The Content of the Arts:
Strands and Standards
The STRANDS (The Arts Disciplines: Dance, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts; and Connections: History, Criticism, and Links to other Disciplines) describe the overall content of teaching, learning, and assessment in the arts.
There are ten PreK–12 Standards for each discipline. They define what students should be able to know and be able to do as a result of their study of the arts, and are also applicable to adult basic education programs. The PreK–12 Standards are further articulated into Learning Standards that describe what students should know and be able to do by the end of various stages of their arts study.
PreK–4 Learning Standards describe what students should know and be able to do in the four arts disciplines by the end of grade 4. These first school years should encourage students’ curiosity, allow them to explore dance, music, theatre, and visual arts, and to express their ideas and feelings through the arts. Students should also be introduced to reading and writing about the arts and artists as part of their arts, history and social science, and English language arts curricula.
Grades 5–8 Learning Standards describe what students should know and be able to do in the performing arts and in the visual arts by the end of grade 8. Sequential study should build on the PreK–4 program, enable students to acquire and refine skills and vocabulary in at least two of the performing arts and in the visual arts. Students should also continue to study the history of the arts in their arts and history and social science classes.
Grades 9–12, Basic Study Learning Standards describe what students should know and be able to do by the end of the equivalent of one full year’s study of any one of the disciplines at the high school level.
Grades 9–12, Extended Study Learning Standards describe what students should know and be able to do in one arts discipline by the end of the equivalent of two to four full years’ study at the high school level. A student contemplating application to a performing or visual arts or architecture program in a college or university should be able to demonstrate work at this level.
Using This Curriculum Framework to Design District Grade-by-Grade Curricula
Teachers of each arts discipline are responsible for incorporating ten standards into their curriculum. Standards 1–5 are discipline-specific, while standards 6–10 apply to all the arts disciplines. Used together, they represent opportunities for self-expression in creating and performing, and opportunities for critical response, reflection, and learning about cultural heritage. To allow for local decision-making, these standards are written for groups of grades. PreK–12 teachers and administrators in each district must decide which concepts will be introduced or refined at each grade level, and what materials, equipment, and resources will be used.