Grades 6-9 Arts Education Curriculum 2008

K-12 Aim To enable all students to understand and value the arts throughout life.

Creative/Productive Goal Students inquire, create, and communicate through dance, drama, music, and visual art.

Critical/Responsive Goal Students respond to artistic expressions of Saskatchewan, Canadian, and International artists using critical thinking, research, creativity, and collaborative inquiry.

Cultural/Historical Goal Students investigate the content and aesthetics of the arts within cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and understand the connection between the arts and human experience.

Grade 6 Focus Identity Creative/Productive Outcomes Students: create dance, drama, music, and visual art works that express ideas about identity and how it is influenced (e.g., factors such as pop culture, peer groups, cultural heritage, personal and family interests, gender).

Grade 6 Focus Identity Critical/Responsive Outcomes Students: investigate perspectives on identity as expressed through the arts in Saskatchewan, Canada, and beyond. Sample ResourceSample Resource Site in developmentSite in development examine how arts expressions reflect diverse personal identities, backgrounds, and worldviews.

Grade 6 Focus Identity Cultural/Historical Outcomes Students: identify ways that First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists express cultural identity in contemporary work. Sample Resource compare traditional and contemporary arts expressions from a diverse range of cultures, and analyze how cultural identity is reflected in the work.

Grade 7 Focus Place Creative/Productive Outcomes Students: create dance, drama, music, and visual art works that express ideas about the importance of place (e.g., relationships to the land, local geology, region, urban/rural environments). Sample ResourceSample Resource Site in developmentSite in development

Grade 7 Focus Place Critical/Responsive Outcomes Students: analyze and interpret dance, drama, music, and visual art works as representations of specific times and places (e.g., relationship of work to particular arts movements, contexts, communities, regions, or urban/rural environments). Sample Resource

Grade 7 Focus Place Cultural/Historical Outcomes Students: demonstrate understanding of how Indigenous artists from around the world express the importance of place (e.g., relationship to the land, geology, region, urban/rural environments). investigate the use of technology by contemporary artists and develop understanding of how media arts reflect a sense of place (e.g., television, film, Internet). Sample Resource

Grade 8 Focus Social Issues Creative/Productive Outcomes Students: create dance, drama, music, and visual art works that express ideas and student perspectives on social issues (e.g., poverty, racism, homophobia, sustainability, gangs). ArtsSmarts Grants Photo: Mark Taylor

Grade 8 Focus Social Issues Critical/Responsive Outcomes Students: examine the influence of societal changes on today’s artists including the role of the arts in advancing social justice. Sample Resource

Grade 8 Focus Social Issues Cultural/Historical Outcomes Students: demonstrate the ability to research independently to increase understanding of artists whose work incorporates social commentary. analyze the influence of social issues on the work of contemporary First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists. Sample Resource

Grade 9 Focus Taking Action Creative/Productive Outcomes Students: create dance, drama, music, and visual art works to raise awareness and take action on topics of concern to youth. Sample Resource

Grade 9 Focus Taking Action Critical/Responsive Outcomes Students: identify ways that the arts change along with changes in societies. analyze the role of the arts in raising awareness and affecting social change, and apply this understanding to reflections on their own work. Sample Resource

Grade 9 Focus Taking Action Cultural/Historical Outcomes Students: research artists whose work supports social awareness or community action. investigate the historical development of artistic styles and ideas and consider the role of the arts in initiating or reflecting changes in society. Sample Resource in development

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Contact Information Lynda Oliver Arts Education Consultant Saskatchewan Ministry of Education (306)