KS2 Art and Design encourages students to explore the value of art and develop their own art.
Key Stage 2 (KS2) refers to the national curriculum of grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 in England and Wales. At this educational level, students range in age from 7 to 11. One of the classes taught at this stage is Art and Design, a course that develops an appreciation for and facility with the arts. The United Kingdom has established a national curriculum with specific guidelines to direct the instruction of Art and Design.
Exploring and Developing Ideas
This first learning objective is student centered and drives the students to bring their own knowledge to their understanding of art and design. To establish the foundation for student exploration and development of ideas, teachers should encourage students to do the following:
1. Record from experience and imagination, to select and record from firsthand observation and to explore ideas for different purposes.
2. Question and make thoughtful observations about starting points and select ideas to use in their work.
3. Collect visual and other information (for example, images and materials) to help them develop ideas. This includes using a sketchbook.
Investigating and Making Art, Craft and Design
Investigating and making art, craft and design---the second learning objective of the national curriculum of art and design---builds upon the foundation set by the first objective. As students explore art and design, they develop their own ideas about it. The natural extension of those ideas is to investigate their personal creative process with regard to art and design. For this learning objective, teachers establish a foundation for creation by adhering to these standards:
1. Investigate and combine visual and tactile qualities of materials and processes and match these qualities to the purpose of the work.
2. Apply their experience of materials and processes, including drawing and developing their control of tools and techniques.
3. Use a variety of methods and approaches to communicate observations, ideas and feelings, and to design and make images and artifacts.
Evaluating and Developing Work
As students create work and explore their perceptions about it, they are encouraged to evaluate others' work and to continue to develop their own art through evaluation. Students learn to exercise these skills with regard to evaluation and development of work:
1. Compare ideas, methods and approaches in their own and others' work and say what they think and feel about them.
2. Adapt their work according to their views and describe how they might develop it further.
Knowledge and Understanding
Through all the learning objectives, the ultimate goal is a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the discipline of art and design, as well as the cultural value. While each learning objective helps lay the foundation for this, the final learning objective explicitly addresses this educational goal by establishing these guidelines for what teachers should teach:
1. Visual and tactile elements, including color, pattern and texture, line and tone, shape, form and space, and how these elements can be combined and organized for different purposes.
2. Materials and processes used in art, craft and design and how these can be matched to ideas and intentions.
3. The roles and purposes of artists, craftspeople and designers working in different times and cultures (for example, Western Europe and the wider world).
