What Ontario grade 1 students learn in the arts

Your child will be able to use everyday movements like walking, galloping, or even pretending to be a ticking clock or a stretching cat, and change them up to create short dance routines. They'll learn to make these movements bigger, faster, or slower, and put them together in different ways.

Your child will be able to use their body to express feelings and ideas from songs, stories, and poems through dance, focusing on making different body shapes like crouching or folding their arms to show deep thought.

Your child will be able to create short dance sequences by smoothly linking different movements together, like connecting a melting motion and a spin with a stretch, or linking a walk and a skip by moving in a circle.

Your child will be able to use different body shapes, like making themselves big or small, to show different feelings or ideas in their dancing.

Your child will be able to explain how everyday movements, like walking or brushing teeth, change when they are used as a starting point for dance.

Your child will be able to understand how different body movements, like standing tall or kneeling, can show different feelings or ideas in their own dances and in the dances of others.

Your child will be able to recognize what they are good at in dance, both when they are creating movements and when they are watching others, and also understand where they can improve. For example, they might learn to connect different dance steps smoothly or work with friends to make up new dances, and they'll practice watching performances carefully and asking good questions.

Your child will be able to talk about different dances they've seen from various cultures, whether it was on TV, at a show, or at a party. For example, they might describe a dance like a Mexican Hat Dance or an Indian Bhangra dance.

Your child will be able to talk about different times they've seen or participated in dance, whether at home, school, or in their community.

Your child will be able to act out different stories and situations, pretending to be various characters from different cultures, times, and places. This helps them understand different perspectives and express themselves using their voice and body.

Your child will be able to understand what a character is by pretending to be someone else, using their body and words to show what that character is thinking and feeling. They will practice this by acting out different situations and expressing different viewpoints.

Your child will be able to plan and act out pretend games by using ideas from others, whether they are pretending to be someone else (like a scientist) or just themselves. They will also learn to work with others to make their pretend stories clearer and more understandable.

Your child will be able to share their feelings and ideas with classmates in drama activities, using simple props or technology like a piece of fabric for water or a shaker for sound effects.

Your child will be able to share their thoughts and feelings about a play or drama activity, connecting the characters and story to their own life experiences. They might do this by talking about it, drawing a picture, or writing in a journal.

Your child will understand how characters in plays and classroom skits help tell the story and show different ideas or feelings.

Your child will be able to talk about what they are good at in drama, what they enjoy, and what they can work on, both when they are performing and when they are watching.

Your child will be able to recognize and talk about different types of drama and theatre they see around them, like their favorite TV shows, pretend play, or even stories told from a book.

Your child will be able to recognize different characters, ideas, and topics in plays and stories from various cultures around the world. For example, they might learn about trickster characters like Nanabush from Indigenous stories or Anansi from West African folklore.

Your child will be able to sing songs together with others (unison) and play simple musical backgrounds (accompaniments) from different cultures, styles, and times in history. For example, they might play a repeating rhythm (ostinato) on an instrument or copy sung notes (echo singing).

Your child will be able to use different musical elements like rhythm (the pattern of sounds) and beat (the steady pulse) when singing, playing instruments, or moving to music. For example, they might clap the rhythm of a song while others keep the beat, and then switch roles.

Your child will be able to create short musical pieces for a specific reason and for people they know, like making a tune to answer a sung question or using instruments or body sounds to go along with a story.

Your child will learn how to use their body and voice to sing and play music well, like standing up straight and breathing properly, and practicing with others to perform together.

Your child will understand that sounds can be written down using symbols, like drawing pictures to show a rhythm or using musical notes.

Your child will be able to show their first thoughts and feelings about music performances in different ways, such as moving like an animal the music makes them think of.

Your child will be able to explain how different parts of music, like how fast or slow it is (tempo) or how loud or soft it is (dynamics), are used to create different feelings or ideas in songs they sing, hear, or make.

Your child will be able to recognize what they are good at in music, like singing together, and understand areas where they can improve, such as giving helpful feedback to others.

Your child will be able to talk about where and when they hear or make music, like singing at home or listening to music in the car.

Your child will be able to recognize different kinds of music from various cultures by listening to and/or performing them, such as folk songs or music for celebrations from Canada and around the world.

Your child will be able to create art, like paintings or sculptures, that shows their feelings and ideas about things that have happened to them.

Your child will understand how to arrange elements in their artwork (composition) using design principles like contrast to create art that tells a story or expresses a theme. For example, they might draw a storm using different types of lines to show contrast, or make a sculpture of an animal with varied textures.

Your child will learn to use different art elements like lines, shapes, and patterns to share their ideas and feelings in their artwork. For example, they might use bumpy lines to show rough tree bark or different-sized flower shapes to make some flowers look closer than others.

Your child will learn to use different art supplies, tools, and methods to solve creative problems, such as drawing with crayons to show how music makes them feel or using torn paper to make a landscape picture.

Your child will be able to share their feelings and ideas about different artworks and art activities. For example, they might talk about how certain colours in a painting make them feel, or use pretend play to respond to art they see in the community.

Your child will be able to explain how artists use basic art ideas like lines, shapes, and colours (elements and principles of design) to show feelings or tell a story in their own art and in the art of others.

Your child will learn that symbols and signs are all around us, in everyday life and in art. For example, they will learn that the color green can represent nature, but also feelings like envy or sickness.

Your child will be able to talk about what they like and are good at in their art, as well as things they want to get better at.

Your child will be able to recognize and talk about different types of art they see around them, like drawings in books, patterns on clothes, or art at school and in their community.

Your child will be able to recognize different kinds of art from various cultures, time periods, and places around the world. This could include famous buildings, comic books, decorations on crafts, or sculptures and paintings.