The Arts

Grade 4: Visual Arts	Achievement Level
Overall Expectations	1	2	3	4
•produce two- and three-dimensional works of art that communicate ideas (thoughts, feelings, experiences) for specific purposes and to specific audiences;
•identify the elements of design (colour, line, shape, form, space, texture), and use them in ways appropriate for this grade when producing and responding to works of art;
•describe their interpretation of a variety of art works, basing their interpretation on evidence from the works (i.e., on ways in which an artist has used the elements of design for expressive purposes) and on their own knowledge and experience;
•use correctly vocabulary and art terminology associated with the specific expectations for this grade.
Specific Expectations
Knowledge of Elements
•identify monochromatic colour schemes (i.e., tints and shades of one colour);
•identify the emotional quality of lines (e.g., smooth, flowing, horizontal lines create a feeling of peace and harmony; sharp, jagged, vertical lines create a feeling of energy and unease);
•demonstrate awareness that the overlapping of shapes is one way of creating the illusion of depth;
•distinguish between relief and free- standing sculpture;
•describe ways in which artists use a variety of tools, materials, and techniques to create texture (e.g., painting with a palette knife, embedding fabric in gesso, gouging Plasticine);
•describe their knowledge of the strengths and limitations of a variety of familiar art tools, materials, and techniques, which they gained through experiences in drawing, painting, sculpting, and printmaking (e.g., "found" materials can provide a rich assortment of textures for mask making, but may be difficult to fasten to the surface of the mask);
•demonstrate understanding of the proper and controlled use of art tools, materials, and techniques singly and in combination (e.g., outline shapes, create shading, or colour a surface using both the point and the side of pencil crayons; create texture using cross-hatching).
Creative Work
•solve artistic problems in their art work, using the elements of design specified for this grade (e.g., create a self-portrait and defend their colour choices);
•produce two- and three-dimensional works of art (i.e., works involving media and techniques used in drawing, painting, sculpting, printmaking) that communicate thoughts, feelings, and ideas for specific purposes and to specific audiences (e.g., create a poster for display in the school library to commemorate a personal literary hero, using an additive form of printmaking);
•plan a work of art, identifying the artistic problem and a proposed solution (e.g., plan to use a sponge to paint the background of an underwater scene to produce a bubbly environment for the fish to swim through);
•identify strengths and areas for improvement in their own work and that of others.
Critical Thinking
•describe how a variety of artists working in different styles and media and in different historical periods have used the elements of design and/or tools, materials, and techniques of their art (e.g., describe buildings made in different historical periods, such as the CN Tower, a Native longhouse, and the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, and show how the availability of certain materials influenced the designers or architects);
•explain how the elements of design are organized in a work of art to communicate feelings and convey ideas (e.g., explain that, by painting a picture using a monochromatic colour scheme for all the houses on a street except one, the artist has conveyed the idea that all of these houses are uniform and that the one in a different colour is unique);
•state their preference for a specific work chosen from among several on a similar theme, and defend their choice with reference to their own interests and experience and to the artist's use of the various elements of design (e.g., the artist's repeated use of lines, colours, and shapes create patterns that convey a sense of harmony and formality).
Student Name:

 Expectations: Copyright The Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1998.  Format: Copyright B.Phillips, 1998.