Art is a form of communication that allows people to express their innermost thoughts and feelings that perhaps couldn’t otherwise be expressed with words. At the middle school level, art provides students with a means to relate to the world and to each other by creatively expressing what is inside them. The focus of the curriculum is to develop technical and creative skills in art production and art appreciation through art criticism and aesthetic activities, as well as promoting visual literacy and personal growth. The student will come away from this program with increased creative ability, confidence in engaging in various art production activities, understanding of art from different time periods and cultures, and a general knowledge of art terminology. Students will learn to view art as a vehicle for free, creative expression and will be introduced to its importance in society.

The sixth grade curriculum begins to focus the students on technical art skills that will continue through the eighth-grade, giving the students the chance to perfect their skills. Students will start to draw from real life and learn about one -point perspective and how to use perspective to give depth to a work of art.

Strong emphasis is given to multicultural art projects. Indigenous art for example, has a natural focus on the use of the imagination and interpretation, rather than on how art “should look”. The reason for this is that adolescence brings developmental changes that directly impact creativity. Peer pressure, the need for literal interpretation, as well as accuracy and realism all play a role in stifling teen students self expression. The use of multicultural units allows middle school students that freedom to use design, color and associative imagery in ways that are not only acceptable but standard in these art forms.