Addressing the Common Core State Standards in Unit 1
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My Amulet Necklace
There are no Common Core State Standards for the Visual Arts as yet, although the
National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) is currently putting together
National Core Arts Standards. In the meantime, there are several documents that art
educators can use when transitioning curricula to the Common Core.
Shannon Elliott, Ed.D., Associate Professor and Art Education Program Director at
Nazareth College in New York, created a grid that I found helpful. It is based on a
document found on Engageny.org, http://engageny.org/resource/common-core-shifts.
Dr. Elliott translated the shifts on this site into what they mean for the visual arts.
The Shifts in the visual arts are understood with the following premise: Visual Art
is a form of communication. The primary definition of “Text” in visual art is
imagery in its most inclusive form (the art itself). Just as in other forms of
communication, “Text” in art is layered, metaphoric, symbolic, and open to
interpretation. (An apple is not always an apple.) Therefore, when referring to
imagery as “Text” in Visual Art, we will use the term, Art (text). When referring
to “Text” as the written word, we will use the term, “Text.” (Elliott, Shannon, Six
Shifts in ELA/Literacy What it Means in Visual Art,
http://www.nysata.org/assets/documents/NYSEDresources/arts%20six%20shifts
%20in%20ela%20elliott%202011%202-7.pdf )
Unit 1 incorporates the following shifts:
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Students in the Visual Arts will read primary sources: Art (text) for information
about the world — science, social studies, literature, and the arts. (Shift 1)
Teachers will emphasize both visual and traditional literacy experiences in their
planning and instruction. (Shift 2)
Students will analyze Art (text), including their own art using a variety of
perspectives: Historic, Contemporary, Pluralism, etc. (Shift 4)
Teachers will guide students to write, discuss, and make art in response to
primary and secondary sources: Art (text) and text (Shift 4)
Students will discover connections to ideas about the world by creating Art (text),
writing, and discussing primary and secondary sources. (Shift 5)
Students will learn and employ the language and vocabulary of the Visual Art
domain in response to Art (text) and text. (Shift 6)
The following Common Core State Standards are embedded in this unit.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners
on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their
own clearly and persuasively.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and
other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or
technical context relevant to grades 9–10 texts and topics.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text;
determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.