
we make about music, clothing, hair styles, social activities, and so
on?
 How is personal, cultural, or regional identity represented in dance,
drama, music, or visual art by Saskatchewan artists?
Grade 6 Inquiry Questions

28. Sample Resource

29. Outcomes & Indicators
Outcomes:
 Identify the most important
understandings and abilities
to be developed in the
specific grade level
 Guide course, unit, and
lesson planning
Indicators:
- Are a
representative list of
what students need
to know and/or be
able to do to achieve
an outcome

30. Creative / Productive Outcomes
 Creative/ Productive outcomes are strand-
specific. Each strand has its own set of CP
outcomes and corresponding indicators.
 Dance: CP _.1, CP_.2
 Drama: CP _.3, CP_.4
 Music: CP_.5, CP_.6
 Visual Art: CP_.7, CP_.8

31. Critical/Responsive (CR) Outcomes
Cultural/Historical (CH) Outcomes
 Common to all 4 strands (dance, drama, music & visual art)
CR _.1 CH _.1
CR _.2 CH _.2

32. Essential components of a unit plan…
Theme / Title
Big Question: (share with students- POST!)
Outcomes Assessment Learning Plan
(re: indicators)
Resources
Grade specific What evidence?
(re activities)
Culminating task?
Steps to achieve
outcome
(activities related to
indicators)
Selected to help
achieve the
outcomes

33. Planning for Arts Education
 Select Outcomes & Indicators,
 Assessment – culminating task?
 Create essential questions (lead to other student-
generated questions), Theme.
 Interpret indicators as sequence(s) of related
activities (+ review pre-requisite knowledge)
 Connect formative assessments & final summative
assessment to activities.

34. Dance Unit: Dance in Pop Culture
Essential Questions: What is pop culture? What are popular and traditional dances? Where do
dancers get their ideas? How can we express our ideas through dance?
Outcomes Assessment Learning Plan Resources
CP5.1 Create dance
compositions inspired
by pop culture
CP5.2 Express own
ideas using pop dance
forms and styles, and
apply the elements of
dance
CH 5.2 Compare
traditional and
evolving arts
expressions of First
Nations, Metis, and
Inuit artists from
different regions of
Canada, and examine
influences of pop
culture on
contemporary arts
Formative:
- check art
notebook
- venn diagram
- dance elements
chart
Self assessment:
-Creative process
checklist,, exit
reflections
Summative task
Creative dance
rubric
Creative process
rubric
Intro: essential questions – web
generate more related questions to
explore
Culminating Task: to create an original
dance using elements of pop c. dances
Review vocabulary, dance elements,
viewing process
Investigate sources of ideas for dance
related to pop culture: Create a KWL .
View video of street dance and
traditional fancy dance – compare the
two styles re elements (patterns,
movements, body.).
Using a venn diagram
View video of pow wow hip hop and
compare elements with other two
dances. Discuss what dances express.
Partner s– fill in dance elements chart
– select elements to explore in own
dance phrase following the creative
process.. Record plans on dance
elements chart include drafts and
revisons. write exit reflection in art
response notebook.. partners practice
Art Response notebooks
Dance vocabulary list.
Dance elements poster
Viewing process &
expectations checklist
KWL chart GO
Venn diagram GO
Street dance or So you
think you can dance
segment
Pow Wow fancy dance
Pow Wow Hip Hop
www.youtube.com
Creative process
checklist
Dance elements chart

35. grade 6 focus: IDENTITY
CP6.1 Create Dance Compositions that express ideas about
identity and how it is influenced [(a)-(e)]
CP6.2 Investigate and manipulate elements of dance and
principles of composition including repetition and contrast [(a)-(d)
Q: How is personal, cultural or regional identity
represented in dance ? How is identity represented by
contemporary Saskatchewan dancers?
 I am...? (ELA poetry activity). What influences our
identity? what is important to us? How can we express
what we value through movement?
1. Brainstorm ideas  select topic + 4-6 actions
2. Create a 16 beat dance phrase (sequence re: elements chart)
showing repetition and contrast in elements -actions, dynamics ,space).
3. Reflect on how you created your dance phrase and the choices you
made – what worked well or didn’t work well. Write reflection in art
response journal.

36. Building a dance phrase ...
Working
title:
“The
Basket”
Actions Body Dynamics Relationships Space
Dribble
Turn
Pass
JumpShoot
Crouch
Back, arms
Legs
Legs, arms
Slow,
Fast/
strong
Partners -
Side by side
Low/ Non-
loco
High - Low
Pathway -
line
Beginning Middle End
D D D D T T P P J J T T J J C C
*use for assessment

37. Sample –(part of a Visual Art unit)
Gr. 1 Patterns in Nature: What patterns can we see in nature? Can we use
these patterns in our own artwork? How have other artists used patterns?
Outcomes Assessment Activities Resources
CP1.7 Investigate a
variety of formal
and informal
patterns in the
environment and
apply observation
to own work
a)b)c)
CP1.8 Create own
artworks that
express ideas and
explore forms
…
Observation of
contribution to
KWL discussion
Checklist re:
Sort/match
pattern words
Check work for
demonstration
understanding of
patterns
…
Intro Q’s. Discuss
Patterns in plants
KWL on Trees
What are patterns?
Show pics of trees – art
find patterns (repetition )
Vocabulary list of
pattern words.
Sort/match task
Go outside – view
trees/patterns
Create tree using cut
paper shapes repeated
patterns
…
Images of trees
by picture book
illustrators,
artists (Carr,
Thompson,
woodcut prints)
Examples of var.
patterns
Chart paper
Coloured paper,
scissors, glue
…

38. Assessment Challenges
Determining observation criteria
Documentation methods
- Involve students in development of
assessment criteria as much as possible
- Include self-evaluation to encourage reflection
as part of the creative process

39. Assessment
 Based on Outcomes  Indicators  learning activities
 Criteria for assessment is clear - communicated!
(not subjective or solely focused on product)
BOTH Process and Product is assessed
Formative and Summative

40. Assessment criteria = Expectations
(curriculum outcomes)
Considering the Outcome: select a sequence of lessons
that address the outcome.
Decide on the expectations for each activity.
Define the expectations with a detailed list of steps or
concepts.
Turn the details into criteria for assessment.
Use criteria to develop a rubric or checklist.

41. For example…Buildings in our Community…. (part way into the unit)
Expectations : point-of-view drawing of house
 CP2.7 e)investigate and observe how … objects look
different from different points of view
 CP2.8 g) classify different kinds of shapes using own
words and apply observations to own work
Task: Make 1 side-view drawing of your house.
Make 1 top-view drawing of your house
1- not yet, 2 – partially, 3 – meets expectations 4 – exceeds expectations
Students Drawing shows side
view and top view
Can tell about various
shapes in drawings

42.  Assessment : “Coaching Model”
Formative (ongoing feedback), Summative (graded)
- Tasks: Perform/represent, write, speak ..
Rubric
Demonstrate understanding = “Show What You Know”
4 3 2 1
Very Effective
problem-
solving.
Consistently
explores and
contributes
innovative ideas.
Moderately
effective
problem-
solving. Often
explores and
contributes
ideas
Minimally
effective
problem-
solving. Has
difficulty
developing idea
beyond
beginning stage.
Always relies on
others to solve
problems. Does
not contribute
ideas at any
stage.

43. Self Assessment
My Art-making
No Sometimes Yes
I listened to all of the directions
I thought carefully about what I
wanted to make
I took care of my tools and
materials
I tried my best
I am proud of my work
I helped to clean up
Art-making Behaviours

44. Assessing Process
Outcomes: CP 1.1: Create movement patterns in
response to stories. CP 1.2: Create short dance phrases
using elements of dance.
Verygood
good
improving
Notyet
Creating a Dance Phrase 4 3 2 1
Contributes to brainstorming task re: topic related
actions
Explores actions re: levels/directions, body,
dynamics
Selects and practices/revises action sequence:
B/M/E patterns

45. Assessing Process and Product
 Assessment of the learning outcomes that address the
creative/productive (CP), critical/responsive (CR), and
cultural/ historical (CH) goals of the curriculum.
 This includes assessment of students’ creative and
responsive processes, as well as any culminating products
that may result from their arts experiences.
 Artistic products are not to be evaluated in isolation, but
must always be evaluated in conjunction with the target
outcome and the students’ creative problem-solving
processes

46. Rubrics
 Make expectations clear (create and/or review with students)
 Describe levels of performance
 Feedback for students re: strengths and areas needing improvement
 4 point:
not-yet (1) , almost (2), meeting expectations (3) exceeding (4)
& Useful to guide instruction – stay on track!

47. Arts Response Journal
 Write responses to viewing/listening
 Record thoughts through steps in the viewing
process (first impressions, interpretations,
comprehension: “I think this picture is about…”
“my first reaction was…” “elements used were
 Build vocabulary, compile word lists
 Record steps in art processes
 Reflection/ self assessment on own work

48. Thinking, reflecting, writing, sharing…
Using the language of art!
 “… there are bright colours and dark
colours. The heavy thick lines make it
stand out. I see a little girl in the picture.
There’s flowers on the outside and on the
girl’s shirt. She looks very sad. She must be
thinking of something sad …”
 “All those small faces in the background kind of blend
in. Maybe they are souls of his people behind him…”

49. Approaches to assessment :
Some Good Tools to Use:
Portfolios / Portfolio Conferences,
Performance/Demonstrations
Arts Response Journals or
Learning Logs
Rubrics, Checklists…

50. Assessment data = Evidence!
 Assessments provide the teacher with evidence of
student achievement as well as evidence of the
effectiveness of their instruction!
 Use assessment results to guide your instruction and
make adjustments as you go
 Rubrics with clearly defined criteria take the
subjectivity out and increase student awareness of
what is expected of them

51. Responding to Art/Dance/Drama, Music
– The Viewing/Listening Process
 Preparation – get ready/set (before viewing)
 First Impressions – initial reaction! (few words)
 Description – taking inventory “I see...” (elements)
 Analysis – how are effects achieved? (elements, principles)
 Interpretation – what’s the meaning or message?
 Background Information – artist? time? culture?
 Informed Judgment – reflection “ I learned...”

52. Responding to Art
Students become participants in the interactive process
between artist and audience rather than passive consumers of
the arts. Several processes are provided to help teachers guide
discussion and encourage various responses to works of art.
Responding to Arts Expressions: Supporting Arts Education
Saskatchewan Online Curriculum
www.curriculum.gov.sk.ca

53. Resources
 http://www.aventurinemusic.com
www.artsask.ca
www.artcyclopedia.com/index.html
http://archives.cbc.ca/arts_entertainment
www.musiccentre.ca/home.cfm
www.saskstories.ca/art/index_content.html
www.arts.ufl.edu/art/rt_room/@rt_gallery.html
www.canadacouncil.ca/aboutus/artistsstories

54. Remember...
It is not so often the case that we can
learn in the presence of compelling
objects that engage our senses, allow
for many kinds of cognition, connect to
many facets of life, sustain our
attention... Art is an opportunity. Let us
not miss it. (Perkins, 1994, p.5)