The Arts, Health, and Wellness Study Guide for the GACE

General Information

The Arts, Health, and Wellness GACE testlet contains 30 questions to be answered in 45 minutes. All questions are multiple choice and are directly related to knowledge of the terms and concepts involved in teaching these three subject areas.

Visual and Media Arts

When creating visual and media arts, students learn to arrange the art elements line, shape, value, form, texture, space, and color. The goal is to create an interesting product that also expresses the student’s ideas.

Very young students will be most interested in bright colors and simple geometric patterns. They can learn to create art by:

• Forming materials with simple tools (scissors and glue)

• Creating pictures of family groups, images of animals, abstracts, etc.

• Using fine muscle control to shape and change raw material

Older students should be encouraged to make more subtle illustrations and create more complicated concepts.

Elements of Design

Guidelines for the arrangement of the elements above are provided by the elements of design listed below. Students should be able to understand these concepts and use the appropriate vocabulary when discussing their creations.

Emphasis

This is similar to the “main idea” of a piece of writing or a reading selection. What is the primary focus of the art? What are you supposed to be looking at?

Balance

Balance is achieved by placing the elements so that no single element dominates the composition. If two halves of a picture are mirror images, then you have created “symmetrical balance.” Another way to create balance is to have one large item on one side of the paper, and two small items on the other side of the paper.

Pattern

This is sometimes referred to as rhythm and often contains repeating elements or something that happens over and over. Some visual art creations have repeating visual elements.

Unity

Unity, also called harmony, is what an artist strives to create by combining dissimilar parts to create a pleasant whole. A composition that has unity will have many parts that are different (perhaps vastly different); however, the elements work well together.

Contrary to this, some art is produced to create dissonance (the opposite of unity or harmony). This is an advanced concept, often demonstrated to intermediate and advanced students but usually not exercised by students until college-level classes.

Movement

In the visual arts, movement is implied. Lines can be drawn to suggest change. Painted characters’ eyes look in a specific direction. Objects are painted or arranged that draw the observer’s eyes in a certain direction.

Contrast

Contrast is the difference between any two themes or elements in the composition, such as:

• large vs. small
• dark vs. light
• colorful vs. drab

Proportion

Proportion is used to describe the size or frequency relationship between the elements in an artwork. Something that is actually small in a painting may be quite large in proportion to another element in the piece.

Artistic Media, Techniques, Tools, and Materials

The techniques for producing visual art are practically unlimited. Anything that can be attached to anything else, covered in paint, or marked in any way can be considered art. The variety of media, techniques, and tools is also vast. Metal can be glued to fabric. Plastic can be nailed to wood. Paper can be covered in random markings with paint or pencil. Pinecones can be covered in glue and glitter. Computers can be used to create images that can be easily copied and distributed. Image manipulation software is easily obtained and usually cheap or free. (Some expensive software can be obtained for “educational use only.”) The techniques of visual arts are constrained only by the artist’s imagination.

The focus of art should be on the students’ expression and personal growth. The exact techniques/process shouldn’t be a primary focus. In many ways, the final “quality” of the art isn’t necessarily the point of art. The techniques of visual arts are constrained only by the artist’s imagination.

Two-Dimensional (2-D) Art

While 2-D art is flat, it offers many opportunities to learn techniques and effective tool use. Some of these techniques are useful in other visual art forms.

Drawing

From line-forming to shading (creating different values), students work with crayons, pencils, markers, and pastels as they learn about spacing and the placement of elements.

Painting

Painting requires additional art skills, such as mixing paint to form new colors and learning to control the brush. Tempera and watercolor paints are often the media in elementary art classes.

Printmaking and Collage

Students can learn all about texture and placement by creating collages. They also create printing blocks from foam, as well as stencils for relief printing.

Three-Dimensional (3-D) Art

Bringing a “flat” idea to three dimensions is often exciting for students. Here are several ways this can be accomplished.

Sculpture

A sculpture can be created from almost any material, even found objects (assemblage). Folding paper and making papier-mache creations are two of the most common techniques in elementary art.

Clay and Ceramics

Students learn how to form clay into recognizable objects by coiling, pinching, and making slabs. Scoring and slipping are also used to attach parts of a design. If a kiln is available, their creations can become permanent, useful pieces.

Crafts

Another form of 3-D art involves crafting techniques, such as jewelry-making, and simple weaving and stitchery projects. Students can apply the design elements in these areas, also. Such activities can also improve dexterity and fine motor skills.

Tool, Equipment, and Material Safety

When selecting art experiences, the age of the child should be kept in mind, both in terms of chances of success and safety. Be sure to follow the item manufacturer’s recommendations for age of appropriate use and any label warnings. Also, have use and storage rules in place for all tools and materials.

Fostering Creativity

One of the best uses of art (especially with younger students) is to help with self-expression, communication, and creativity. Young students might not be able to fully express themselves verbally or by using the written form; however, expression using artistic display can communicate ideas, concepts, emotions, stories, and more. Teachers should encourage students to express their feelings.

This can provide an opportunity for curriculum integration. Students can be asked to write about their project or the projects of professional artists. Students should never evaluate the work of other students.

Creativity

Children have all sorts of creative ideas floating around in their heads, and being allowed to experiment with various forms of art media gives them a chance to express those creative notions. If allowed artistic freedom, students will feel comfortable putting their thoughts out there for all to share.

Self-Expression

One of the reasons that art is taught in school is to improve fine muscle control—“painting between the lines.” However, sometimes art projects become rigid in concept, execution, and display. Although these displays might be “pretty,” there is little self-expression. Arguably, a piece of paper with paint randomly splattered on it is art. Also, arguably, a lovely and perfect “paint-by-numbers” painting is not art. A careful teacher needs to balance both “painting between the lines” and free expression.

Lack of Skill

A student might have a grand vision in their head for what they wish to produce but lack the skills necessary to produce that vision. This can be frustrating for a young student. A teacher should encourage all efforts and never compare one student’s work with another.

Risk-Taking

As stated elsewhere, there is no “right” or “wrong” in art class. All students’ efforts are valuable and “correct.” The teacher should both state and model this concept to encourage all students to feel free to express themselves through art, without fear of failing.

Art Appreciation

Students should be exposed to the art of various cultures. Art has been used by countless cultures, in various ways and for various reasons. There is no “new art.” Every artist bases his or her art on what came before. Each culture and each generation draws inspiration from previous art. Even abstract, modern art draws on the works of previous artists. Current “modern art” can be linked indirectly to the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Africans, Japanese, Native Americans, etc. Modern art is based on previous art, some of which was created hundreds (or thousands) of years ago.

Art does not exist in a vacuum. The production of art and the appreciation of art is highly dependent on the culture that created it. Not only a culture’s location, but also a culture’s period in history. For example, the music of ancient Greece is very different from the music of modern Greece.

Throughout History

In Western Europe, during the classical era (Greeks and Romans), art emphasized the beauty of the human body. In the Middle Ages (roughly 500 A.D. to 1400 A.D.), emphasis was on expressing a message and symbolic images of Christianity. In the Renaissance, the emphasis was on realism. Art and the perception of beauty changed over time, not only in Western Europe but all over the world.

In Various Cultures

Chinese art (from 1st century B.C. to 19th century A.D.) focused on jade, pottery, calligraphy, and landscapes. In the 19th century A.D., China was influenced by Western culture and changed its focus to realism.

Other Asian cultures created their own distinct art. But in some measure, most Asian art (prior to the 19th century A.D.) was a reflection of China’s art. China was perceived as the dominant social, political, and economic power in Asia.

Other world regions have different emphases:

• African art focuses on the human form.

• Native American art focuses on creating practical objects of great beauty, such as carving, beading, weaving, basket work, etc.

Peer Art Appreciation

Emphasize with students (especially younger students) that there is no “right” or “wrong” when creating or critiquing art. The purpose of art is to express emotion, a message, or symbolic information.

Younger students will be unable to give an analysis of art in scholarly terms, but they should be encouraged to describe art in its physical appearance and in terms of “how does it make you feel?” (emotional impact).

When teaching critical analysis of art, a teacher should use publicly available, published art. Never critique a student’s art. Never use a student’s art as a topic of discussion with other students. This creates critique and/or judgment issues and could lead to self-esteem issues.

Curriculum Integration

Teaching art in a vacuum is more difficult than integrating art into the other curricula. Expressing art in terms of other subjects can improve a student’s understanding of both subjects and can also encourage students to make connections between different areas of learning.

Art and Science

A simple demonstration of adding blue paint with yellow paint to create green paint can lead to a science discussion.

The reverse is also true. Many photographs of space objects are quite artful. Nebulae are particularly pretty and can be considered art.

Communication

Art can be considered a method of communication. Expressing art can lead to improved verbal and writing skills.