Australia · ACARA Content Descriptions
Year 1 The Arts
A foundational journey through the five arts subjects where students explore sensory properties and creative expression. Students develop their artistic voice through hands-on experimentation with movement, sound, storytelling, and visual media.
Visual Worlds: Shape and Color
Students explore the building blocks of visual art by experimenting with different materials and techniques to represent their ideas.
Identifying and recreating the diverse lines and textures found in the natural environment using charcoal and graphite.
Learning how primary colors interact to create new hues and how color choice influences the viewer's feelings.
Using clay and found objects to explore three dimensional form and spatial awareness.
Rhythm and Soundscapes
An introduction to music where students identify beat, tempo, and pitch through song and instrumental play.
Distinguishing between a steady beat and a changing rhythm using body percussion and drums.
Exploring pitch and melody through vocal exercises and melodic instruments like glockenspiels.
Identifying and organizing everyday sounds into a musical composition or soundscape.
Moving Bodies: Dance and Space
Students use their bodies to communicate ideas and emotions by exploring the elements of dance.
Creating still and moving shapes with the body to represent objects and feelings.
Learning to coordinate movements with others through mirroring and following exercises.
Using non verbal communication to express a sequence of events or a specific narrative.
Characters and Curtains
Students explore the basics of drama by using voice, facial expressions, and props to create characters.
Developing awareness of how voice and body can be transformed to become someone else.
Using mime and simple props to establish a setting and interact with an invisible world.
Collaborating in small groups to improvise and refine short dramatic sequences.
Artists Throughout Time
A look at significant artists and cultural traditions to understand why and how people create art.
Exploring symbols and storytelling techniques used in First Nations Australian artworks.
Investigating the lives and techniques of famous artists like Van Gogh or Matisse.
Comparing how different cultures celebrate through masks, clothing, and festivals.
The Critical Eye: Responding to Art
Students learn to describe, analyze, and interpret various art forms using specific terminology.
Developing a vocabulary to describe the elements of art in their own work and the work of others.
Learning how to select and arrange artworks to convey a specific theme or message.
Practicing constructive criticism and reflection on the creative process.