Skip to content
Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

This is the year media projects start to feel planned instead of pieced together. Students brainstorm an idea, build it into a short video, slideshow, or audio piece, then go back and improve the rough spots. They also start talking about why a piece works, pointing to specific choices the maker made. By spring, students can plan a media project, share it with the class, and explain what they were trying to say.

  • Video projects
  • Planning and revising
  • Audio and sound
  • Sharing media work
  • Talking about media
Source: Maryland Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards
Year at a glance
How the year usually goes. Every school and district set their own curriculum, so treat this as a guide, not official pacing.
  1. 1

    Sparking ideas for media projects

    Students start the year brainstorming ideas for videos, animations, podcasts, or digital images. They pull from their own lives and interests to plan a project worth making.

  2. 2

    Building and shaping the work

    Students organize their ideas into something real, like a short video clip, a slideshow, or a recorded sound piece. They learn to use tools on a tablet or computer to put the pieces together.

  3. 3

    Refining and polishing projects

    Students go back into their work to fix what is not clear and improve what is. They practice editing techniques and get their projects ready for someone else to watch or hear.

  4. 4

    Sharing work with an audience

    Students present their finished projects to classmates and think about how their choices send a message. They consider where and how the work is shown so it lands the way they want.

  5. 5

    Looking at media with a careful eye

    Students watch, listen to, and discuss media made by others, including classmates and professionals. They talk about what works, what the maker might have meant, and how it connects to the world around them.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 4.
Connecting

  • Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art

    MA:Cn10.4

    Students connect something from their own life to a media arts project, using that personal experience to shape what they make and how they make it.

  • Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural

    MA:Cn11.4

    Students look at a piece of media art and connect it to the time, place, or community it came from. That context helps them understand why the work looks and feels the way it does.

Creating

  • Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work

    MA:Cr1.4

    Students brainstorm and sketch out ideas for a media project, like a short video, a digital image, or an audio clip, before they start making it.

  • Organize and develop artistic ideas and work

    MA:Cr2.4

    Students plan and arrange their media art project, making choices about images, sounds, or text before the work is finished.

  • Refine and complete artistic work

    MA:Cr3.4

    Students revisit a media project, make specific improvements based on feedback or their own review, and decide when the work is finished and ready to share.

Performing/Presenting/Producing

  • Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation

    MA:Pr4.4

    Students choose a piece of media work to share, then explain why it fits the audience and what they were trying to say with it.

  • Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation

    MA:Pr5.4

    Students practice and improve a media project, such as a video, photo collection, or digital story, until it is ready to share with an audience.

  • Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work

    MA:Pr6.4

    Students present a media arts project to an audience and explain the idea or feeling behind it. The goal is for viewers to understand what the work means, not just what it looks like.

Responding

  • Perceive and analyze artistic work

    MA:Re7.4

    Students look closely at a media artwork, such as a photo, video, or digital image, and explain what they notice about how it was made and what it is trying to say.

  • Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work

    MA:Re8.4

    Students explain what a media artwork (a photo, video, or animation) is trying to say and why the creator made the choices they did.

  • Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work

    MA:Re9.4

    Students look at a piece of media art and decide how well it works, using specific reasons like color, message, or technique rather than just saying they like it or they don't.

Common Questions
  • What is media arts in fourth grade?

    Media arts means making things with cameras, microphones, computers, and other tools. Students might make short videos, slideshows, podcasts, simple animations, or digital drawings. The focus is on planning a project, putting the pieces together, and sharing it with an audience.

  • How can I help my child come up with project ideas at home?

    Ask what they want the audience to feel or learn, then help them sketch the idea on paper before they touch a device. A quick story map or shot list takes five minutes and saves an hour of fiddling later. Treat the rough idea as a starting point, not the final answer.

  • What does a finished project look like at this age?

    A finished piece has a clear point, a beginning and an end, and a few rounds of edits. A one-minute video, a three-slide story, or a short podcast clip are all reasonable. Polish matters less than whether the message comes through.

  • How should I sequence the year?

    Start with short, low-stakes projects that practice one tool or technique at a time, like a single photo with a caption or a ten-second audio clip. Build toward longer projects in the spring that ask students to plan, draft, revise, and present. Save the cultural and historical connections for projects students already care about.

  • Does my child need fancy software or equipment?

    No. A phone or tablet camera, free editing apps, and a quiet room cover almost everything. The thinking work, planning the idea and revising the draft, matters more than the tool.

  • How do students practice giving and getting feedback?

    Use a short list of questions like what worked, what was confusing, and what one change would help most. Students watch or listen to a peer's draft, jot two notes, and share them out loud. Keep the same questions all year so the routine gets faster.

  • How do I know students are ready for fifth grade?

    By spring, students should be able to plan a short project, make it, revise it after feedback, and talk about why they made the choices they did. They should also be able to look at someone else's media work and say what the maker was trying to do.

  • How do I talk with my child about ads, videos, and shows they watch?

    Ask who made it, who it is for, and what the maker wants the audience to think or do. Two or three minutes of this kind of conversation builds the same skills students practice in class. It also helps students notice choices instead of just reacting.