Connecticut State Standards for Arts Education: Grade 8

CT.1. Dance: Elements And Skills: Students will identify and perform movement elements and dance skills.

1.1. Students demonstrate the following movement skills and explain the underlying principles: alignment, balance, initiation of movement, articulation of isolated body parts, weight shift, elevation and landing.

1.2. Students identify and demonstrate longer and more complex steps and patterns.

1.3. Students transfer a spatial pattern from the visual to the kinesthetic.

1.4. Students transfer a rhythmic pattern from sound to movement.

1.5. Students identify and demonstrate a range of dynamics/movement qualities.

1.6. Students demonstrate increasing kinesthetic awareness, concentration and focus in performing a range of movement skills.

1.7. Students memorize and reproduce movement sequences and dances.

1.8. Students describe the movement elements observed in a dance, using appropriate movement/dance vocabulary.

CT.2. Dance: Choreography: Students will understand choreographic principles, processes and structures.

2.1. Students use improvisation to generate movement for choreography.

2.2. Students create sequences and simple dances that demonstrate the principles of, for example, repetition, contrast, transition and climax.

2.3. Students demonstrate successfully the structures or forms of AB, ABA, canon, call and response, and narrative.

2.4. Students demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively in pairs and small groups during the choreographic process.

2.5. Students demonstrate the following partner skills: creating contrasting and complementary shapes, taking and supporting weight, balance and counter-balance.

2.6. Students describe and analyze the choreographic structure of dance viewed in class, in the theatre, or on video.

CT.3. Dance: Meaning: Students will understand how dance creates and communicates meaning.

3.1. Students effectively demonstrate the difference between pantomiming and creating abstract meaning through dance movement.

3.2. Students observe and explain how different accompaniment (such as sound, music, spoken text) can affect the meaning of a dance.

3.3. Students demonstrate and/or explain how lighting and costuming can contribute to the meaning of a dance.

3.4. Students explain the meaning of one of their own dances.

CT.4. Dance: Thinking Skills: Students will apply analytical and evaluative thinking skills in dance.

4.1. Students create a movement idea and demonstrate multiple interpretations, choose the most effective and discuss the reasons for their choice.

4.2. Students compare and contrast two dance compositions in terms of space (such as shape and pathways), time (such as rhythm and tempo), and force/energy (movement qualities).

4.3. Students identify possible aesthetic criteria for evaluating dance (such as skill of performers, originality, visual and/or emotional impact, variety and contrast, clarity of idea).

CT.5. Dance: History And Cultures: Students will demonstrate an understanding of dance in various cultures and historical periods.

5.1. Students competently perform folk, traditional and/or classical dances from various cultures or time periods, and describe similarities and differences in steps and movement styles.

5.2. Students competently perform folk, social and/or theatrical dances from a broad spectrum of 20th century America.

5.3. Students learn from resources (such as people, books and videos) in their own community a folk dance of a different culture or a social dance of a different time period and the cultural/historical context of that dance, effectively sharing the dance and its context with their peers.

5.4. Students describe the role of dance in at least two different cultures or time periods.

CT.6. Dance: Healthful Living: Students will make connections between dance and healthful living.

6.1. Students identify at least three personal goals to improve themselves as dancers and steps they are taking to reach those goals.

6.2. Students identify major muscle groups and how they work together to produce movement.

6.3. Students create their own warm-up and discuss how that warm-up prepares the body and mind for expressive purposes.

6.4. Students explain strategies to prevent dance injuries.

CT.7. Dance: Connections: Students will make connections between dance, other disciplines and daily life.

7.1. Students cite examples of concepts used in dance and another discipline outside the arts (such as balance, shape, pattern).

7.2. Students create a dance project that explores and expresses important ideas from another arts discipline (such as foreground and background, or color, in visual art).

7.3. Students video record a dance produced in class, intensifying or changing the meaning of the dance through the recording process.

CT.1. Music: Vocal: Students will sing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of songs.

1.1. Students sing accurately and with good breath control throughout their singing ranges, alone and in small and large ensembles.

1.2. Students sing with expression and technical accuracy a repertoire of vocal literature with a difficulty level of 2, on a scale of 1 to 6, including some songs performed from memory.

1.3. Students sing music representing diverse genres and cultures, with expression appropriate for the work being performed.

1.4. Students sing music written in two and three parts.

1.5. Students who participate in a choral ensemble or class will, in addition, sing with expression and technical accuracy a varied repertoire of vocal literature with a difficulty level of 3, on a scale of 1 to 6, including some songs performed from memory.

CT.2. Music: Instrumental: Students will play, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of instrumental music.

2.1. Students perform on at least one instrument accurately and independently, alone and in small and large ensembles, with good posture, good playing position and good breath, bow or stick control.

2.2. Students perform with expression and technical accuracy on at least one string, wind, percussion or classroom instrument a repertoire of instrumental literature with a difficulty level of 2, on a scale of 1 to 6.

2.3. Students perform music representing diverse genres and cultures, with expression appropriate for the work being performed.

2.4. Students play by ear simple melodies on a melodic instrument and simple accompaniments on a harmonic instrument.

2.5. Students who participate in an instrumental ensemble or class will, in addition, perform with expression and technical accuracy a varied repertoire of instrumental literature with a difficulty level of 3, on a scale of 1 to 6, including some solos performed from memory.

CT.3. Music: Improvisation: Students will improvise melodies, variations and accompaniments.

3.1. Students improvise simple harmonic accompaniments.

3.2. Students improvise melodic embellishments and simple rhythmic and melodic variations on given pentatonic melodies and melodies in major keys.

3.3. Students improvise short melodies, unaccompanied and over given rhythmic accompaniments, each in a consistent style, meter and tonality.

CT.4. Music: Composition: Students will compose and arrange music.

4.1. Students compose short pieces within specified guidelines, demonstrating how the elements of music are used to achieve unity and variety, tension and release, and balance.

4.2. Students arrange simple pieces for voices or instruments other than those for which the pieces were written.

4.3. Students use a variety of traditional and nontraditional sound sources and electronic media when composing and arranging.

CT.5. Music: Notation: Students will read and notate music.

5.1. Students read whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth and dotted notes and rests in 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 6/8, 3/8, and alla breve meter signatures.

5.2. Students read at sight simple melodies in both the treble and bass clefs.

5.3. Students identify and define standard notation symbols for pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, articulation and expression.

5.4. Students use standard notation to record their musical ideas and the musical ideas of others.

5.5. Students who participate in a performing ensemble or class will, in addition, sight-read, accurately and expressively, music with a level of difficulty of 2, on a scale of 1 to 6.

CT.6. Music: Analysis: Students will listen to, describe and analyze music.

6.1. Students describe specific music events in a given aural example, using appropriate terminology.

6.2. Students analyze the uses of elements of music in aural examples representing diverse genres and cultures.

6.3. Students demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles of meter, rhythm, tonality, intervals, chords and harmonic progressions in their analyses of music.

CT.7. Music: Evaluation: Students will evaluate music and music performances.

7.1. Students develop criteria for evaluating the quality and effectiveness of music performances and compositions and apply the criteria in their personal listening and performing.

7.2. Students evaluate the quality and effectiveness of their own and others' performances, compositions, arrangements and improvisations by applying specific criteria appropriate for the style of the music, and offer constructive suggestions for improvement.

CT.8. Music: Connections: Students will make connections between music, other disciplines and daily life.

8.1. Students compare in two or more arts how the characteristic materials of each art (sound in music, visual stimuli in visual arts, movement in dance, human relationships in theatre) can be used to transform similar events, scenes, emotions or ideas into works of art.

8.2. Students describe ways in which the principles and subject matter of music and other disciplines taught in the school are interrelated.

8.3. Students identify a variety of music-related careers.

CT.9. Music: History and Cultures: Students will understand music in relation to history and culture.

9.1. Students describe distinguishing characteristics of representative music genres and styles from a variety of cultures.

9.2. Students classify by genre and style (and, if applicable, by historical period, composer and title) a varied body of exemplary (that is, high-quality and characteristic) musical works, and explain the characteristics that cause each work to be considered exemplary.

9.3. Students compare, in several cultures of the world, the functions music serves, roles of musicians, and conditions under which music is typically performed.

CT.1. Theatre: Creating: Students will create theatre through improvising, writing and refining scripts.

1.1. Students individually and in groups, develop characters, environments and actions that create tension and suspense.

1.2. Students refine and record dialogue and action.

CT.2. Theatre: Acting: Students will act by developing, communicating and sustaining characters.

2.1. Students analyze dramatic text to discover, articulate and justify character motivation.

2.2. Students invent character behaviors based on the observation of interactions, ethical choices and emotional responses of people.

2.3. Students use acting skills (such as sensory recall, concentration, breath control, diction, body alignment, control of isolated body parts) to develop characterizations that reflect artistic choices.

2.4. Students in an ensemble, interact as the invented characters.

CT.3. Theatre: Technical Production: Students will design and produce the technical elements of theatre through artistic interpretation and execution.

3.1. Students describe and use the relationship among scenery, properties, lighting, sound, costumes and makeup in creating an environment appropriate for the drama.

3.2. Students analyze improvised and scripted scenes for technical requirements.

3.3. Students develop the environment using visual elements (line, texture, color, space), visual principles (repetition, balance, emphasis, contrast, unity) and aural qualities (pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, expression) from traditional and nontraditional sources.

3.4. Students work collaboratively and safely to select and create elements of scenery, properties, lighting and sound to signify environments, and costumes and makeup to suggest character.

CT.4. Theatre: Directing: Students will direct by planning or interpreting works of theatre and by organizing and conducting rehearsals.

4.1. Students demonstrate social, group and consensus skills by leading small groups in planning visual and aural elements and in rehearsing improvised and scripted scenes.

CT.5. Theatre: Researching and Interpreting: Students will research, evaluate and apply cultural and historical information to make artistic choices.

5.1. Students apply research from print and nonprint sources to script writing, acting, design and directing choices.

CT.6. Theatre: Connections: Students will make connections between theatre, other disciplines and daily life.

6.1. Students describe characteristics and compare the presentation of characters, environments and actions in theatre, dance and visual arts.

6.2. Students incorporate elements of dance, music and visual arts to express ideas and emotions in improvised and scripted scenes.

6.3. Students express and compare personal reactions to several art forms.

6.4. Students describe and compare the functions and interaction of performing artists, visual artists and audience members in theatre, dance, music and visual arts.

6.5. Students describe ways in which the principles and subject matter of theater and other arts disciplines taught in school are inter-related.

6.6. Students explain how social concepts such as cooperation, communication, collaboration, consensus, self-esteem, risk taking, sympathy and empathy apply in theatre and daily life.

6.7. Students explain the knowledge, skills and discipline needed to pursue careers and avocational opportunities in theatre.

CT.7. Theatre: Analysis, Criticism and Meaning: Students will analyze, critique and construct meanings from works of theatre.

7.1. Students describe and analyze the effect of publicity, study guides, programs and physical environments on audience response and appreciation of dramatic performances.

7.2. Students articulate and support the meanings constructed from dramatic performances.

7.3. Students use articulated criteria to describe, analyze and constructively evaluate the effectiveness of artistic choices in dramatic performances.

7.4. Students describe and evaluate the effectiveness of students' contributions (as playwrights, actors, designers and directors) to the collaborative process of developing improvised and scripted scenes.

CT.8. Theatre: History and Cultures: Students will demonstrate an understanding of context by analyzing and comparing theatre in various cultures and historical periods.

8.1. Students describe and compare universal characters and situations in dramas from and about various cultures and historical periods, create improvised and scripted scenes based on these universal characters and situations, and discuss how theatre reflects a culture.

8.2. Students analyze the emotional and social impact of dramatic events in their lives, in the community and in other cultures.

8.3. Students explain how culture affects the content and design elements of dramatic performances.

CT.1. Visual Arts: Media: Students will understand, select and apply media, techniques and processes.

1.1. Students select media, techniques and processes to communicate ideas, reflect on their choices and analyze what makes them effective.

1.2. Students improve the communication of their own ideas by effectively using the characteristics of a variety of traditional and contemporary art media, techniques and processes (two-dimensional and three-dimensional, including media/technology).

1.3. Students use different media, techniques and processes (two-dimensional and three-dimensional, including media/technology) to communicate ideas, feelings, experiences and stories.

CT.2. Visual Arts: Elements and Principles: Students will understand and apply elements and organizational principles of art.

2.1. Students use ways of arranging visual characteristics and reflect upon what makes them effective in conveying ideas.

2.2. Students recognize and reflect on the effects of arranging visual characteristics in their own and others' work.

2.3. Students select and use the elements of art and principles of design to improve communication of their ideas.

CT.3. Visual Arts: Content: Students will consider, select and apply a range of subject matter, symbols and ideas.

3.1. Students consider, select from and apply a variety of sources for art content in order to communicate intended meaning.

3.2. Students consider and compare the sources for subject matter, symbols and ideas in their own and others' work.

CT.4. Visual Arts: History And Cultures: Students will understand the visual arts in relation to history and cultures.

4.1. Students know and compare the characteristics and purposes of works of art representing various cultures, historical periods and artists.

4.2. Students describe and place a variety of specific significant art objects by artist, style and historical and cultural context.

4.3. Students analyze, describe and demonstrate how factors of time and place (such as climate, natural resources, ideas and technology) influence visual characteristics that give meaning and value to a work of art.

CT.5. Visual Arts: Analysis, Interpretation and Evaluation: Students will reflect upon, describe, analyze, interpret and evaluate their own and others' work.

5.1. Students compare and contrast purposes for creating works of art.

5.2. Students describe and analyze visual characteristics of works of art using visual art terminology.

5.3. Students compare a variety of individual responses to, and interpretations of, their own works of art and those from various eras and cultures.

5.4. Students describe their own responses to, and interpretations of, specific works of art.

5.5. Students reflect on and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of their own and others' work using specific criteria (e.g., technique, formal and expressive qualities, content).

5.6. Students describe/analyze their own artistic growth over time in relation to specific criteria.

CT.6. Visual Arts: Connections: Students will make connections between the visual arts, other disciplines and daily life.

6.1. Students compare the characteristics of works in the visual arts and other art forms that share similar subject matter, themes, purposes, historical periods or cultural context.

6.2. Students describe ways in which the principles and subject matter of the visual arts and other disciplines taught in school are interrelated.

6.3. Students combine the visual arts with another art form to create coherent multimedia work.

6.4. Students apply visual arts knowledge and skills to solve problems common in daily life.

6.5. Students identify various careers that are available to artists.