Students participate in visual art at Marie Murphy Junior High through a comprehensive program which integrates the areas of aesthetics, art critiicism, art history and creative expression. In order for students to comprehend art concepts, it is important to provide meaningful, hands-on learning experiences that allow for personal growth and creative expression.A quality art program provides students with:

experiences that are sequentially planned, building on previous concepts, and providing learning opportunities that incorporate a variety of media, artistic styles, and historical periods.
experiences that enable them to communicate their ideas and emotions in many different ways. It teaches that both verbal and nonverbal methods can be used to express abstract ideas and emotions.
experiences so that they learn to trust their creative intelligence and learn that some problems have many different solutions. This gives students confidence so they will not be afraid to make decisions in situations where there is more than one "right" answer.
expanding their perceptive, interpretive, and analytical abilities. They learn to find meaning in visual images and to identify aesthetic qualities in a variety of works. They use the language of visual art, and have a precise vocabulary with which to express their ideas, developing the ability to make and defend aesthetic judgments.
expanding their sensitivity to and understanding of the broad cultural foundation upon which their own culture is based. The visual arts have always been an integral component in the history of humanity. Through the study of art history, students develop a better understanding of beliefs and ideas that are different from their own.

Visual Arts Curriculum6th Grade Unit Goals

Unit 1: Color Theory

To develop understanding and knowledge of the use of color and value.

Unit 2: Shape & Form

To develop understanding and knowledge of the use of shape and form in visual art.

Unit 3: Balance & Movement in Form

To develop understanding and knowledge of the use of balance and its importance in visual art.

Unit 4: Drawing (Working with scale & proportion)

To develop understanding and knowledge of the use of proportion and scale in visual art.

Unit 5: Art Criticism

To develop understanding and knowledge of the first of four steps of art criticism: description, analysis, interpretation and judgment.

7th Grade Unit Goals

Unit 1: Perspective/Renaissance

To develop understanding and knowledge of the use of linear perspective: defining a three-dimensional form on a two- dimensional surface.

Unit 2: Rhythm & Movement

To develop understanding and sensitivity to visual rhythms and how they create a sensation of movement in works of art.

Unit 3: Variety, Emphasis & Unity

To develop understanding and knowledge of the use of principles of variety, emphasis and unity. (Unity is the ultimate principle of art; if all elements and principles work properly, a unified work of art results.)

Unit 4: Self-Portraits

To develop understanding and knowledge of artistic heritage and see the relationship between world events and the creation of art.

Unit 5: Art Criticism

To develop understanding and knowledge of the first four steps of art criticism: description, analysis, interpretation and judgment.

8th Grade Unit Goals

Unit 1: Color & Texture

To develop understanding and knowledge of how texture is the tactile element of art related to the surfaces of things and to become aware of texture in their environment.

Unit 2: Perspective & Renaissance

To develop understanding and knowledge of the use of linear perspective to create the illusion of a three-dimensional form on a two-dimensional surface.

Unit 3: Animation (Computer)

To develop understanding and knowledge of the use of cartooning and animation as a modern art form.

Unit 4: Line

To develop understanding and knowledge of the uses of line and how line is used to refer to a path of a moving point through space.

Unit 5: Art Criticism

To develop understanding and knowledge of the four steps of art criticism: description, analysis, interpretation and judgment.