Middle School Visual Arts
MYP Visual Art at the Middle School expands on the PYP, or previous Visual Art experience nurtured at the elementary level, and prepares students for the art program at the high school. In the MYP Visual Arts program, we provide a broad range of innovative, inspiring, and relevant arts education offerings so all students learn to express their unique voices and help shape a thriving Middle school community.
Exploring creativitY
Our aim is to create a strong, equitable, and world-class Middle School Visual Arts education that is accessible to all students, one where students are able to pursue visual arts as a serious subject for study or to enjoy an exploration of their creativity. Some features of the visual arts program across all grade levels include: individual and peer critiques, exposure to digital art-making tools and media, opportunities to show work on and off campus, field trips, and collaborative art projects. All students plan ideas, find inspirational images, conduct artist research to record their planning and process, and document the creative journey in a process sketchbook. Students are enrolled in MYP Visual Art for one semester each year in grades 6, 7, and 8.
Grade 6
Grade 6 MYP Visual Arts students begin learning the MYP Visual Art foundational skills needed to develop successful artwork. They explore various methods of creating 2D, 3D, and digital artwork, look at how artists of the past and present and across different cultures produce art, and they begin to create awareness of their own artistic style. Each unit provides opportunities for students to engage with new materials and subject matter, discover new techniques, and explore aspects of their own identity.
Grade 7
Grade 7 MYP Visual Arts expands on students' newly acquired art skills. As the inquiries of study progress, students understand, identify, and utilize the key elements and principles that make up art, as well as develop self-confidence and self-awareness through art experiences. This course encourages students to extend their visual vocabulary, think critically, and understand that art is a tool of communication and expression.
Grade 8
Grade 8 MYP Visual Art units of study allow students to deepen their art practice while providing further opportunities to make emerging self-actualized artwork. This course emphasizes making art as a process that involves experiments and informed decision-making. It encourages creative and ongoing investigation of formal and conceptual visual art issues. Students are encouraged to think independently, work collaboratively, create inventively, and practice critical thinking while also focusing on refining their use of the Elements and Principles of Design.