Prep to Year 2 standard elaborations — Australian Curriculum:
Visual Arts DRAFT
The Australian Curriculum achievement standards are an expectation of the depth of understanding, the extent of knowledge and the sophistication of
skills that students should typically demonstrate at the end of a teaching and learning band. In Queensland, the Prep1 to Year 2 Australian Curriculum
achievement standard represents a child who is working with (WW) the curriculum, demonstrating understanding of the required knowledge and
applying skills in situations familiar to them.
Prep to Year 2 Australian Curriculum: Visual Arts achievement standard
By the end of Year 2, students describe artworks they make and view and where and why artworks are made and presented.
Students make artworks in different forms to express their ideas, observations and imagination, using different techniques and processes.
Source:
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), Australian Curriculum The Arts —Visual Arts for Foundation–10,
www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/the-arts/visual-arts/curriculum/f-10?layout=1#levelF-2
The standard elaborations (SEs) should be used in conjunction with the Australian Curriculum achievement standard and content descriptions for the
relevant year level. They provide additional clarity about using the Australian Curriculum achievement standard to make judgments on a five-point scale.
The SEs for Visual Arts have been developed using the Australian Curriculum content descriptions and the achievement standard. They promote and support:
 aligning curriculum, assessment and reporting, connecting curriculum and evidence in assessment, so that what is assessed relates directly to what
students have had the opportunity to learn
 continuing skill development from one band of schooling to another
 making judgments on a five-point scale based on evidence of learning in a folio of student work
 planning an assessment program and individual assessments
 developing task-specific standards and grading guides.
Prep in Queensland is the Foundation Year of the Australian Curriculum and refers to the year before Year 1. Children beginning Prep in January are required to be five years of age by 30 June.
141166
1
Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts standard elaborations
Applying
(AP)
Making connections
(MC)
Working with
(WW)
DRAFT
Exploring
(EX)
Becoming aware
(BA)
Key
Responding
clear and informed
description and
communication about:
 artworks made and
viewed
 where and why artworks
are made and
presented
informed description and
communication about:
description and
communication about:
guided description and
communication about:
directed statements
about:
 artworks made and
viewed
 where and why
artworks are made and
presented
 artworks made and
viewed
 where and why
artworks are made and
presented
 artworks made and
viewed
 where and why
artworks are made and
presented
 artworks made and
viewed
 where and why
artworks are made and
presented
Making
Knowledge, understanding and skills
The folio of a child’s work has the following characteristics:
skilful and effective use of
different techniques and
processes to make artworks
in different forms to
express:
 ideas
 observations
 imagination.
effective use of different
techniques and processes
to make artworks in
different forms to express:
 ideas
 observations
 imagination.
use of different
techniques and processes
to make artworks in
different forms to express:
 ideas
 observations
 imagination.
guided use of aspects of
techniques and processes
to make artworks in
different forms to express:
 ideas
 observations
 imagination.
directed use of aspects of
techniques and processes
to make artworks in
different forms to express:
 ideas
 observations
 imagination.
Shading emphasises the key aspects of the achievement standard and qualities that discriminate between the descriptors. Key terms are described overleaf.
Prep to Year 2 standards
AP
The child applies the curriculum content and demonstrates a thorough
understanding of the required knowledge. The child demonstrates a
high level of skill that can be transferred to new situations.
EX
The child is exploring the curriculum content and demonstrates
understanding of aspects of the required knowledge. The child uses a
varying level of skills in situations familiar to them.
MC
The child makes connections using the curriculum content and
demonstrates a clear understanding of the required knowledge. The
child applies a high level of skill in situations familiar to them, and is
beginning to transfer skills to new situations.
BA
The child is becoming aware of the curriculum content and demonstrates
a basic understanding of aspects of required knowledge. The child is
beginning to use skills in situations familiar to them.
WW
The child can work with the curriculum content and demonstrates
understanding of the required knowledge. The child applies skills in
situations familiar to them.
Prep to Year 2 standard elaborations — Australian Curriculum:
Visual Arts DRAFT
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
March 2015
Page 2 of 5
Notes
Examples of knowledge and skills in Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts
ACARA provides examples of knowledge and skills in Visual Arts across each band, and they are
provided here for your reference.
Foundation2 to Year 2
In this band students are introduced to the ways that ideas and intentions are communicated in and
through visual arts. They develop knowledge, understanding and skills through visual arts practices
focusing on:

representation
- subject matter
personal observations, sensory expression and imagination
- forms
drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, fibre crafts and digital imaging
- techniques
overlapping, patterns, colour mixing, collage, mixed media, wrapping, and paper mache
- visual conventions
identifying, using and interpreting line, shape, colour, texture, space, time, tone and value
- materials
understanding of qualities and properties of a range of materials, e.g. which material is good for
making tall, thin animals
- technologies
traditional and digital

practices
- spaces
recognising the meaning of studio for visual artists and adopting appropriate behaviour in the studio
as a specialised space, e.g. cleaning up, organising materials, naming work and exhibiting work
- skills
observational — seeing, noticing and viewing critically
- processes
describing, explaining, exploring, questioning, selecting, interpreting, imagining, designing,
experimenting, constructing, creating and displaying

viewpoints
contexts — recognising artworks from different cultures particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Peoples, and works from Asia, and from different times.
(ACARA, Examples of knowledge and skill in Visual Arts, www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/the-arts/visual-arts/examples#f-2)
2
The Foundation Year of the Australian Curriculum is called the Preparatory Year, or Prep, in Queensland.
Prep to Year 2 standard elaborations — Australian Curriculum:
Visual Arts DRAFT
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
March 2015
Page 3 of 5
Australian Curriculum valued features
The SEs describe the qualities of achievement in the two valued features for Australian
Curriculum Arts achievement standards — responding and making.
Valued features
Description
responding
includes exploring, responding to, analysing and interpreting artworks
making
includes learning about and using knowledge, skills, techniques, processes,
materials and technologies to explore arts practices and make artworks that
communicate ideas and intentions
Terms used in Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts SEs
The following terms are used in the Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts SEs. They help to clarify the
descriptors, and should be read in conjunction with the ACARA Visual Arts glossary:
www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/the-arts/visual-arts/glossary.
Term
Description
artist
generic term for the maker of an artwork in each of the five Arts subjects
aspects
particular parts or features
clear
easy to perceive, understand, or interpret
communication
sharing of learnings, ideas, thoughts and feelings through the viewpoints of the
artist and/or the audience
description;
describe
give an account of characteristics or features
directed
following the instructions of the facilitator
effectively;
effective
meeting the assigned purpose in a way that produces a desired or intended result;
in Visual Arts, meeting the purpose by producing a strong impression
form;
forms
in each Arts subject, form is the whole of an artwork created by the elements and
the way they are structured;
in Visual Arts, two-dimensional form (2D), three-dimensional form (3D) and
four-dimensional form (4D);
see ACARA’s Examples of knowledge and skills in Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts
guided
visual and/or verbal prompts to facilitate or support independent action
informed
having relevant knowledge; being conversant with the topic;
in Visual Arts, includes how the knowledge and skills (representation and practices)
work together to communicate meaning or intent in and through visual arts
materials
physical resources, equipment including technologies, and information used to
make artworks (e.g. paint, digital camera, pencil, drum and/or clarinet);
see ACARA’s Examples of knowledge and skills in Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts
practices
the application of Arts skills and knowledge to create, represent, communicate and
respond in a specific art form;
see ACARA’s Examples of knowledge and skills in Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts
Prep to Year 2 standard elaborations — Australian Curriculum:
Visual Arts DRAFT
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
March 2015
Page 4 of 5
Term
Description
representation
the expression or designation of a character, place, idea, image or information by
some other term, character, symbol, diagram, image, sound or combination of
visual and aural expression, based on shared social values and beliefs;
in Visual Arts, a concept;
see ACARA’s Examples of knowledge and skills in Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts
skilful
in Visual Arts, in the context of:
 creating artworks, this includes considered selection, management and
application of the practices of Visual Arts;
 sharing artworks, this includes a high degree of proficiency and polish
statement;
state
a sentence or assertion
technique
in Visual Arts, the manner of making or skills used in making an artwork;
see ACARA’s Examples of knowledge and skills in Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts
technologies
the tools and equipment that can be materials for making and responding;
see ACARA’s Examples of knowledge and skills in Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts
viewpoints
a collection of perspectives, lenses or frames through which artworks can be
explored and interpreted;
see ACARA’s Examples of knowledge and skills in Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts
visual
conventions
combinations of components and approaches, such as combinations of elements,
design principles, composition and style;
see ACARA’s Examples of knowledge and skills in Prep to Year 2 Visual Arts
Prep to Year 2 standard elaborations — Australian Curriculum:
Visual Arts DRAFT
Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority
March 2015
Page 5 of 5