York Middle School fifth and sixth graders attend visual art classes for one quarter during the school year. Our "waterfall schedule" allows for four art classes to take place in a week. Mrs. Morgan's standards-based curriculum is aligned with the current Maine Learning Results. It is designed to build skills in mediums such as drawing, painting and clay as well as creative problem solving. Essential questions like, "Why do people make art?" and "How does a people's culture influence their art making?" are part of our unit reflections and class discussions. 

     Student performance is assessed on both project standard and criteria. Each project has a rubric, usually designed by students, which explains the criteria for each project. Rubrics are graded using a 4 - 1 point scale where:

4 = Exceeds, 3 = Meets, 2 = Progressing, and 1 = Insufficient Evidence.

Students graded below a 3 have a two week window of opportunity to improve their work to meet the standard and criteria. 

     The school-wide Habits of Work and Learning, also known as HOWLs, also apply to art and overlap the Maine Learning Results standard E5: Interpersonal Skills for the art room. Students are expected to demonstrate respectful, responsible behavior toward each other and persevere, making progress toward their unique and individual goals.

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