Visual Arts

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visual Arts education is an essential part of the academic curriculum as it has, does and continues to support the achievement of human development, social skills, and economic growth within society.Visual Arts enables students to develop personal, intellectual, and inter/intra personal skills through cultivating curiosity and creativity.Visual Arts is inclusive of a vibrant history, the development of a body of work, and compelling cultural traditions providing students with the tools to interact with the visual world and communicate successfully.A

2021 JC ARTS SENIOR SHOW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kindergarten - Curriculum Overview

The Visual Arts Kindergarten Curriculum is an introduction for the student to formalize their imagination by using the elements of art and principles of design to create a work of art. Students begin by observing, describing, and critically thinking about the visual world around them. All of this new information gathered by the students is aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Visual Arts, providing the tools and enabling the students to master developmentally needed skills, such as, small motor, visual recognition, and visual connections.

Grades 1-4 Curriculum Overview

 

The Visual Arts Curriculum Grades 1-4 address the foundational early years that are the cornerstone for future development, interest, confidence, and becoming an ever curious seeker of beauty in the world.  Students are easily engaged and are interested in many things! It is important to present each element of art and principle of design in a manner that appeals to their interests in fantasy, imagination, and is relatable to the world around them.  For the grades 1-2 students the desire to build and experience new concepts is key in the refinement of small motor skills as they build agility and confidence. Students continue to develop and strongly identify with familiar objects, such as, family members, friends, animals, nature, and everyday activities. In grades 3-4, students are able to work more independently and also enjoy group work affording opportunities to build upon two dimensional skills such as overlapping, use of color, and size creating the illusion of depth. Students are also beginning to understand and recognize the association with art history with strong identification of realism as oppose to abstraction. Students are able to identify genres and are curious about the why, what, where and when of how art is made.

Grades 5-8 Curriculum Overview

 

The Visual Arts Curriculum for grades 5-6 address the development of students socially, globally, environmentally, and students ability to process why they like or dislike aspects of these areas and how this can be created in their art making.  Art becomes a vehicle of expression for the student as more than just portraying the familiar objects in the world around them, but to also be a vehicle to express their feelings, opinions, and perspective of their world. Individual styles begin to emerge and the availability of to research the student’s emerging style of art as related to a genre, era of history, and  social commentary is critical to their visual growth.

In grades 7-8, students developmentally are challenging the norm and are hyper aware of their surroundings. Students begin to explore abstract art as they readily explore and question the why of their perceived ideas. Students are able to look for symbolism in their art work and the work of others. The elements of art and principles of design instruction is in alignment with the NJ Student Learning Standard for Visual Arts.

Grades 9-12 Curriculum Overview

 

The Visual Art Curriculum throughout Grades 9-12 is focused upon expanding students recognition of the elements of art and principles of design. Compositions are planned, researched, and mindful of depicting a mood, a message, with the viewer in mind.  Students are driven by self interests and need guidance from the art teacher to make meaningful connections between the outside world and how they can bring what they are experiencing and observing into the art they produce inside the art room.

 

The visual art often is the primary vehicle for self expression for students. And art can also be a vehicle to open discussion about how they perceive the world they live in and how artists in the past and present have and do influence how the popular culture perceives what they view. Media is explored in depth so that students experience the possibilities of creating art that not only is conceptual but is impacted by the choice of media, such as, ceramics, construction of found objects, printmaking, digital software programs, drawing, painting, and mixed media.  Students are encouraged to expand ideas through research, take risk in art making through media and style and more intensive research based in exploration of art history.

 

 

Visual Art Curriculum

 

Visual Art Curriculum K-2	Visual Art Curriculum 3-5	Visual Art Curriculum 6-8

 

Sculpture Curriculum	Painting Fundamentals Curriculum	Mural Design Curriculum

 

 

JCArts Junior Academy Curriculum	Fine Arts and Technology I	Fine Arts and Technology II

 

Drawing and Printmaking Curriculum	Creative Development Curriculum	Ceramics Curriculum
ATC IV_AP Drawing Curriculum	ATC III_AP 2-D Design Curriculum	ATC Grades 5-8 Curriculum
ATC Grades 1-4  Curriculum	ATC II Honors 2022	ATC I Honors 2022
AP Art History Curriculum

 

 

Course Offerings

K-8  Visual Arts Courses are sequentially aligned with each grade and are 45 minutes per week. The Artistically Talented Course, Grades 1-4 is an elective enrichment program for the gifted art student. Students must apply and meet criteria outlined in the entrance application. This course is in addition to the Visual Art Grade level course which is 90 minutes per week.

 

The Jersey City Arts Junior Academy, Grade 8 is an elective for the student that has achieved an exemplary level of artistic achievement.  Students must apply and meet the criteria outlined in the entrance application. This course is in addition to the Visual Arts Grade 8 level course and is 45 minutes daily.

 

9-12 Visual Art Courses are electives. The State of New Jersey requires 5 credits of either visual art, instrumental music, vocal, or drama be completed as part of high school graduation requirement.

 

The following courses do not require a prerequisite and fulfill graduation requirement:

 

• Creative Development in Visual Arts-5 credits
• Drawing & Printmaking-5 credits
• Sculpture-5 credits
• Fine Arts & Technology -5 credits
• Painting-5 credits
• Mural Design-5 credits

 

• Prerequisite courses:
• Ceramics-5 credits
• Advanced Fine Arts & Technology-5 credits
• Advanced Placement Art History-5 credits

 

District Wide 9-12 Jersey City Arts High School Program

The JC Arts Program is for the student who has achieved an exemplary level of visual arts upon completing grade 8.  Students must apply and submit a portfolio for review by a panel for adjudication. Students must complete a HIP application and select JC Arts as their first choice. Students may attend their district high school and attend JC Arts @ Ferris High School or Snyder High School for Artistically Talented Courses (ATC).

Entry level ATC 1 fulfills the high School graduation requirement. All ATC courses are 10 credits.

ATC Courses:

• Honors ATC 1
• Honors ATC 2
• Honors ATC 3
• Advanced Placement 2D Design
• Honors ATC 4- Advanced Placement Studio Drawing.

Student Opportunities 

 

• Youth Art Month Community Exhibits District Wide
• Annual Permanent Student Art Collection-Juried Art Show
• Contests: PATH Holiday Poster Contest
• Law Day Poster Contest- Earth Day Poster Contest
• Scholastic Art Awards- Frogs are Green Art Contest
• Hudson County Alliance for Teen Artists Art Expo
• Kiwanis High School Art Expo
• Congressional Art Competition for HS- Anthony S. Guadadiello Memorial Art Scholarship for Senior HS Students entering Art School
• College, Scholastic Art Awards Competition, Emerging Artists sponsored by AANJ

 

• Museum Education -Newark Museum field trip district wide Grades 5 & 8.
• DaVinci Initiative Atelier Training for advanced high school art students
• STEAM Sustainability Challenge - Climate Action- Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math. Grades K-12 w/ Jersey City Office of Sustainability and various organizations
• JC Arts Senior Thesis Exit Shows- Various community galleries

Resources