New York State Standards for Arts Education: Kindergarten

NY.1. Elementary: Creating, Performing and Participating in the Arts: Students will actively engage in the processes that constitute creation and performance in the arts (dance, music, theatre, and visual arts) and participate in various roles in the arts.

1.1. Dance: Students will perform set dance forms in formal and informal contexts and will improvise, create, and perform dances based on their own movement ideas. They will demonstrate an understanding of choreographic principles, processes, and structures and of the roles of various participants in dance productions.

1.1.1. Students identify and demonstrate movement elements and skills (such as bend, twist, slide, skip, hop).

1.1.2. Students demonstrate ways of moving in relation to people, objects, and environments in set dance forms.

1.1.3. Students create and perform simple dances based on their own movement ideas.

1.2. Music: Students will compose original music and perform music written by others. They will understand and use the basic elements of music in their performances and compositions. Students will engage in individual and group musical and music-related tasks, and will describe the various roles and means of creating, performing, recording, and producing music.

1.2.1. Students create short pieces consisting of sounds from a variety of traditional (e.g., tambourine, recorder, piano, voice), electronic (e.g., keyboard), and nontraditional sound sources (e.g., water-filled glasses).

1.2.2. Students sing songs and play instruments, maintaining tone quality, pitch, rhythm, tempo, and dynamics; perform the music expressively; and sing or play simple repeated patterns (ostinatos) with familiar songs, rounds, partner songs, and harmonizing parts.

1.2.3. Students read simple standard notation in performance, and follow vocal or keyboard scores in listening.

1.2.4. Students, in performing ensembles, read very easy/easy music (New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) level I-II) and respond appropriately to the gestures of the conductor.

1.2.5. Students identify and use, in individual and group experiences, some of the roles, processes, and actions used in performing and composing music of their own and others.

1.3. Theatre: Students will create and perform theatre pieces as well as improvisational drama. They will understand and use the basic elements of theatre in their characterizations, improvisations, and play writing. Students will engage in individual and group theatrical and theatre-related tasks, and will describe the various roles and means of creating, performing, and producing theatre.

1.3.1. Students use creative drama to communicate ideas and feelings.

1.3.2. Students imitate experiences through pantomime, play making, dramatic play, story dramatization, story telling, and role playing.

1.3.3. Students use language, voice, gesture, movement, and observation to express their experiences and communicate ideas and feelings.

1.3.4. Students use basic props, simple set pieces, and costume pieces to establish place, time, and character for the participants.

1.3.5. Students identify and use in individual and group experiences some of the roles, processes, and actions for performing and creating theatre pieces and improvisational drama.

1.4. Visual Arts: Students will make works of art that explore different kinds of subject matter, topics, themes, and metaphors. Students will understand and use sensory elements, organizational principles, and expressive images to communicate their own ideas in works of art. Students will use a variety of art materials, processes, mediums, and techniques, and use appropriate technologies for creating and exhibiting visual art works.

1.4.1. Students experiment and create art works, in a variety of mediums (drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, video, and computer graphics), based on a range of individual and collective experiences.

1.4.2. Students develop their own ideas and images through the exploration and creation of art works based on themes, symbols, and events.

1.4.3. Students understand and use the elements and principles of art (line, color, texture, shape) in order to communicate their ideas.

1.4.4. Students reveal through their own art work understanding of how art mediums and techniques influence their creative decisions.

1.4.5. Students identify and use, in individual and group experiences, some of the roles and means for designing, producing, and exhibiting art works.

NY.2. Elementary: Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources: Students will be knowledgeable about and make use of the materials and resources available for participation in the arts in various roles.

2.1. Dance: Students will know how to access dance and dance-related material from libraries, resource centers, museums, studios, and performance spaces. Students will know various career possibilities in dance and recreational opportunities to dance. Students will attend dance events and participate as appropriate within each setting.

2.1.1. Students demonstrate knowledge of dance resources in video, photography, print, and live performance.

2.1.2. Students understand the concept of live performance and appropriate conduct.

2.1.3. Students demonstrate a knowledge of dance-related careers (e.g., dancer, choreographer, composer, lighting designer, historian, teacher).

2.2. Music: Students will use traditional instruments, electronic instruments, and a variety of nontraditional sound sources to create and perform music. They will use various resources to expand their knowledge of listening experiences, performance opportunities, and/or information about music. Students will identify opportunities to contribute to their communities' music institutions, including those embedded in other institutions. Students will know the vocations and avocations available to them in music.

2.2.1. Students use classroom and nontraditional instruments in performing and creating music.

2.2.2. Students construct instruments out of material not commonly used for musical instruments.

2.2.3. Students use current technology to manipulate sound.

2.2.4. Students identify the various settings in which they hear music and the various resources that are used to produce music during a typical week; explain why the particular type of music was used.

2.2.5. Students demonstrate appropriate audience behavior, including attentive listening, in a variety of musical settings in and out of school.

2.2.6. Students discuss ways that music is used by various members of the community.

2.3. Theatre: Students will know the basic tools, media, and techniques involved in theatrical production. Students will locate and use school, community, and professional resources for theatre experiences. Students will understand the job opportunities available in all aspects of theatre.

2.3.1. Students visit theaters, theatre-related facilities, and/or touring companies to observe aspects of theatrical production.

2.3.2. Students use the library/media center of their school or community to find story dramatization material or other theatre-related materials and to view videotapes of performances.

2.3.3. Students attend theatrical performances in their school and demonstrate appropriate audience behavior.

2.3.4. Students speak with theatre professionals about how they prepare for and perform their jobs.

2.4. Visual Arts: Students will know and use a variety of visual arts materials, techniques, and processes. Students will know about resources and opportunities for participation in visual arts in the community and use appropriate materials. Students will be aware of vocational options available in the visual arts.

2.4.1. Students understand the characteristics of various mediums (two-dimensional, three-dimensional, electronic images) in order to select those that are appropriate for their purposes and intent.

2.4.2. Students develop skills with electronic media as a means of expressing visual ideas.

2.4.3. Students know about some cultural institutions (museums and galleries) and community opportunities (art festivals) for looking at original art and talking to visiting artists, to increase their understanding of art.

2.4.4. Students give examples of adults who make their livings in the arts professions.

NY.3. Elementary: Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art: Students will respond critically to a variety of works in the arts, connecting the individual work to other works and to other aspects of human endeavor and thought.

3.1. Dance: Students will express through written and oral language their understanding, interpretation, and evaluation of dances they see, do, and read about. Students will acquire the critical vocabulary to talk and write about a variety of dance forms.

3.1.1. Students demonstrate knowledge of words and symbols (kinetic, visual, tactile, aural and olfactory) that describe movement.

3.1.2. Students express to others their understanding of specific dance performances, using appropriate language to describe what they have seen and heard.

3.2. Music: Students will demonstrate the capacity to listen to and comment on music. They will relate their critical assertions about music to its aesthetic, structural, acoustic, and psychological qualities. Students will use concepts based on the structure of music's content and context to relate music to other broad areas of knowledge. They will use concepts from other disciplines to enhance their understanding of music.

3.2.1. Students through listening, identify the strengths and weaknesses of specific musical works and performances, including their own and others'.

3.2.2. Students describe the music in terms related to basic elements such as melody, rhythm, harmony, dynamics, timbre, form, style, etc.

3.2.3. Students discuss the basic means by which the voice and instruments can alter pitch, loudness, duration, and timbre.

3.2.4. Students describe the music's context in terms related to its social and psychological functions and settings (e.g., roles of participants, effects of music, uses of music with other events or objects, etc.).

3.2.5. Students describe their understandings of particular pieces of music and how they relate to their surroundings.

3.3. Theatre: Students will reflect on, interpret, and evaluate plays and theatrical performances, both live and recorded, using the language of dramatic criticism. Students will analyze the meaning and role of theatre in society. Students will identify ways in which drama/theatre connects to film and video, other arts, and other disciplines.

3.3.1. Students discuss their understanding, interpretation, and evaluation of a theatrical performance, using basic theatre terminology.

3.3.2. Students identify the use of other art forms in theatre productions.

3.3.3. Students explain the relationship of theatre to film and video.

3.4. Visual Arts: Students will reflect on, interpret, and evaluate works of art, using the language of art criticism. Students will analyze the visual characteristics of the natural and built environment and explain the social, cultural, psychological, and environmental dimensions of the visual arts. Students will compare the ways in which a variety of ideas, themes, and concepts are expressed through the visual arts with the ways they are expressed in other disciplines.

3.4.1. Students explain their reflections about the meanings, purposes, and sources of works of art; describe their responses to the works and the reasons for those responses.

3.4.2. Students explain the visual and other sensory qualities (surfaces, colors, textures, shape, sizes, volumes) found in a wide variety of art works.

3.4.3. Students explain the themes that are found in works of visual art and how the art works are related to other forms of art (dance, music, theatre, etc.).

3.4.4. Students explain how ideas, themes, or concepts in the visual arts are expressed in other disciplines (e.g., mathematics, science, literature, social studies, etc.).

NY.4. Elementary: Understanding the Cultural Dimensions and Contributions of the Arts: Students will develop an understanding of the personal and cultural forces that shape artistic communication and how the arts in turn shape the diverse cultures of past and present society.

4.1. Dance: Students will know dances from many cultures and times and recognize their relationship to various cultural, social, and historic contexts. Students will recognize that dance is performed in many different cultural settings and serves many functions in diverse societies.

4.1.1. Students identify basic dance movements that are typical of the major world cultures.

4.1.2. Students explain the settings and circumstances in which dance is found in their lives and those of others, both past and present.

4.2. Music: Students will develop a performing and listening repertoire of music of various genres, styles, and cultures that represent the peoples of the world and their manifestations in the United States. Students will recognize the cultural features of a variety of musical compositions and performances and understand the functions of music within the culture.

4.2.1. Students identify when listening, and perform from memory, a basic repertoire of folk songs/dances and composed songs from the basic cultures that represent the peoples of the world.

4.2.2. Students identify the titles and composers of well-known examples of classical concert music and blues/jazz selections.

4.2.3. Students identify the primary cultural, geographical, and historical settings for the music they listen to and perform.

4.3. Theatre: Students will gain knowledge about past and present cultures as expressed through theatre. They will interpret how theatre reflects the beliefs, issues, and events of societies past and present.

4.3.1. Students dramatize stories and folk tales from various cultures.

4.3.2. Students engage in drama/theatre activities including music, dance, and games which reflect other cultures and ethnic groups.

4.3.3. Students discuss how classroom theatre activities relate to their lives.

4.4. Visual Arts: Students will explore art and artifacts from various historical periods and world cultures to discover the roles that art plays in the lives of people of a given time and place and to understand how the time and place influence the visual characteristics of the art work. Students will explore art to understand the social, cultural, and environmental dimensions of human society.

4.4.1. Students look at and discuss a variety of art works and artifacts from world cultures to discover some important ideas, issues, and events of those cultures.

4.4.2. Students look at a variety of art works and artifacts from diverse cultures of the United States and identify some distinguishing characteristics.

4.4.3. Students create art works that show the influence of a particular culture.