This is an important bridge to related courses at the high school. Physical Education meets every other school day. Music Keyboarding, or Band, and Health meet every fourth school day. Art, Family and Consumer Sciences, Multimedia Exploration and Technology Education meet 45 consecutive school days. In middle school, the focus of art instruction shifts from one-lesson art products to prolonged art making, accepting professional attitudes towards the product and developing the use of aesthetic criteria for evaluation.
Assignments increase in complexity with grade level.
Students experiment with two and three-dimensional projects using a variety of media. Drawing, painting, collage and sculpture using pencil, charcoal, colored pencil, ink, watercolor, acrylic and tempra paint, pastel and clay are incorporated into individual and group efforts, both small and large scale. Demonstrations of techniques, processes and use of materials are modeled during classtime instruction and through observation of examples of historic artwork. Students are expected to complete all assignments with attention to design quality, creativity, originality and craftspersonship as well as effort, initiative and positive attitude. Small group lessons are given to students.