Visual Arts (Version 8.4)

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Rationale

This rationale complements and extends the rationale for The Arts learning area.
Visual arts includes the fields of art, craft and design. Learning in and through these fields, students create visual representations that communicate, challenge and express their own and others’ ideas as artist and audience.

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Aims

In addition to the overarching aims of the Australian Curriculum: The Arts, visual arts knowledge, understanding and skills ensure that, individually and collaboratively, students develop:

conceptual and perceptual ideas and representations through design and inquiry processes

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Structure

Learning in Visual Arts
Learning in Visual Arts involves students making and responding to artworks, drawing on the world as a source of ideas. Students engage with the knowledge of visual arts, develop skills, techniques and processes, and use materials as they explore a range of forms, styles and contexts.

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Example of knowledge and skills

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Foundation to Year 2

Foundation to Year 2 Band Description

In Foundation to Year 2, learning in The Arts builds on the Early Years Learning Framework. Students are engaged through purposeful and creative play in structured activities, fostering a strong sense of wellbeing and developing their connection with and contribution to the world.

In the Foundation Year, students undertake The Arts appropriate for their level of development.

They explore the arts and learn how artworks can represent the world and that they can make artworks to represent their ideas about the world. They share their artworks with peers and experience being an audience to respond to others’ art making.

As they experience the arts, students draw on artworks from a range of cultures, times and locations. They explore the arts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and of the Asia region and learn that they are used for different purposes. While the arts in the local community should be the initial focus for learning, students are also aware of and interested in the arts from more distant locations and the curriculum provides opportunities to build on this curiosity.

As they make and respond to artworks, students explore meaning and interpretation, forms and processes, and social and cultural contexts of the arts. They make early evaluations of artworks expressing what they like and why.

Students learn about safe practices in the arts through making and responding safely in the different arts subjects.

They experience the role of artist and they respond to feedback in their art making. As an audience, they learn to focus their attention on artworks presented and to respond to artworks appropriately. In Foundation to Year 2, students learn to be an audience for different arts experiences within the classroom.

In Visual Arts, students:

  • become aware of visual conventions and learn to notice visual detail
  • explore how and why artworks are created and ways to use and apply visual conventions, such as line, shape, colour and texture
  • learn how their ideas or subject matter can be developed through different forms, styles, techniques, materials and technologies
  • learn about how and why artists, craftspeople and designers present their ideas through different visual representations, practices, processes and viewpoints.

Foundation to Year 2 Content Descriptions

Explore ideas, experiences, observations and imagination to create visual artworks and design, including considering ideas in artworks by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists (ACAVAM106 - Scootle )
Critical and Creative Thinking

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
  • Seek solutions and put ideas into action
  • Imagine possibilities and connect ideas
  • Consider alternatives

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Organise and process information
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Intercultural Understanding

Recognising culture and developing respect
  • Explore and compare cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices
  • Investigate culture and cultural identity

  • trialling different options for designing representation by looking at artworks about a theme or subject matter, such as a ‘circus’, and make their own interpretation based on their ideas, experiences, observations and/or imagination
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Imagine possibilities and connect ideas
    • Seek solutions and put ideas into action
    • Consider alternatives

    Personal and Social Capability

    Self-awareness
    • Develop reflective practice

    Self-management
    • Express emotions appropriately

    Social awareness
    • Appreciate diverse perspectives

  • observing and recording the shapes, colours and textures of people, objects and concepts they experience in their daily lives, for example, drawing faces, insects, plants, food
    Numeracy

    Recognising and using patterns and relationships
    • Recognise and use patterns and relationships

    Using spatial reasoning
    • Visualise 2D shapes and 3D objects

  • Considering viewpoints – forms and elements: For example – What colours were used? What is it made of? How is the colour used, and why is it used in this way?
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

  • practising drawing images and making objects related to self, others and personal environments in different forms, for example, painting, sculpture, photography
    Numeracy

    Using spatial reasoning
    • Visualise 2D shapes and 3D objects

    Recognising and using patterns and relationships
    • Recognise and use patterns and relationships

    Personal and Social Capability

    Self-awareness
    • Develop reflective practice

    Self-management
    • Express emotions appropriately

    Social awareness
    • Appreciate diverse perspectives

    Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability

    Creating with ICT
    • Generate solutions to challenges and learning area tasks

  • identifying and using visual conventions in their artworks after investigating different art, craft and design styles from other cultures and times, for example, Expressionism, Fauvism, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and Asia
    • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures
    • Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia
    Intercultural Understanding

    Recognising culture and developing respect
    • Explore and compare cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices
    • Investigate culture and cultural identity

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Imagine possibilities and connect ideas
    • Consider alternatives
    • Seek solutions and put ideas into action

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

Use and experiment with different materials, techniques, technologies and processes to make artworks (ACAVAM107 - Scootle )
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability

Creating with ICT
  • Generate solutions to challenges and learning area tasks
  • Generate ideas, plans and processes

Managing and operating ICT
  • Select and use hardware and software

Critical and Creative Thinking

Reflecting on thinking and processes
  • Reflect on processes

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
  • Seek solutions and put ideas into action
  • Consider alternatives

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Organise and process information
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • exploring a range of natural and man-made materials and technologies to visually express their experiences, for example, paint, pencils, ink, sand, photography and graphically
    Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability

    Managing and operating ICT
    • Select and use hardware and software

    Creating with ICT
    • Generate solutions to challenges and learning area tasks

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Seek solutions and put ideas into action
    • Consider alternatives

    Reflecting on thinking and processes
    • Reflect on processes

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

    Personal and Social Capability

    Self-awareness
    • Develop reflective practice

    Self-management
    • Express emotions appropriately

  • comparing the qualities and properties of materials such as paint, crayons, clay and found objects and select appropriate applications to represent something or someone they like
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Seek solutions and put ideas into action
    • Consider alternatives

    Reflecting on thinking and processes
    • Reflect on processes

    Personal and Social Capability

    Self-management
    • Express emotions appropriately

    Self-awareness
    • Develop reflective practice

  • using techniques to demonstrate various compositional effects, for example, overlapping or crosshatching
  • following technical processes and safe practices to make artworks, for example, drawing onto Styrofoam to print on paper
    Personal and Social Capability

    Self-management
    • Become confident, resilient and adaptable

Create and display artworks to communicate ideas to an audience (ACAVAM108 - Scootle )
Personal and Social Capability

Social awareness
  • Appreciate diverse perspectives

Social management
  • Communicate effectively

Critical and Creative Thinking

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Organise and process information
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
  • Imagine possibilities and connect ideas
  • Consider alternatives
  • Seek solutions and put ideas into action

Reflecting on thinking and processes
  • Reflect on processes

  • sharing ideas with their classmates about the representational choices they made in their artwork
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Consider alternatives
    • Seek solutions and put ideas into action

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

    Personal and Social Capability

    Social management
    • Make decisions
    • Work collaboratively

    Self-awareness
    • Understand themselves as learners
    • Develop reflective practice

    Literacy

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
    • Use language to interact with others

    Visual Knowledge
    • Understand how visual elements create meaning

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

  • talking about ideas such as themes when displaying artworks, for example, at the local gallery or in their classroom
    Personal and Social Capability

    Social management
    • Make decisions
    • Work collaboratively

    Self-awareness
    • Understand themselves as learners
    • Develop reflective practice

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Seek solutions and put ideas into action
    • Consider alternatives

    Literacy

    Visual Knowledge
    • Understand how visual elements create meaning

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Use language to interact with others
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

  • Considering viewpoints – meanings and interpretations: For example – What did this artwork or design make you think about and why? What figures/shapes can you see in the artwork? How has the artist treated the figures/shapes to convey their idea or meaning?
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • making a decision about how to display their artwork to share their ideas
    Personal and Social Capability

    Self-awareness
    • Understand themselves as learners
    • Develop reflective practice

    Social management
    • Make decisions
    • Work collaboratively

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

    Literacy

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Visual Knowledge
    • Understand how visual elements create meaning

Respond to visual artworks and consider where and why people make visual artworks, starting with visual artworks from Australia, including visual artworks of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (ACAVAR109 - Scootle )
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures
Intercultural Understanding

Interacting and empathising with others
  • Consider and develop multiple perspectives

Recognising culture and developing respect
  • Develop respect for cultural diversity
  • Explore and compare cultural knowledge, beliefs and practices
  • Investigate culture and cultural identity

Critical and Creative Thinking

Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
  • Seek solutions and put ideas into action
  • Consider alternatives

Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
  • Identify and clarify information and ideas
  • Pose questions
  • Organise and process information

Literacy

Visual Knowledge
  • Understand how visual elements create meaning

Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
  • Listen and respond to learning area texts
  • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
  • Comprehend texts
  • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
  • Compose texts
  • Use language to interact with others
  • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

Word Knowledge
  • Understand learning area vocabulary

Text knowledge
  • Use knowledge of text structures

Personal and Social Capability

Social awareness
  • Appreciate diverse perspectives

  • identifying where they might experience art in their lives and communities, for example, keeping a diary of ‘art experiences’ and combining to create a class list and then discussing how visual artworks sustain and communicate cultural knowledge
    Personal and Social Capability

    Social awareness
    • Appreciate diverse perspectives

    Self-awareness
    • Recognise personal qualities and achievements

    Literacy

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts

    Visual Knowledge
    • Understand how visual elements create meaning

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • Considering viewpoints – societies and cultures: For example – Where is this artwork from and why was it made? Who made the artworks? Where and how are they displayed?
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Organise and process information
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas

  • identifying how design elements, such as line, shape, colour or texture, are used in their artworks and in the artwork of others
  • describing and interpreting representations in a selection of artworks, for example, considering the subject matter, styles and techniques of a selection of artworks, and how the artworks make them think and feel in response to the artists’ intentions
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Pose questions
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Organise and process information

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Seek solutions and put ideas into action
    • Consider alternatives

    Literacy

    Comprehending texts through listening, reading and viewing
    • Interpret and analyse learning area texts
    • Navigate, read and view learning area texts

    Visual Knowledge
    • Understand how visual elements create meaning

    Word Knowledge
    • Understand learning area vocabulary

    Composing texts through speaking, writing and creating
    • Compose spoken, written, visual and multimodal learning area texts
    • Use language to interact with others

  • acknowledging the role of artist and audience as they start to interpret meaning in artworks
    Critical and Creative Thinking

    Generating ideas, possibilities and actions
    • Seek solutions and put ideas into action
    • Consider alternatives

    Inquiring – identifying, exploring and organising information and ideas
    • Identify and clarify information and ideas
    • Pose questions
    • Organise and process information

    Personal and Social Capability

    Social awareness
    • Appreciate diverse perspectives


Foundation to Year 2 Achievement Standards

By the end of Year 2, students describe artworks they make and those to which they respond. They consider where and why people make artworks.

Students use the elements and processes of arts subjects to make and share artworks that represent ideas.

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.


Foundation to Year 2 Work Sample Portfolios