What do First graders need to know about art?

First grade students will be able to identify and use visual arts vocabulary and concepts, and apply basic skills and techniques.
How you can help your child with Visual Arts:
Display artwork around the home and workplace.
Keep a variety of art materials available.
Encourage safe use of material and clean-up practices.
Do art projects with your child.
Talk about the art objects in your home.
Sign, date and save some artwork in a folder.
Visit online galleries, museums and cultural events.
Your child needs to understand and apply Visual Arts concepts, vocabulary and skills in order to:
Identify line direction, e.g. horizontal, vertical.
Identify and use geometric and organic shapes.
Identify tactile and visual textures.
Identify and mix secondary colors from primary colors.
Use art materials safely and appropriately.
Your child needs to demonstrate the thinking skills used in the artistic processes by:
Applying a creative, performing and responding/reflecting process to Visual Art.
Your child needs to understand how to communicate through visual art by:
Using repetition of several elements to create patterns.
Your child needs to make connections within and across the Arts, to other disciplines, life, cultures, and work by:
Describing the features of a specific artists or culture’s art.
Resources to use at home:
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction at http://www.k12.wa.us/curriculumInstruct/arts/
Wenatchee School District web site at http://home.wsd.wednet.edu/

In first grade we created name tags and studied the anatomy of insects. We also created an insect using the elements of art bellow.

line—an element of art: the flat path of a dot through space used by artists to control the viewer’s eye movement; a thin mark made by a pencil, pen, or brush

line quality—the width or appearance of any line, such as thick or thin, smooth or rough, continuous or broken

line types—the variety of directions and shapes that a line may have; vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved, zigzag

line types—there are five (5) types of lines: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved, zigzag

shape—an element of visual arts; a closed space made when a line connects to itself

geometric shapes—a defined form; circle, square, triangle

geometric—any shapes that are based on math principles, such as a square, circle, and triangle hatching, cross hatching, scribbling, broken lines, repeating lines and shapes

texture—an element of visual arts; how something feels or appears to feel; stippling, hatching, cross hatching, scribbling, broken lines, repeating lines and shapes