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Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

This is the year students start making short media projects on purpose, not just by clicking around. Students plan a simple idea, then build it into a short video, slideshow, or audio piece using pictures, sounds, and words. They also talk about what makes a media piece work and tweak their own to make the message clearer. By spring, students can share a finished project and explain what they wanted viewers to feel or learn.

  • Media projects
  • Planning ideas
  • Pictures and sound
  • Sharing 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

    Getting started with media art

    Students explore what media art is, from photos and short videos to digital drawings and sound clips. They share ideas from their own lives and try out the tools they will use all year.

  2. 2

    Building and shaping projects

    Students plan small projects and put the pieces together, like images, sounds, or words on a screen. They learn to organize their work and make changes as they go.

  3. 3

    Polishing work to share

    Students pick which project to share and clean it up for an audience. They practice small fixes that make a piece clearer, like cropping a picture or adjusting how loud a sound is.

  4. 4

    Looking at and talking about media

    Students watch, listen to, and talk about media made by classmates and others. They notice what the maker was trying to say and decide what makes a piece work well.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 2.
Connecting

  • Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art

    MA:Cn10.2

    Students connect something they already know or have lived through to a media arts project they create. Personal experience shapes the choices they make.

  • Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural

    MA:Cn11.2

    Students look at a piece of media art and talk about where, when, or why someone made it. Connecting a work to its real-world context helps students understand what the creator was trying to say.

Creating

  • Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work

    MA:Cr1.2

    Students brainstorm and sketch out ideas for a media project, like a short video, a digital drawing, or a photo, before they start making it.

  • Organize and develop artistic ideas and work

    MA:Cr2.2

    Students choose images, sounds, or movement to build a simple media project and arrange the pieces so the idea comes through clearly.

  • Refine and complete artistic work

    MA:Cr3.2

    Students revisit a media art project, make changes to improve it, and decide when it is finished and ready to share.

Performing/Presenting/Producing

  • Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation

    MA:Pr4.2

    Students choose which of their media projects to share and explain why that piece best shows what they were trying to make.

  • Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation

    MA:Pr5.2

    Students practice and improve a media arts project (like a short video or digital image) until it's ready to share with an audience.

  • Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work

    MA:Pr6.2

    Students share a finished media project (a drawing, short video, or digital image) and explain what idea or feeling they wanted the audience to take away from it.

Responding

  • Perceive and analyze artistic work

    MA:Re7.2

    Students look closely at a media artwork, like a photo, video, or digital image, and describe what they notice. Then they explain why certain choices, like color, sound, or layout, stand out to them.

  • Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work

    MA:Re8.2

    Students look at a piece of media art and explain what they think the creator was trying to say. They use details from the work to back up their thinking.

  • Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work

    MA:Re9.2

    Students look at a piece of media art and decide what makes it work well or fall short, using a simple set of questions or rules to explain why.

Common Questions
  • What is media arts in second grade?

    Students make and share work using things like photos, short videos, simple animations, sound recordings, and slideshows. The focus is on coming up with an idea, putting it together, and sharing it with others.

  • What should students be able to do by the end of the year?

    Students should plan a small media project, put the pieces in an order that makes sense, fix a few things to make it better, and share it with a class or family. They should also be able to say what they liked about someone else's work and why.

  • How can families support this work at home?

    Let students take photos on a phone or tablet, record a short voice memo telling a story, or make a quick slideshow about a trip or a pet. Ask them what they want the viewer to feel, then watch it together and ask what they would change next time.

  • My child wants to watch videos instead of make them. Is that a problem?

    Watching is fine, but try pausing once in a while to ask why the music changed, why the camera moved, or why a scene was cut short. Those small questions build the same noticing skills students use when they make their own work.

  • Do students need fancy equipment or apps?

    No. A basic phone or tablet camera, a free slideshow tool, and a quiet spot to record sound are plenty. The thinking matters more than the tools.

  • How should media arts be sequenced across the year?

    Start with short, single-tool projects like a photo story or a voice recording, then move to projects that combine images and sound. Save longer projects with planning, drafting, and revising for the second half of the year, once students are comfortable with the tools.

  • Which skills usually need the most reteaching?

    Planning before recording and revising after a first draft are the hardest. Students often want to film once and call it done, so build in short steps for sketching an idea first and watching the draft back with a partner before finishing.

  • How do I tie media arts to culture and history at this age?

    Pair projects with picture books, family stories, holidays, or community places students already know. Ask where an idea came from and who it is for, so students start to see that media is made by real people for real audiences.

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

    Students should be able to talk about their choices, name one thing that worked and one thing to improve, and give a kind, specific comment on a classmate's project. Look for students who can carry a small project from idea to shared piece with light support.