The Creative Arts domain describes the variety of artistic activities that allow children to use their imaginations, creativity, and express ideas in a variety of mediums. Included in this domain are indicators for dance, drama and theatre arts, music, and visual arts. The creative arts provide a means for children to display their understanding of a wide variety of knowledge and ideas that are part of other domains.
The 2015 ELOF does not include Creative Arts Expression, content in this domain is written verbatim from the 2020 Preschool Visual and Performing Arts Colorado Academic Standards (CAS).
Creative Arts Expression (Dance)
Indicators
Children may . . .
Examples
Children may. . .
Suggested Supports
Adults may . . .
1. Movement: The use of the body to move to music and express oneself.
- Safely practice simple locomotor and non-locomotor movements.
- Explore movement in time and space using shape, size, level, direction, stillness and transference of weight (stepping).
- Explore movement to encourage (kinesthetic) body awareness.
- Explore simple phrases of movement to experience rhythm, clapping and moving to music in relationship to others.
- March and dance to music or rhythmical sounds.
- Suggest a way to move (e.g., like a butterfly) during the transition from outdoors to indoors.
- Participate in jumping/leaping over “rivers” spread around the room.
- Provide ample time daily for children to use their bodies to move in a variety of ways, both indoors and outdoors.
- Arrange for large open spaces where children can move freely and small spaces (e.g., carpet squares, hula hoops, low balance beam) for children to practice more controlled movements.
- Enjoy participating alongside children in planned and spontaneous movement and dance activities.
- Model and integrate different movements (e.g., twist, bend, hop, slide, roll, stretch) into the daily routines.
- Use correct vocabulary when referring to movements (e.g., gallop, twist, stretch, balance).
- Include movements that children with physical disabilities can perform with different parts of their bodies.
- Challenge children to think of specific ways to travel to various areas.
- Bring attention to a child’s created movements and invite others to observe, imitate and suggest their individual ideas.
2. Create, Compose, and Choreograph: Using the dance elements of space, time, and energy to explore, improvise, and develop movement phrases, sequences and dances.
- Create movements in response to sensory ideas (textures, colors, smells) and images from nature.
- Move to express different feelings in personal and general space.
- Explore movement while moving with objects (scarves, feathers, balls).
- Transfer same movements to different body parts and use repetition.
- Describe why you chose those specific movements to express a certain emotion.
- Demonstrate a creative movement in pretend play (e.g., a cat pouncing on a ball, a fish swimming in the classroom aquarium, a rocket ship lifting off).
- Participate moving creatively to instrumental music.
- Lead a simple movement pattern for others to copy.
- Provide an environment that encourages children to use movement to recognize and understand feelings.
- Invite children to move in ways that demonstrate how a character in a story might feel or move in response to a problem.
- Ask children to recall a familiar activity such as a field trip, daily routine or special event using movement to represent the experience.
- Provide a variety of props to inspire children to explore or make up their own creative movements.
- Connect movement or dance to a curriculum study and integrate throughout the daily routine.
- In reading stories, look for words and images that suggest movement, pause and encourage children to use movement to represent the word/image.
- Model patterns of movements, starting simply and increasing complexity as appropriate.
3. Historical and Cultural Context: Understanding the global and cultural relevance of dance.
- Explore how dance expresses ideas and emotions.
- Explore occasions for dance across different cultures.
- Explore shapes, levels and patterns in a dance, and describe the actions.
- Bring in a photo to show and/or talk about an occasion in which they experienced dance.
- Watch a performance with interest and begin to copy a movement observed in a dance.
- Ask families to share traditional music and dances from their cultures.
- Invite family members and community groups to the classroom to speak about and teach children a dance.
- Provide a range of music such as classical, jazz, rock, rap, salsa and props from various cultures to imitate dance experiences.
- Use photographs, short video and books about dance/movement performed by various groups of people.
- Ask children to share personal stories about times in which they have seen or participated in cultural dances.
4. Reflect, Connect, and Respond: Reflecting upon dance, connecting it with other disciplines, responding to it to discuss and analyze dance as art.
- Experience the joy of seeing and responding to dance.
- Demonstrate movement to express emotion.
- Express what is seen and felt in a movement with different tempos, rhythms and genres.
- View a performance with attention.
- Describe the dance in your own words.
- Show your favorite dance move to the performers or each other.
- Clap following a dance performance by a classmate or guest.
- Imitate a movement seen in a dance performance.
- Tell what was enjoyed in a particular dance.
- Show excitement to watch a creative movement or dance performance.
- Comment on or imitate a movement that was observed in a dance.
- Explore the process of creating an art work in response to a dance performance (e.g., drawing, painting, invented movement).
- Clap in appreciation of a performance.
- Plan opportunities in the classroom for children to observe and respond to a variety of dance genres performed by peers, family members, local community groups or professionals.
- Model asking a question or sharing a thought about a creative movement or dance.
- Model using words or actions to describe what was liked about a particular performance.
- Integrate a range of music in daily routine for children to listen and freely move to.
- Invite a special guest or group to the classroom to demonstrate a creative movement or dance performance.
- Attend performances in settings outside the classroom such as a trip to a local rehearsal or performance.
- Model and talk about appropriate audience behaviors of watching, listening and showing appreciation.
- Model describing or responding to a space of a particular dance work
Creative Arts Expression (Drama and Theater Arts)
Indicators
Children may . . .
Examples
Children may. . .
Suggested Supports
Adults may . . .
1. Create: Creating and forming theatrical works, interpreting theatrical works for performance and design, and developing characters and analyzing roles.
- Create characters and environments using imagination and background knowledge through dramatic play or guided drama experience (story drama, creative drama, movement stories, pantomimes, puppetry, etc.).
- Generate multiple representations of a single object in a variety of dramatic experiences (e.g., story drama, creative drama, movement stories, pantomime, puppetry etc.).
- Communicate ideas through actions and words using imagination and background knowledge in dramatic play or a guided drama experience (e.g., story drama, creative drama, movement stories, pantomimes, puppetry etc.).
- Investigate story in dramatic play or a guided drama experience (e.g. story drama, creative drama, movement stories, pantomimes, puppetry, etc).
- Apply personal experiences to a story in dramatic play or a guided drama experience (e.g., story drama, creative drama, movement stories, pantomime, puppetry, etc.).
- Identify an emotion or feeling in connection to a particular action, facial expression or word.
- Use speech or sounds to imitate a person or object.
- Draw pictures or tell stories of their own experiences in order to form dramatic play.
- Listen to stories and use them as a jumping-off point for dramatic play.
- Recall an experience while exploring within dramatic play.
- Provide ample time and space, indoors and outdoors, for children to engage in dramatic play and storytelling in their own way.
- Dramatize stories from children’s cultural and personal experiences by asking families to share stories.
- Represent various characters using facial expression, body movement and gestures.
- Ask students to draw a picture or tell stories of their own experiences as a prompt for dramatic play.
- Engage students’ background knowledge through questioning as a prompt for dramatic play. (For example, “When was a time you were courageous?”)
- Tell or read a story as a jumping-off point for dramatic play.
- Model by sharing a personal or shared class experience.
2. Perform: Expressing the human experience in story, movement, speech, and staging for an intended audience.
- Make appropriate character reactions that connect environment or cultures of the story using imagination or background knowledge in a dramatic play or a guided drama experience (e.g., story drama, creative drama, movement stories, pantomime, puppetry, etc.).
- Create characters using body and voice in dramatic play or a guided drama experience (e.g., story drama, creative drama, movement stories, pantomime, puppetry, etc.).
- Explore and experiment with various design or technical elements in dramatic play or a guided drama experience.
- Interpret character choices and emotions using voice and body in dramatic play or a guided drama experience (e.g., story drama, creative drama, movement stories, pantomime, puppetry, etc.).
- React to shared cultural or everyday experiences.
- Create a character using voice, body and facial expression from an adult’s modeling.
- Utilize technical elements such as lighting, costumes, props, etc. to help tell stories, create moods, build environments and define characters.
- Choose various facial expressions, body movements, gestures and vocal choices to express character emotions to character choices.
- Describe or share about a cultural experience.
- Build or re-create cultural experiences for children.
- Model characters or utilize books, movies, real life community members, animals, etc. as a way to show various characters.
- Discuss and create experiences showing how technical elements help to tell stories, create mood, build environments and define characters.
- Ask reflective questions concerning a dramatic play or guided drama such as, “How did your character feel when the wolf knocked on the door?” “What did you do when your character felt that way?”
- Lead discussions to compare emotions and ways to portray each.
3. Respond: Responding to the artistic and scientific knowledge of conventions, cultures, styles, genres, theories, and technologies needed to know better choices and best practices.
- Recall an emotional response in dramatic play or a guided drama experience.
- Reflect on choices in a dramatic play and guided drama experiences.
- Name and describe characters in a dramatic play or a guided drama.
- Recognize artistic choices.
- Identify and connect stories and cultural experiences that are similar to one another in dramatic play or a guided drama experience.
- Express (through vocalizations or movements) how his/her character felt, moved, vocalized or gestured when thinking about various moments in a dramatic play or guided drama.
- Answer questions using vocalizations or movements to define and describe characters.
- Answer questions and express ideas through movements or vocalizations that define their artistic choices.
- Connect personal experiences and express ideas in reaction to a story through movements or vocalization.
- Ask reflective questions concerning a dramatic play or guided drama such as, “How did your character feel when the wolf knocked on the door?” “What did you do when your character felt that way?”
- Ask reflective “what questions” on student experiences such as, “What did your biggest shape look like? or”What movement was the most sharp”?
- Utilize story to have students define a character’s appearance and feelings. For example, “Which characters came to help?” “What did the animals look like?” “What did the characters do when they received help?”
- Use questions to lead discussion, for example, “When was the character really scared?” “What did we do to create the environment?” “What was your favorite…”
- Ask reflective questions that connect personal experiences to a story, for example, “What are ways your family celebrates different holidays?”
Creative Arts Expression (Music)
Indicators
Children may . . .
Examples
Children may. . .
Suggested Supports
Adults may . . .
1. Music Expression: The use of voice and instruments to create sounds.
- Use voices expressively when speaking, chanting, and singing.
- Perform through multiple modalities a variety of simple songs and singing games alone and with others.
- Use voice and/or instruments to enhance familiar songs or chants.
- Respond to rhythmic patterns and elements of music using expressive movement.
- Apply teacher feedback for progress of musical practice and experience.
- Sing along to verses of songs that have a repeated pattern.
- Act out actions in songs.
- Play with instruments to create different sounds.
- Clap hands in response to music with various beats.
- Make vocal sounds.
- Use words such as loud or soft, fast or slow to describe music.
- Move arms up to high notes and down to low notes.
- Sing along with recordings of learned songs.
- Choose when to appropriately sing, speak, and chant the words of a learned song.
- Practice using high and low vocal sounds.
- Play singing games.
- Enjoy making and listening to music.
- Use their voices in different ways (e.g., varying volume, imitating sounds of machines, actions, animals and various characters) while reading a book, telling a story or singing.
- Incorporate simple songs throughout the daily routine and transitions.
- Introduce parts of a song and repeat until everyone learns the words. Incorporate sign or actions to the words.
- Read children’s books based on songs and encourage children’s participation in multiple ways.
- Provide a variety of appropriate instruments (e.g., maracas, rhythm sticks, bells, tambourines, drums) for children to use for musical experimentation.
- Sing a tone or make a sound and invite children to repeat or echo it.
- Experiment with having children match sounds, beats, words, pitches and speed.
- Play music from different cultures and traditions.
- Sing songs or play music suggested by children’s families.
- Offer different types of music rhythms, patterns and tempos and invite children to clap, tap or move to the beat.
- Provide many opportunities for children to hear or feel the vibrations of music with a prominent and steady beat.
- Use recorded models of children singing songs.
- Model contrasting ways of singing/speaking songs.
- Help students identify missed words of a song.
- Play singing games.
- Break songs down into parts for students to echo-sing.
2. Creation of Music: Compose, improvise, and arrange sounds and musical ideas to communicate purposeful intent.
- Improvise sound effects to accompany play activities
- Use improvised movement to demonstrate musical awareness
- Move or play in response to music.
- Improvise sound effects during play
- Enjoy participating alongside children in creating different sounds during pretend play.
- Listen to and imitate children’s sound effects.
- Comment on the ways children use their voices or make sound effects to encourage further experimentation.
- Call attention to sounds in the indoor and outdoor environment.
- Use music or sound to enhance routines and learning activities such as playing the same piece of music to signal a cleanup time.
3. Theory of Music. Read, write, and analyze the elements of music through a variety of means to demonstrate musical literacy.
- Use individual means to respond to rhythm.
- Use individual means to respond to pitch.
- Use individual means to respond to dynamics.
- Use individual means to respond to form.
- Use invented symbols to represent musical sounds and ideas.
- Use personal communication to describe sources of sound.
- Use individual means to respond to dynamics and tempo.
- Recognize a wide variety of sounds and sound sources.
- Use words or other expression to say why they like music.
- Use words or other expression to describe differences in music.
- Share why they like some music better than others.
- Communicate a song’s meaning and intent through drawing or painting (e.g. drawing farm animals while listening to “Old MacDonald”).
- Move arms up to high notes and down to low notes.
- Identify types of sounds (voice vs instrument).
- Use words to identify sounds they hear in their world.
- Communicate a song’s meaning and intent through drawing or painting (e.g. drawing farm animals while listening to “Old MacDonald”).
- Move arms up to high notes and down to low notes.
- Identify types of sounds (voice vs instrument).
- Use words to identify sounds they hear in their world.
- Play their favorite kinds of music with children and tell what they like about it.
- Play and discuss a variety of musical styles.
- Invite children to compare their responses to different types of music.
- Ask questions such as how a piece of music makes them feel, what they do or do not like about it and how it is similar to other music they have heard.
- Provide opportunities for children to listen to recorded music while drawing or painting.
- Model moving arms up when hearing high notes and down with low notes.
- Demonstrate a variety of vocal and instrumental sounds.
- Play sounds that students may hear in their world (e.g., train whistle, thunderstorm, a concert).
- Provide opportunities for children to listen to recorded music while drawing or painting.
- Model moving arms up when hearing high notes and down with low notes.
- Demonstrate a variety of vocal and instrumental sounds.
- Play sounds that students may hear in their world (e.g., train whistle, thunderstorm, a concert).
4. Aesthetic Valuation of Music. Evaluate and respond to music using criteria to make informed musical decisions.
- Move, sing, or describe to show preference for styles of music.
- Discuss feelings in response to music.
- Use individual communication to describe music.
- Explore music from media, community, and home events.
- Listen and respond to various musical styles (such as marches and lullabies).
- Communicate feelings in music.
- Express personal interests regarding why some music selections are preferred over others.
- Children move, dance, sing in response to music.
- Children indicate preference for certain songs or styles of music.
- Request their favorite music.
- Move in different ways to different styles of music (children’s songs, lullabies, jazz, marches, etc.).
- Bounce, sway, walk, march, skip to music.
- Model and talk about why they chose to listen to a particular musical selection.
- Plan classroom experiences in which children are exposed to a variety of musical styles.
- Provide children with access to an organized music area and supply with a range of recorded music (e.g., classical, jazz, rock, rap, salsa) and props (e.g., scarves, ribbons, bells) for children to access independently to explore ways to move to music.
- Provide children with opportunities to express opinions about music through verbal response, movement, and play.
- Play a variety of music styles for children.
- Demonstrate movement to music (e.g., marching, skipping, walking, rocking).
- Encourage free movement to music of various styles.
Creative Arts Expression (Visual Arts)
Indicators
Children may . . .
Examples
Children may. . .
Suggested Supports
Adults may . . .
1. Observe and Learn to Comprehend: Identify art in daily surroundings.
- Select images in materials such as but not limited to books, cartoons, computer games and environmental print.
- Use age-appropriate communication to describe works of art.
- Recognize basic language of art and design in relation to daily surroundings.
- Move with a variety of colored scarves noticing how color and shape are changed by the light and movement.
- Bring attention to patterns, shapes, lines or colors found in objects and design inside as well as in nature and the outdoor environment.
- Comment or draw attention to a feature of a food item or packaging at snack or meal time.
- Ask a question about a work of art.
- Notice and discuss the illustrations in picture books as inspiration for making original art.
- Help decide which of their art works should be displayed.
- Point out images of personal preference found in the everyday and connect to stories about their life.
- Incorporate art experiences throughout the daily routine.
- Stress process over product when viewing a work of art.
- Post or make available visual representations such as photographs of familiar objects, places and illustrations from books in the art area.
- Hang art reproductions showing familiar experiences.
- Provide opportunities for children to explore and classify various art media. For example, children may sort photographs or sculpture, collage, drawings and paintings into groups.
- Provide opportunities for children to discover art in their homes, classroom, center or school and community.
- Display children’s art creations attractively and prominently in the art room, as much as possible at children’s eye level.
- Display collaborative work, such as but not limited to murals, as well as individual work.
- Remove displays before the room becomes cluttered or when children lose interest.
- Prioritize the display of children’s art over commercially purchased posters.
2. Envision and Critique to Reflect: Evaluate the effectiveness of what is made during the creative process.
- Explain that works of art communicate ideas and tell stories.
- Communicate a story about a work of art.
- Discuss one’s own artistic creations and those of others.
- Tell the story of their own work.
- Show or tell the steps used in making own art.
- Use the illustrations of books as inspiration to create their own story.
- Include various art forms, materials and techniques representing children’s cultures.
- Encourage children to take art home to share with families.
- Encourage children to talk about their art by commenting on colors, textures, techniques and patterns.
- Share wordless picture books and invite children to tell the story.
- Display children’s art at their eye level within the classroom (with their permission) to encourage discussion.
- Provide a safe space for children’s works-in-progress to be labeled and stored to encourage children to extend elaborating on their work over subsequent days.
- Ask questions that encourage children to think about their creations and why they made particular choices.
- Display prints of fine art and books that include art reproductions.
- Ask children to dictate stories about artwork they have created.
- Take photos of children’s work and record their explanations.
3. Invent and Discover to Create: Use different skills to generate works of art for functional, expressive, conceptual, and social/cultural purposes.
- Explore the process of creating works of art at one’s own pace that arrive at an individual desired outcome.
- Use art materials freely, safely and with respect in any environment.
- Engage in the process of creating visual narratives from familiar stories and subject matter.
- Use a combination of materials in an inventive way.
- Try a variety of techniques.
- Dictate about the subject of personal artwork.
- After several readings of a favorite story, participate in a process that represents the story.
- Learn by discovery such as by finding out what happens when colors are mixed rather than being told ahead of time.
- Make choices about their artwork and envision what might happen if they make changes or additions to a work of art.
- Provide children with access to an organized art area and supply with a variety of developmentally appropriate art materials and emphasize open-ended, process-oriented activities.
- Designate an area where children can be free to use art materials and be messy; provide cleaning tools and model how to use them to clean up when finished.
- Plan art activities that extend children’s understanding of art techniques and art media.
- Introduce children to vocabulary used in the visual arts (e.g., line, color, shape, sculpture, collage) during hands-on activities and explorations.
- Stress the process over product.
- Label how children describe areas, techniques or subject matter in their artwork.
- Respect children’s work and ask permission to write directly on their picture.
- Write children’s narratives about their artwork on sticky notes or labels and attach to side or beneath their picture to encourage families to discuss the artwork with their child.
4. Relate and Connect to Transfer: Make new connections to their own environments, cultures, and stories through the process of making art.
- Explain what an artist does and who an artist can be.
- Identify some of the activities in which artists participate.
- Identify arts materials used by artists.
- Make decisions about, request and use names for art materials while working in the art center (such as but not limited to pastels, clay, yarn, etc.).
- Draw children’s attention to the illustrations in a book and read about the artist. For example, children may make a work of art inspired by the process and materials choice of the illustrator.
- Invite family members or local artists to talk about the materials, tools and techniques they used to create a piece of artwork.
- Use the correct art vocabulary for materials, tools and actions (in English as well as in any other of the children’s home languages) while children are actively engaged in working with art materials.
- Plan opportunities for children to see artists in action.