Every New York City public school is capable of supporting an excellent arts program in which arts specialists are key players, the school community is actively involved, and the resources of the city’s cultural community are maximized. The New York City Department of Education has a deep commitment to making the arts a central part of all students’ education. This Blueprint is a guide to supporting that commitment. As the term “blueprint” suggests, this is a map that sets a course for the Department of Education’s strategic plan to provide an excellent arts education for every child in New York City. The standards contained in the Blueprint are grounded in the New York State Learning Standards for the Arts, and they are addressed in every facet of the document. This Blueprint is distinguished from the New York State Learning Standards by the way teaching and learning are extended into the specific circumstances of New York City schools û most notably by the unique collaboration between the city’s schools and its rich and diverse cultural community. New York City’s cultural institutions, and arts organizations and their funders, play an ongoing role in helping to make the arts available to schools. Our schools value their commitment, expertise, and collaborative spirit. A blueprint is also the basis of a structure; the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in Visual Arts exists to support a solid visual arts education for all New York City public school students. It was created with the entire community in mind and with special emphasis on the visual arts educators who deliver instruction to our students each day. Arts curricula may be developed as a subject-based or an outcome-based model. Subject-based curricula define the goals for the content to be learned. Outcome-based curricula define what the goals are for learners û what they should know and what skills they should possess. The Blueprint includes both approaches, and provides clear and rigorous ways in which to assess students’ artistic development based on the best practices offered in the field. The Blueprint contains a robust art making strand, as well as strands that promote literacy in the visual arts, cross-curricula connections, the integration of local and citywide arts institutions in instruction, consideration of careers in the arts, and most importantly, the joy of lifelong learning in the arts.

Electronic reproduction.

Contributors -- Letter from the Chancellor -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Teaching the Arts to the Children of New York City -- Five Strands of Arts Learning -- Student Development and the Visual Arts -- Making Art is the Starting Point -- 2nd Grade: Art Making -- Developing Art Literacy -- Making Connections Through Visual Arts -- Community and Cultural Resources -- Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning -- 5th Grade: Art Making -- Developing Art Literacy -- Making Connections Through Visual Arts -- Community and Cultural Resources -- Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning -- 8th Grade: Art Making -- Developing Art Literacy -- Making Connections Through Visual Arts -- Community and Cultural Resources -- Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning -- 12th Grade: Art Making -- Developing Art Literacy -- Making Connections Through Visual Arts -- Community and Cultural Resources -- Exploring Careers and Lifelong Learning -- Information and Resources Visual Arts and Pre-Kindergarten Students -- Visual Arts and Students with Disabilities -- Visual Arts and English Language Learners -- Visual Arts and Curriculum Planning -- Assessment in Visual Arts -- Specific Considerations for Teachers of Visual Arts -- Visual Arts and the Common Core Learning Standards -- Integrating the Museum into Classroom Instruction -- Informational Text in the Art Class: Art as Text / Text About Art -- Discussion and Questioning in the Art Class -- Stocking the Art Studio -- Indicators of a Healthy Arts Program -- What the Blueprint Means for School Leaders -- What the Blueprint Means for Classroom Teachers -- What the Blueprint Means for Families -- Visual Arts and Family Engagement -- What the Blueprint Means for the Arts Community -- What the Blueprint Means for the University Community -- Glossary of Art Terms -- Annotated Bibliography -- Annotated Webography -- Webography of Artists Noted in Strand 1: Art Making.