Grade 2

The Arts in Grade 2

Arts instruction in the second grade facilitates use of imagination, sensory awareness, and auditory and visual recall. Students create based on personal interpretations of varied themes related to activities and events in their lives. Second grade students begin the process of taking and giving feedback about creative work of self and others in appropriate ways.

In grade two, student work shows use of arts elements for a purpose and students learn to make judgments about work based on perceived features. Discussion with students is essential to their continued success and to the teacher’s ability to plan the next step in the learning process. Asking questions that must be answered both physically and verbally will help to assess gaps between kinesthetic and cognitive understanding. Students are questioned often about concepts/skills that have been covered in past lessons. Teachers advance the quality of student work by setting and clarifying standards.

Although it is not necessary to perform in every class, teachers frequently allow students to share with each other in small ways. For example, when students are improvising, half the class may watch while the other half performs Humuhumunukunukuapua`a by Camaryn Yokota . This kind of activity allows students to attain additional visual knowledge of the concept and tests their observation skills when they are questioned about what they have seen. The arts help second graders to interact constructively in groups, developing effective interpersonal relationships.

Arts instruction in second grade focuses on organizing ideas and elements as part of creative and scientific inquiry processes. Students learn step-by-step procedures and strategies to organize ideas and topics. Students look for meanings, reasons and intent, and use data to make predictions. Looking at works of art, music, theatre, and dance can enhance students’ skills in communication, comprehension, and interpretation in any content area.

Lessons

Index to Lessons
	Title	Arts Discipline	Subject/Topic
Arts Integrated Lessons	Mask Symmetry	Visual Arts	Math: Symmetry
	Tiki and Totems	Visual Arts	Social Studies: Cultural Systems & Practices
	Pease Porridge	Music	Math: Patterns
	Exploring Environments	Drama	Science: Unity and Diversity
	Puppet Scenes	Drama	Language Arts: Literary Elements, Discussion and Presentation
	Comparing Cultural Dances	Dance	Social Studies: Cultural Systems & Practices
Arts Lessons	Mixed Media Collage	Visual Arts	How the Arts are Organized
	Color Moods	Visual Arts	How the Arts Communicate
	Fuzzy Wuzzy	Music	How the Arts Communicate
	Instruments from Various Cultures	Music	How the Arts Shape and Reflect Culture
	Transforming Objects	Drama	How the Arts are Organized
	Mood	Dance	How the Arts Communicate

Standards and Benchmarks

Standard 1: Visual Arts – Understand and apply art materials, techniques, and processes in the creation of original works of art and understand how the visual arts communicate a variety of ideas, feelings, and experiences.
Standard 2: Music – Understand and apply elements of music and understand how music communicates ideas, feelings, and experiences across cultures.
Standard 3: Drama and Theatre – Understand and apply the skills of acting, design, and technical theatre and understand the role of drama in various cultures throughout history.
Standard 4: Dance – Understand and apply elements of dance, appreciate how dance communicates meaning, and recognize its role across cultures and throughout history.

Benchmarks by Topic
Topic	Code	Benchmark
How the Arts are Organized	FA.2.1.1	Use the element of space and the principles of repetition and variety, with a variety of art media.
	FA.2.2.1 FA.2.2.2	Demonstrate rhythmic notation of whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes and quarter rests. Use melodic notation of simple four-beat patterns using three different pitches on a staff.
	FA.2.3.1 FA.2.3.2	Use physical movements, rhythms, and voice to express simple feelings, character, and plot. Create simple costumes, scenery, and props.
	FA.2.4.1 FA.2.4.2 FA.2.4.3	Apply the element of space and pathways to create simple movement sequences. Demonstrate the element of time, tempo, beat, duration, and rhythm. Use simple partner skills during movement sequences.
How the Arts Communicate	FA.2.1.2 FA.2.1.3	Use color to convey mood in works of art. Describe different responses to the same work of art.
	FA.2.2.3	Sing or play repeating rhythmic or melodic patterns.
	FA.2.3.3	Interpret the ideas and morals of theatrical works.
	FA.2.4.4	Create movement sequences that express a mood.
How the Arts Shape and Reflect Culture	FA.2.1.4	Investigate how art is used in celebrations, festivals, and customs of selected cultures from the past and present.
	FA.2.2.4	Describe instrument families and sounds from various cultures.
	FA.2.3.4	Assess how various styles of theatrical production relate to culture.
	FA.2.4.5	Compare dances from a variety of cultures.

Framework for Linking the Arts to Other Core Areas in Grade 2

Teachers are encouraged to connect the fine arts topics with content in other areas. Examples of possible benchmark connections are listed below.

>Language Arts

Arts Topic
How The Arts Are Organized: Students explore how works of arts – dance, scenes, songs, or images – are organized. Just as the elements of writing (words, sentences) can be organized into a variety of forms (essays, poems), so are the arts organized by elements and principles.
	Language Arts Benchmarks
2.3.2	Identify the story elements of character, plot, and setting.
2.3.3	Identify basic characteristics of familiar genres (e.g., stories, poems, textbook).
2.5.1	Choose and maintain a focus in a single piece of writing.
2.5.3	Use a beginning, middle, and ending in a piece of writing.

Arts Topic
How The Arts Communicate: Students also come to understand that the arts exist for a variety of purposes, or functions. Artists make work to communicate. By studying “How the Arts Communicate,” students build literacy and develop critical thinking, analysis, and interpretive skills.
	Language Arts Benchmarks
2.2.2	Make, confirm, and modify predictions about a text.
2.6.1	Use oral language to obtain information, complete a task, and share ideas with others.
2.6.2	Give an oral presentation to share information with peers.
2.6.3	Express ideas through drama activities (e.g., role playing, skills, puppetry, choral reading, story telling).
2.6.4	Use appropriate social conventions in various large and small group situations.
2.6.5	Give feedback to a speaker to promote mutual understanding.
2.6.6	Adjust pacing, volume, and intonation appropriate to content and purpose.
2.6.7	Use simple gestures and eye contact to complement and enhance verbal messages.
2.7.1	Add details and information to support ideas when speaking.
2.7.2	Organize ideas in a simple organization pattern or logical sequence so listeners can understand them.

Math

Arts Topic
How The Arts Are Organized: Students explore how works of arts – dance, scenes, songs, or images – are organized. Just as the elements of writing (words, sentences) can be organized into a variety of forms (essays, poems), so are the arts organized by elements and principles.
	Math Benchmarks
2.1.3	Represent fractions with denominators no larger than ten using pictures, numbers, words, or models.
2.2.2	Demonstrate multiplication as repeated addition of equal groups.
2.3.2	Use a variety of strategies to solve problems involving addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers.
2.5.1	Compare and sort two- and three-dimensional shapes according to selected attributes.
2.6.1	Demonstrate flips, slides, and turns by moving shapes.
2.6.2	Recognize line symmetry in plane figures and create pictures with line symmetry.
2.9.2	Use different forms (e.g., concrete, pictorial, numerical) to represent the same basic pattern.
2.9.3	Demonstrate and explain the difference between repeating patterns and growing patterns.
2.10.1	Create a word/story problem for a given number sentence.

Science

Arts Topic
How The Arts Communicate: Students also come to understand that the arts exist for a variety of purposes, or functions. Artists make work to communicate. By studying “How the Arts Communicate,” students build literacy and develop critical thinking, analysis, and interpretive skills.
	Science Benchmarks
2.1.1	Develop predictions based on observations.
2.2.1	Describe changes that have occurred in society as a result of new technologies.
2.4.1	Explain how plants and animals go through life cycles.
2.5.1	Identify distinct environments and the different kinds of organisms each environment supports.

Social Studies

Arts Topic
How The Arts Are Organized: Students explore how works of arts – dance, scenes, songs, or images – are organized. Just as the elements of writing (words, sentences) can be organized into a variety of forms (essays, poems), so are the arts organized by elements and principles.
	Social Studies Benchmarks
2.1.1	Construct timelines to sequence events.

Arts Topic
How The Arts Communicate: Students also come to understand that the arts exist for a variety of purposes, or functions. Artists make work to communicate. By studying “How the Arts Communicate,” students build literacy and develop critical thinking, analysis, and interpretive skills.
	Social Studies Benchmarks
2.2.1	Investigate the history of families using level-appropriate primary sources (e.g., artifacts, photographs, interviews, documents).

Arts Topic
How The Arts Shape And Reflect Culture: The arts also connect people across time and cultures. Through the study of the arts, students gain a greater understanding of their own culture as well as prepare for global citizenship.
	Social Studies Benchmarks
2.6.1	Describe ways in which own and others cultures express their cultural beliefs and practices through music and art.

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