Standards Grades K-12

Standard A

A student should be able to create and perform in the arts. A student who meets the content standard should:

  1. participate in dance, drama, music, visual arts, and create writing;
  2. refine artistic skills and develop self-discipline through rehearsal, practice, and revision;
  3. appropriately use new and traditional materials, tools, techniques, and processes in the arts;
  4. demonstrate the creativity and imagination necessary for innovative thinking and problem solving;
  5. collaborate with others to create and perform works of art;
  6. integrate two or more art forms to create a work of art; and
  7. investigate careers in arts production.
Related National Standards
Movement/Dance• Identifying and demonstrating movement elements and skills in performing dance.
 • Understanding choreographic principals, process, and structures.
• Demonstrating and understanding dance in various cultures and historical periods.
Drama• Script writing by the creation of improvisations and scripted scenes based on personal experience and heritage, imagination, literature and history.
 • Acting by developing basic skills to portray characters who interact in improvised and scripted scenes.
 • Designing by developing environments for improvised and scripted scenes.
• Directing by organizing rehearsals for improvised and scripted scenes.
Music• Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
 • Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
 • Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.
 • Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniment.
 • Reading and notating music.
Visual Arts• Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes.
 • Using knowledge of structures and functions.
 • Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas.
 • Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.

Standard B

A student should be able to understand the historical and contemporary role of the arts in Alaska, the nation, and the world. A student who meets the content standard should:

  1. recognize Alaska Native cultures and their arts;
  2. recognize United States and world cultures and their arts;
  3. recognize the role of tradition and ritual in the arts;
  4. investigate the relationships among the arts and the individual, the society, and the environment;
  5. recognize universal themes in the arts such as love, war, childhood, and community;
  6. recognize specific works of art created by artists from diverse backgrounds;
  7. explore similarities and differences in the arts of world cultures;
  8. respect differences in personal and cultural perspectives; and
  9. investigate careers relating to arts history and culture.
Related National Standards
Movement/Dance• Demonstrating and understanding dance in various cultures and historical periods.
 • Making connections between dance and other disciplines.
Drama• Researching by using cultural and historical information to support improvised and scripted scenes.
 • Comparing and incorporating art forms by analyzing methods of presentation and audience.
 • Understanding context by analyzing the role of theatre in film, television, and electronic media in the past and the present.
Music• Performing a varied repertoire of music.
 • Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
 • Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.
 • Understanding music in relation to history and culture.
Visual Arts• Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.
 • Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines.

Standard C

A student should be able to critique the student’s art and the art of others. A student who meets the content standard should:

  1. know the criteria used to evaluate the arts; these may include craftsmanship, function, organization, originality, technique, and theme;
  2. examine historical and contemporary works of art, the works of peers, and the student’s own works as follows:
    1. identify the piece;
    2. describe the use of basic elements;
    3. analyze the use of basic principles;
    4. interpret meaning and artist’s intent;
    5. express and defend an informed opinion;
  3. accept and offer constructive criticism;
  4. recognize and consider an individual’s artistic expression;
  5. exhibit appropriate audience skills; and
  6. investigate careers relating to arts criticism.
Related National Standards
Movement/Dance• Introducing choreographic principals, processes and structures.
 • Understanding dance as a way to create and communicate meaning.
 • Applying and demonstrating critical and creative thinking skills in dance.
Drama• Researching by finding information to support classroom dramatization.
 • Comparing and incorporating art forms by analyzing methods of presentation and audience response for theatre, dramatic media (such as film, television, and electronic media), and other art forms.
Music• Listening to, analyzing, and describing music.
 • Evaluating music and music performances.
Visual Arts• Using knowledge of structures and functions.
 • Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the works of others.

Standard D

A student should be able to recognize beauty and meaning through the arts in the student’s life. A student who meets the content standard should:

  1. make statements about the significance of the arts and beauty in the student’s life;
  2. discuss what makes an object or performance a work of art;
  3. recognize that people tend to devalue what they do not understand;
  4. listen to another individual’s beliefs about a work of art and consider the individual’s reason for holding those beliefs;
  5. consider other culture’s beliefs about works of art.
  6. recognize that people connect many aspects of life through the arts;
  7. make artistic choices in everyday living; and
  8. investigate careers related to the search for beauty and meaning, which is aesthetics.
Related National Standards
Movement/Dance• Understanding dance as a way to create and communicate meaning.
Drama• Analyzing and explaining personal preferences and constructing meaning from classroom dramatizations and from theatre, film, television, and electronic media productions.
Music• Evaluating music and music performances.
Visual Arts• Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas.