Four Standards for Teaching Art to Elementary Students in New York

I am going to be an art teacher in the state New York. New York state standards for elementary art classes are very interesting. There are four basic standards; these standards are based on creating art, knowing and using art materials, responding to and analyzing art work and understanding the cultural influence of art (NYSED, 1996).

As an elementary art teacher the first standard required is to teach students how to create their own art by "exploring different kinds of subject matter, topics, themes, and metaphors" (NYSED, 1996, p.9). This will be an excellent standard to implement into the classroom, and it can be easily implemented. In order to determine different themes, topics, and ideas for the classes artwork the teacher can have all of the students write down something they would like to create, and then a new student can pick one of the topics out of a hat each day, and the next day's assignment can be based on that topic.

The second standard of art in New York State is understanding the materials, techniques, processes involved in creating art; it is also a standard to inform the students of the community's art involvement and the vocational options available to them (NYSED, 1996). This can be a fun experience for the entire class because in order to make students aware of the many different techniques and styles of art, trips to art museums can be arranged.

In New York State the third art standard refers to analyzing and interpreting works of art. "Students will reflect on, interpret, and evaluate works of art, using the language of art criticism, and students will "describe their responses to the works and the reasons for those responses" (NYSED, 1996, p.25). Interpreting and analyzing art is very important in an artists career, and it is beneficial to be able to discuss and critique your own and others art work. This can be implemented easily by having students critique each other's work. It is also good to learn the language of art because then students will have a common vocabulary in which to communicate ideas to each other.

The final standard of art learning is the understanding of cultural influence on art, and the history of art (NYSED, 1996). This can be implemented in a classroom very easily and enjoyably by studying different art from different time periods and reflecting projects on different art forms from history. This will also give the students a better understanding of artistic techniques, culture, and how they influence each other.

Reference:
NYSED. (1996). Learning standards for the arts. Retrieved October 26, 2007, from http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/arts/pub/artlearn.pdf