Arts/Wellness Department Art Curriculum
Grades 6-8

Norwell Public Schools’ grade 6-8 art curriculum is aligned to the Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework, last revised in 2019, through its exploratory studio art classes in grades 7-8 and more specialized classes in grade 8.  The art program at Norwell Middle School is designed to address students at the developmental level specified by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as by the end of grade 8, and to prepare them with the technical and expressive skills necessary to continue the study of visual art at the high school level.

Norwell Middle School strives to have students work in a variety of media to produce two- and three-dimensional art, including drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics and technology as a means of building confidence, teaching critical thinking and visual problem solving, and developing a sense of communication and self expression.  Students will develop a solid foundation of technical skills while also being given the freedom to choose the subject or content of their work.  Art students have opportunities at various times during the year to display their work around the school.  Art classes at NMS provide a positive and welcoming working environment where all students will feel supported and nurtured in their creative endeavors and be encouraged to express their own unique vision and point of view.

The Arts/Wellness Department believes that students proficient in the visual arts should have the opportunity to engage meaningfully with visual art through the four processes summarized best by the 2016 National Core Arts Anchor Standards. 

• Creating: Conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work.
• Presenting: Interpreting and sharing artistic work.
• Responding: Understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning.
• Connecting: Relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context.

2019 Massachusetts Arts Curriculum Framework
 

The Norwell Middle School Program of Studies provides more detailed information about courses, expectations and opportunities.