Dance
Drama
Media Arts
Rationale
Music
Australian Curriculum:
The Arts
Dance
Drama
Media Arts
Music
Visual Arts
Visual Arts
R/1/ 2
34/5/6
7/8/9/10
4% / year
5% / year
8% / year
64
80
128
Hours per
week
1.1
1.3
2.1
Hours per year
42.7
53.3
85.3
ACARA % guide
for writers
Minutes per
week
Aim - The Australian Curriculum: The Arts aims to develop students‘:
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creativity, critical thinking, aesthetic knowledge and understanding about arts practices, through making and responding to artworks
with increasing self-confidence
arts knowledge and skills to communicate ideas; they value and share their arts and life experiences by representing, expressing
and communicating ideas, imagination and observations about their individual and collective worlds to others in meaningful ways
use of innovative arts practices with available and emerging technologies, to express and represent ideas, while displaying
empathy for multiple viewpoints
understanding of Australia’s histories and traditions through the Arts, engaging with the artworks and practices, both traditional and
contemporary, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
understanding of local, regional and global cultures, and their Arts histories and traditions, through engaging with the worlds of
artists, artworks, audiences and arts professions.
These aims are extended and complemented by specific aims for each Arts subject.
Two interrelated strands
Making: using processes, techniques, knowledge and skills to make art works
Responding: exploring, responding to, analysing and interpreting art works
Similar concepts, skill, developmental sequence that the Content descriptions follow through R - 10
Years R-2
Years 3 – 4 Years 5 - 6
Exploring ideas and improvising with ways to
represent ideas
Developing understanding of practices
Years 7 – 8
Years 9 - 10
Exploring ideas and improvising with ways to represent
ideas
Manipulating and applying the elements/concepts with
intent
Developing and refining understanding of skills and
techniques
Structuring and organising ideas into form
Sharing artworks through performance,
presentation or display
Responding to and interpreting artworks
Sharing artworks through performance, presentation or
display
Analysing and reflecting upon intentions
Examining and connecting artworks in context
Achievement Standards and Reporting
 Except for R-2, the five Arts subjects are written for two-year Bands, R-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10
 The five Arts subjects each have their own Achievement standards at the end of each Band
 It provides opportunities for learning in and through the Arts.
Arts subjects can be combined using:
- An integrated, multi-arts approach / Links with other learning areas / a combination of the above
 reports articulate which one or more of the five Arts subjects was taken during the period prior to reporting, and
 all of the five Arts subjects are reported against at least once during the Band
OPTIONS FOR THE DELIVERY OF THE AC: THE ARTS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Primary schools need to make decisions about the delivery of The Arts curriculum with a combination of specialist NIT teachers, generalist
classroom teachers, and a range of arts offerings and events that best meets the needs of the students, school, local partnerships and local
community. This could be any or a combination of suggestions below.
Option 1
Non Instruction Time (of any combination) and classroom teacher could offer, for example:
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ICT = Australian Curriculum: The Arts - Media Arts, HPE = Australian Curriculum: The Arts – Dance, Music and Drama,
classroom teacher = The Arts – Visual Arts
NB To strategically manage resources and ensure students receive their entitlement over the 2 year band it may be appropriate for schools to
offer their specialist NIT Arts subjects to alternate year levels, (or as an AB cycle within a year level).
Option 2
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FIR Dance specialist or other purchased Dance program Primary Schools Music Festival / Instrumental Music, school assemblies,
end of year concert = may accommodate The Arts - Dance, Drama, Media Arts, Music
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Exhibition of children’s artworks every 2 years = can accommodate The Arts – Visual Arts
Option 3
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A multi-Arts and / or cross-curricular approach, connecting with local community and arts events such as: Wakakirri, school
production, Come Out Festival, local festivals. Care must be taken to ensure that learning is designed to provide students with
learning opportunities to meet the Achievement Standard of the relevant Arts subject/s for that Band.
OPTIONS/ ISSUES FOR DELIVERY OF AC: THE ARTS IN SECONDARY SCHOOL
In Year 8, many secondary schools currently offer a ‘taster’ of Arts subjects for one term each with an Arts specialist teacher,
with the option for students to specialise in one or more from Year 9 onwards, the latter of which is in keeping with the new
Australian Curriculum: The Arts:
The Australian Curriculum: The Arts states that “students (being given the) opportunity to experience some Arts subjects in
greater depth” from the first year of secondary. Does one term provide adequate teaching and learning opportunities for
students to demonstrate their learning against the respective Achievement Standard? Is this meeting the intent of the Australian
Curriculum, to experience some Arts subjects in greater depth?
Also, secondary schools need to consider how best to spend the 85.3 hours for The Arts in Year 8. For example, is it best spent
being divided up between four Arts subjects with approximately 21 hours per Arts subject per term x four terms or alternately a
semester of approximately 42 hours per Arts subject?
Examples of viewpoints and questions through which artworks can be explored and interpreted
Examples of
viewpoints
As the artist:
Sample questions students might consider when
making artworks (as artists, performers, musicians
etc.)
Contexts, including  What does this artwork tell us about the
but not limited to:
cultural context in which it was made?
 societal
 How does this artwork relate to my culture?
 cultural
 What social or historical forces and influences
 historical
have shaped my artwork?
 What ideas am I expressing about the future?
Knowledge
 elements
 How is the work structured/
organised/arranged?
 materials
 How have materials been used to make the
 skills,
work?
techniques,
processes
 How have skills and processes been selected
and used?
 forms and
styles
 What forms and styles are being used and
why?
 content
Evaluations
 How effective is the artwork in meeting the
(judgments)
artist’s intentions?
 How are concepts and contexts interpreted by
the artist?
Evaluations
 What philosophical, ideological and/or political
perspectives does the artwork represent?
 philosophical and
ideological
 How do philosophies, ideologies and/or
scientific knowledge impact on artworks?
 theoretical
 institutional
 What important theories does this artwork
explore?
 psychological
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How have established behaviours or
 scientific
conventions influenced its creation?
As the audience:
Sample questions students might consider as an audience (including
critic, historian) when responding to artworks
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How does the artwork relate to its social context?
How would different audiences respond to this artwork?
What is the cultural context in which it was developed, or in
which it is viewed, and what does this context signify?
What historical forces and influences are evident in the artwork?
What are the implications of this work for future artworks?
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Why did the artist select particular content?
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How does the artwork communicate meaning to an audience?
What interpretations will audiences have?
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What philosophical, ideological and/or political perspectives
evident in the artwork affect the audience’s interpretation of it?
How do philosophies, ideologies and/or scientific knowledge
impact on artworks?
What important theories does this artwork explore?
How have established behaviours or conventions influenced its
creation?
What processes of the mind and emotions are involved in
interpreting the artwork?
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