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Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

This is the year students start making media on purpose, not by accident. Students come up with their own ideas for short videos, drawings on a tablet, sound clips, or simple animations, then plan and put them together with help. They share their work with the class and talk about what they like in other students' projects. By spring, students can finish a small media project and explain why they made it the way they did.

  • Making videos
  • Digital drawing
  • Sharing projects
  • Talking about art
  • Planning ideas
Source: New Jersey New Jersey Student Learning 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

    Exploring media tools

    Students try out cameras, drawing apps, and recording tools. They notice how a photo, a sound clip, or a short video can each tell something different about an idea.

  2. 2

    Sharing ideas through media

    Students come up with their own ideas for a picture, video, or sound piece. They start to plan what they want to make before they make it.

  3. 3

    Making and improving work

    Students put their projects together and then go back to fix parts that did not turn out the way they wanted. They learn that changing something can make it better.

  4. 4

    Sharing and talking about media

    Students show their finished work to others and look at what classmates made. They talk about what a piece is trying to say and what they like or would change.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 1.
Connecting

  • Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art

    MA:Cn10.1

    Students connect something from their own life to a media arts project, using a memory, feeling, or experience as the starting point for what they make.

  • Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural

    MA:Cn11.1

    Students look at a photo, video, or drawing and talk about where it came from, who made it, and why. That context helps them understand what the artwork means.

Creating

  • Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work

    MA:Cr1.1

    Students come up with ideas for media art projects, like a short video, a photo, or a simple animation, before they start making anything.

  • Organize and develop artistic ideas and work

    MA:Cr2.1

    Students pick their best ideas and arrange them into a simple media project, like a drawing, photo, or short video, making choices about what to include and how to put it together.

  • Refine and complete artistic work

    MA:Cr3.1

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

Performing/Presenting/Producing

  • Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation

    MA:Pr4.1

    Students choose which of their media projects to share and explain why they picked it.

  • Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation

    MA:Pr5.1

    Students practice and improve a media project (like a short video or digital drawing) until it is ready to share with an audience.

  • Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work

    MA:Pr6.1

    Students share a piece of media work, like a drawing, photo, or short video, and explain what they wanted others to see or feel.

Responding

  • Perceive and analyze artistic work

    MA:Re7.1

    Students look closely at a media artwork (a photo, video, or digital image) and describe what they notice: the colors, shapes, sounds, or movement the creator chose to use.

  • Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work

    MA:Re8.1

    Students look at a piece of media art, such as a photo or short video, and explain what they think the creator was trying to say or show.

  • Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work

    MA:Re9.1

    Students look at a piece of media art and explain what they like or think could be different, using simple reasons like color, sound, or story to back up what they say.

Common Questions
  • What is media arts in first grade?

    Media arts means making things with cameras, recordings, drawings on a screen, and simple animations. Students try out tools like a tablet camera or a voice recorder and use them to share an idea or tell a short story.

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

    By spring, students can come up with a small idea, capture it with a photo, drawing, or short recording, and share it with someone. They can also talk about what they made and say what they liked in a classmate's work.

  • How can I support media arts at home?

    Let students take photos or short videos of things they care about, like a pet or a block tower, and ask them to explain the story behind it. Five minutes of looking at the picture together and talking about choices counts as practice.

  • Do students need fancy equipment or apps?

    No. A phone camera, a free drawing app, or even paper flipbooks work fine at this age. The goal is the thinking behind the picture or recording, not the tool.

  • How should I sequence media arts across the year?

    Start with generating ideas and simple capture, like photos and sound clips. Move into organizing those pieces into a short sequence by midyear, then spend the spring on refining work and presenting it to an audience.

  • Which skills usually need the most reteaching?

    Refining work tends to be the sticking point. Most first graders want to call the first try done, so plan repeated chances to revise a photo, redraw a frame, or rerecord a line after hearing it played back.

  • How do students respond to and evaluate media art at this age?

    Keep it concrete. Show two short pieces and ask what students notice, what feels happy or scary, and which choice they would copy in their own work. That builds the habit of looking closely before judging.

  • How do I know students are ready for second grade media arts?

    Students are ready when they can plan a small project, make it with a chosen tool, change something based on feedback, and explain what their piece means. Connecting the work to their own life or something they have seen is the other strong signal.