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Fine Arts

Visual Arts

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Phone: 240-740-4007

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Goal

The effects of the visual art program do not end in the classroom but extend into the personal and academic development of each student.  Students also develop the ability to concentrate, consider various points of view, problem solve, think creatively, work as a member of a team, and persevere in a task.  All MCPS students should have the opportunity to engage and explore the Visual Arts:

  • By using a wide variety of tools and materials that are authentic to the artmaking process in order to create work that is personally meaningful and unique;
  • By being presented with opportunities to make choices and to solve creative problems that are open-ended with the possibility of multiple solutions;
  • By applying knowledge from other contents when creating art;
  • From a wide range of times and places including contemporary artists;
  • Made by artists from diverse backgrounds;
  • Through the varying roles that art plays within our own culture and in other cultures around the world;
  • By applying 21st century and visual literacy skills to think about and discuss artworks made by themselves and others;
  • Through conversations about what art is, what its meaning is, and why it is considered art; and
  • By selecting, preparing, and sharing artwork for exhibition.

Courses

The MCPS Visual Art Curriculum is aligned to the National Core Fine Arts Standards and the Maryland Fine Arts Standards.  These standards are sequential, build 21st century concepts and skills, and address the core competencies identified in the MCPS strategic framework.

  • Visual art courses should be taken in sequence when possible to provide students with the most appropriate instructional environment and to achieve the learning goals outlined in the curriculum. 
  • Students should be provided the opportunity to take an art course every year in alignment with Fine Arts COMAR language.  This allows students with access to advanced courses and multiple opportunities/pathways in visual art.  Visual Art courses in High School levels 2-4 are identified as advanced level and provide opportunities for students to pursue rigorous and challenging studies that require abstract and higher-order thinking skills.  An additional quality point will be added to grades of A, B, and C in these courses to determine a student’s WGPA and may be counted towards the MCPS Certificate of Merit diploma endorsement.

 Visual Arts Courses

Resources

 

 
visual arts