Lower School Arts

Fourth Grade

Art

Fourth grade art emphasizes drawing, design, painting, crafts, and art history. Students are expected to demonstrate a maturing appreciation for the elements of design, color schemes, the works of major artists, and new art forms.   Students learn to be more sensitive observers of line, color, texture, form, and pattern in natural and constructed forms.  Students use a variety of methods and media as they produce original and creative works of art using crayons, paint, clay, pastels, textiles, paper, and computer graphics in increasingly complex ways.

Music

The goal of the lower school music curriculum is to present a program of sequential musical learning designed to develop an appreciation of the joy of music making. Students in fourth grade music class learn the basics of music reading, writing, and composition skills through the methods of Orff and Kodály. These approaches to music education include sequential organization of music concepts and skills that help children acquire music literacy: reading, writing, listening, and creating music. Fourth grade students continue to build upon rhythmic and melodic concepts learned in first through third grade.  Additionally, students learn the basics of playing soprano recorder as they apply their rhythmic and melodic skills to play short songs and duets. Students acquire knowledge about music through the process of experiencing music through singing, speaking, moving, playing instruments, and creating.  Students have the opportunity to participate in grade-level performances that demonstrate classroom learning.

Third Grade

Art

Third grade art emphasizes drawing, design, painting, crafts, and art history.  Within each of these areas importance is placed on the elements of design.  The program provides a variety of methods and media with which the students are encouraged to produce original and creative works of art. Specifically, students increase their knowledge of color and color relationships including tints, tones, monochromatic color schemes, and analogous color schemes.   Students learn to use pastels, create mobiles and stabiles, and learn the possibilities and limitations of clay as a medium as they construct slab, coil, and pinch pottery.  In addition, students learn how to save and print their computer-generated art.  Aesthetic growth and visual discrimination are expanded through the study of major artists and their works.

Music

The goal of the lower school music curriculum is to present a program of sequential musical learning designed to develop an appreciation of the joy of music making. Students in third grade music class learn the basics of music reading, writing, and composition skills through the methods of Orff and Kodály. These approaches to music education include sequential organization of music concepts and skills that help children acquire music literacy: reading, writing, listening, and creating music. Third grade students continue to build upon rhythmic and melodic concepts learned in first and second grade as they explore part-singing and learn short melodic songs on barred instruments.  Students acquire knowledge about music through the process of experiencing music through singing, speaking, moving, playing instruments, and creating.  Students have the opportunity to participate in grade-level performances that demonstrate classroom learning.

Second Grade

Art

Second grade art emphasizes drawing, design, painting, crafts, and art history.  Within each of these methods emphasis is placed on the elements of design.  Students produce original and creative works of art with a variety of media. Aesthetic growth and visual discrimination are expanded through the study of major artists and their works.

Music

The goal of the lower school music curriculum is to present a program of sequential musical learning designed to develop an appreciation of the joy of music making. Students in second grade music class learn the basics of music reading, writing, and composition skills through the methods of Orff and Kodály. These approaches to music education include sequential organization of music concepts and skills that help children acquire music literacy: reading, writing, listening, and creating music. Second grade students continue to build upon the foundational concepts learned in first grade.   Students acquire knowledge about music through the process of experiencing music through singing, speaking, moving, playing instruments, and creating.  Students have the opportunity to participate in grade-level performances that demonstrate classroom learning.

First Grade

Art

First grade art classes emphasize drawing, design, painting, crafts, and art history. Within each of these areas, emphasis is placed on the elements of design. The program provides a variety of methods and media with which the students are encouraged to produce original and creative works of art. Aesthetic growth and visual discrimination are expanded through the study of major artists and their works.

Music

The goal of the lower school music curriculum is to present a program of sequential musical learning designed to develop an appreciation of the joy of music making. Students in first grade music class learn the basics of music reading, writing, and composition skills through the methods of Orff and Kodály. These approaches to music education include sequential organization of music concepts and skills that help children acquire music literacy: reading, writing, listening, and creating music.  Students acquire knowledge about music through the process of experiencing music through singing, speaking, moving, playing instruments, and creating.  Students have the opportunity to participate in grade-level performances that demonstrate classroom learning.

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