Massachusetts Visual Arts Frameworks
for Elementary Grades
from the Pre-K – 12 Learning Standards for the Visual Arts
By the end of grade 4, students will do each of the following:
STANDARD 1: Methods, Materials, and Techniques
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the methods, materials, and techniques unique to the visual arts.
1.1 Use a variety of materials and media,
for example, crayons, chalk, paint, clay, various kinds of papers, textiles, and yarns,
and understand how to use them to produce different visual effects
1.2 Create artwork in a variety of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) media,
for example:
1.3 Learn and use appropriate vocabulary related to methods, materials, and techniques
1.4 Learn to take care of materials and tools and to use them safely
STANDARD 2: Elements and Principles of Design
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the elements and principles of design.
2.1 For color,
2.2 For line,
2.3 For texture,
2.4 For shape and form,
2.5 For pattern and symmetry,
2.6 For space and composition,
STANDARD 3: Observation, Abstraction, Invention, and Expression
Students will demonstrate their powers of observation, abstraction, invention, and expression in a variety of media, materials, and techniques.
3.1 Create 2D and 3D artwork from direct observation
For example, students draw a still life of flowers or fruit, action studies of their classmates in sports poses,
or sketches of the class pet having a snack or a nap.
3.2 Create 2D and 3D expressive artwork that explores abstraction
For example, a student simplifies an image by making decisions about essential colors, lines, or textures.
3.3 Create 2D and 3D artwork from memory or imagination to tell a story or embody an idea or fantasy
For example, students draw members of a family from memory; illustrate a character in a folktale or play;
build a clay model of an ideal place to play; or make images that convey ideas such as friendship.
STANDARD 4: Drafting, Revising, and Exhibiting
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the processes of creating and exhibiting their own artwork: drafts, critique, self-assessment, refinement, and exhibit preparation.
4.1 Select a work or works created during the year and discuss them with a parent, classmate, or teacher,
explaining how the work was made, and why it was chosen for discussion
For example, a first grader chooses a painting and tells how she mixed the colors,
and talks about the decisions she made.
4.2 Select works for exhibition and work as a group to create a display
4.3 As a class, develop and use criteria for informal classroom discussions about art
STANDARD 5: Critical Response
Students will describe and analyze their own work and the work of others using appropriate visual arts vocabulary. When appropriate, students will connect their analysis to interpretation and evaluation.
5.1 In the course of making and viewing art, learn ways of discussing it, such as by making
a list of all of the images seen in an artwork (visual inventory);
and identifying kinds of color, line, texture, shapes, and forms in the work
5.2 Classify artworks into general categories, such as painting, printmaking, collage, sculpture,
pottery, textiles, architecture, photography, and film
5.3 Describe similarities and differences in works, and present personal responses
to the subject matter, materials, techniques, and use of design elements in artworks
5.4 (Grades 3 and 4) Explain strengths and weaknesses in their own work,
and share comments constructively and supportively within the group
Connections Strand
STANDARD 6: Purposes of the Arts
Students will describe the purposes for which works of visual arts were and are created, and, when appropriate, interpret their meanings.
6.1 When viewing or listening to examples of visual arts, architecture, music, dance, storytelling,
and theatre, ask and answer questions such as,
6.2 Investigate uses and meanings of examples of the arts in children’s daily lives, homes,
and communities
For example, children learn and teach other children songs in languages other than English; interview parents and community members about dances, songs, images, and stories that are part of their family and cultural heritage.
STANDARD 7: Roles of Artists in Communities.
Students will describe the roles of artists, patrons, cultural organizations, and arts institutions in societies of the past and present.
7.1 Investigate how artists create their work; read about, view films about, or interview artists
such as choreographers, dancers, composers, singers, instrumentalists, actors, storytellers,
playwrights, illustrators, painters, sculptors, craftspeople, or architects
For example, teachers invite an illustrator of children’s books to school to show how she creates her illustrations.
STANDARD 8: Concepts of Style, Stylistic Influence, and Stylistic Change
Students will demonstrate their understanding of styles, stylistic influence, and stylistic change by identifying when and where art works were created, and by analyzing characteristic features of art works from various historical periods, cultures, and genres.
8.1 Identify characteristic features of the performing and visual arts of native populations and immigrant groups to America, such as
8.2 Identify characteristic features of the visual arts of world civilizations such as
styles of ancient Egypt and Africa, China, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome,
and the Medieval period in Europe
8.3 Perform or create works inspired by historical or cultural styles
STANDARD 9: Inventions, Technologies and the Arts
Students will describe and analyze how visual artists use and have used materials, inventions, and technologies in their work.
9.1 When using art materials or handling and viewing artifacts or musical instruments,
ask and answer questions such as
STANDARD 10: Interdisciplinary Connections
Students will apply their knowledge of the arts to the study of English language arts, foreign languages, health, history and social science, mathematics, and science and technology/engineering.
10.1 Integrate knowledge of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts and apply the arts to learning
other disciplines
Examples of this include:
By the end of grade 4, students will do each of the following:
STANDARD 1: Methods, Materials, and Techniques
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the methods, materials, and techniques unique to the visual arts.
1.1 Use a variety of materials and media,
for example, crayons, chalk, paint, clay, various kinds of papers, textiles, and yarns,
and understand how to use them to produce different visual effects
1.2 Create artwork in a variety of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) media,
for example:
- 2D – drawing, painting, collage, printmaking, weaving;
- 3D – plastic (malleable) materials such as clay and paper, wood, or found objects for assemblage and construction
1.3 Learn and use appropriate vocabulary related to methods, materials, and techniques
1.4 Learn to take care of materials and tools and to use them safely
STANDARD 2: Elements and Principles of Design
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the elements and principles of design.
2.1 For color,
- Explore and experiment with the use of color in dry and wet media
- Identify primary and secondary colors and gradations of black, white and gray in the environment and artwork
- Explore how color can convey mood and emotion
2.2 For line,
- Explore the use of line in 2D and 3D works
- Identify a wide variety of types of lines in the environment and in artwork
2.3 For texture,
- Explore the use of textures in 2D and 3D works
- Identify a wide variety of types of textures, for example, smooth, rough, and bumpy, in the environment and in artwork
- Create representations of textures in drawings, paintings, rubbings, or relief
2.4 For shape and form,
- Explore the use of shapes and forms in 2D and 3D works
- Identify simple shapes of different sizes, for example, circles, squares, triangles, and forms, for example, spheres, cones, cubes, in the environment and in artwork
2.5 For pattern and symmetry,
- Explore the use of patterns and symmetrical shapes in 2D and 3D works
- Identify patterns and symmetrical forms and shapes in the environment and artwork.
- Explain and demonstrate ways in which patterns and symmetrical shapes may be made
2.6 For space and composition,
- Explore composition by creating artwork with a center of interest, repetition, and/or balance
- Demonstrate an understanding of foreground, middle ground, and background
- Define and identify occurrences of balance, rhythm, repetition, variety, and emphasis
STANDARD 3: Observation, Abstraction, Invention, and Expression
Students will demonstrate their powers of observation, abstraction, invention, and expression in a variety of media, materials, and techniques.
3.1 Create 2D and 3D artwork from direct observation
For example, students draw a still life of flowers or fruit, action studies of their classmates in sports poses,
or sketches of the class pet having a snack or a nap.
3.2 Create 2D and 3D expressive artwork that explores abstraction
For example, a student simplifies an image by making decisions about essential colors, lines, or textures.
3.3 Create 2D and 3D artwork from memory or imagination to tell a story or embody an idea or fantasy
For example, students draw members of a family from memory; illustrate a character in a folktale or play;
build a clay model of an ideal place to play; or make images that convey ideas such as friendship.
STANDARD 4: Drafting, Revising, and Exhibiting
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the processes of creating and exhibiting their own artwork: drafts, critique, self-assessment, refinement, and exhibit preparation.
4.1 Select a work or works created during the year and discuss them with a parent, classmate, or teacher,
explaining how the work was made, and why it was chosen for discussion
For example, a first grader chooses a painting and tells how she mixed the colors,
and talks about the decisions she made.
4.2 Select works for exhibition and work as a group to create a display
4.3 As a class, develop and use criteria for informal classroom discussions about art
STANDARD 5: Critical Response
Students will describe and analyze their own work and the work of others using appropriate visual arts vocabulary. When appropriate, students will connect their analysis to interpretation and evaluation.
5.1 In the course of making and viewing art, learn ways of discussing it, such as by making
a list of all of the images seen in an artwork (visual inventory);
and identifying kinds of color, line, texture, shapes, and forms in the work
5.2 Classify artworks into general categories, such as painting, printmaking, collage, sculpture,
pottery, textiles, architecture, photography, and film
5.3 Describe similarities and differences in works, and present personal responses
to the subject matter, materials, techniques, and use of design elements in artworks
5.4 (Grades 3 and 4) Explain strengths and weaknesses in their own work,
and share comments constructively and supportively within the group
Connections Strand
STANDARD 6: Purposes of the Arts
Students will describe the purposes for which works of visual arts were and are created, and, when appropriate, interpret their meanings.
6.1 When viewing or listening to examples of visual arts, architecture, music, dance, storytelling,
and theatre, ask and answer questions such as,
- “What is the artist trying to say?”
- “Who made this, and why?”
- “How does this work make me feel?”
6.2 Investigate uses and meanings of examples of the arts in children’s daily lives, homes,
and communities
For example, children learn and teach other children songs in languages other than English; interview parents and community members about dances, songs, images, and stories that are part of their family and cultural heritage.
STANDARD 7: Roles of Artists in Communities.
Students will describe the roles of artists, patrons, cultural organizations, and arts institutions in societies of the past and present.
7.1 Investigate how artists create their work; read about, view films about, or interview artists
such as choreographers, dancers, composers, singers, instrumentalists, actors, storytellers,
playwrights, illustrators, painters, sculptors, craftspeople, or architects
For example, teachers invite an illustrator of children’s books to school to show how she creates her illustrations.
STANDARD 8: Concepts of Style, Stylistic Influence, and Stylistic Change
Students will demonstrate their understanding of styles, stylistic influence, and stylistic change by identifying when and where art works were created, and by analyzing characteristic features of art works from various historical periods, cultures, and genres.
8.1 Identify characteristic features of the performing and visual arts of native populations and immigrant groups to America, such as
- styles of North American native cultures of the East Coast, Plains, Southwest, and Northwest;
- styles of folk and fine arts of immigrant groups from European, African, Latin American, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries
8.2 Identify characteristic features of the visual arts of world civilizations such as
styles of ancient Egypt and Africa, China, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome,
and the Medieval period in Europe
8.3 Perform or create works inspired by historical or cultural styles
STANDARD 9: Inventions, Technologies and the Arts
Students will describe and analyze how visual artists use and have used materials, inventions, and technologies in their work.
9.1 When using art materials or handling and viewing artifacts or musical instruments,
ask and answer questions such as
- “What is this made of?”
- “How does this instrument produce sound?”
- “Would I design this differently?”
- “Who first thought of making something like this?”
STANDARD 10: Interdisciplinary Connections
Students will apply their knowledge of the arts to the study of English language arts, foreign languages, health, history and social science, mathematics, and science and technology/engineering.
10.1 Integrate knowledge of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts and apply the arts to learning
other disciplines
Examples of this include:
- using visual arts skills to illustrate understanding of a story read in English language arts or foreign languages;
- memorizing and singing American folk songs to enhance understanding of history and geography;
- using short dance sequences to clarify concepts in mathematics.