With early primary-grade children, what knowledge and understanding is necessary for a teacher to have in order to support their approach to art?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANSWER: The child at this stage becomes more serious and focused in the art process. The child’s early concrete experimenting and learning­by­doing art activities become a bridge to complex thinking. Realistic color and proportion are evident in the child’s finished art. Careful planning is also becoming more apparent as part of the process. The opinion of the adult observer becomes important. The child feels that her art must be recognizable in both content and subject matter to the viewer. Often the child offers critical evaluation about her own work. At this point, art often takes a backseat to other curriculum areas, such as math and literacy. However, children benefit from frequent art experiences both during specialized instruction and from integration of art activities and techniques in the classroom. Teachers should involve children in complex, meaningful tasks, such as creating short picture books or storyboards for making videos.