Skip to content
Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

This is the year students first explore making art with cameras, tablets, and recorded sound. Students take pictures, record short videos or voices, and play with simple drawing tools to share an idea. They talk about what they made and notice what other artists do in pictures and shows they watch. By spring, students can create a small piece of media art, like a photo or short recording, and explain what it means.

  • Photos and video
  • Drawing on screens
  • Recording sound
  • Sharing ideas
  • Talking about art
Source: Florida B.E.S.T. Standards
Year at a glance
How the year usually goes. Every school and district set their own curriculum, so treat this as a guide, not official pacing.
  1. 1

    Exploring tools and ideas

    Students get their first look at cameras, tablets, microphones, and drawing apps. They try out the buttons, see what happens, and start picking ideas they want to turn into pictures or sounds.

  2. 2

    Making simple media projects

    Students put their ideas into short projects like a photo, a drawing on a screen, or a recorded sound. They learn that a project takes a few steps from start to finish.

  3. 3

    Fixing up and finishing work

    Students go back to a project and make it better. They might retake a photo, redraw a part, or rerecord a voice until it feels done.

  4. 4

    Sharing and talking about media

    Students show their finished work to classmates and family. They also look at pictures, videos, and sounds made by others and say what they notice and what the work might mean.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Pre-Kindergarten.
Connecting

  • Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art

    MA:Cn10.pk

    Students connect their own memories and experiences to what they make. A drawing of home, a collage of favorite things, or a simple puppet can all come from something real in a child's life.

  • Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural

    MA:Cn11.pk

    Young students talk about art they see around them, noticing how pictures and songs can tell stories about families, communities, and celebrations they recognize from their own lives.

Creating

  • Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work

    MA:Cr1.pk

    Students explore ideas for their own simple media projects, like drawing on a screen or making a short video, by playing, experimenting, and saying what they want to create.

  • Organize and develop artistic ideas and work

    MA:Cr2.pk

    Students pick which colors, sounds, or materials to use when making something, and then put those pieces together to build their idea.

  • Refine and complete artistic work

    MA:Cr3.pk

    Students pick a media arts project they have been working on, make small changes to improve it, and decide when it feels finished.

Performing/Presenting/Producing

  • Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation

    MA:Pr4.pk

    Students pick which of their media projects (a drawing, a photo, a short video) is ready to share with others.

  • Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation

    MA:Pr5.pk

    Students practice a media art project, such as a photo or simple animation, more than once to make it clearer or more finished before sharing it with others.

  • Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work

    MA:Pr6.pk

    Students share their drawings, songs, or stories to show others what they made and why it matters to them.

Responding

  • Perceive and analyze artistic work

    MA:Re7.pk

    Students look closely at photos, videos, and simple animations and share what they notice. This builds the habit of paying attention to images before talking about what they mean.

  • Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work

    MA:Re8.pk

    Students look at a piece of art, a photo, or a short video and say what they think it means or how it makes them feel. There are no wrong answers at this age.

  • Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work

    MA:Re9.pk

    Students look at a drawing or a short video and say what they like about it and why. They start to notice what makes something interesting or well made.

Common Questions
  • What is media arts in pre-kindergarten?

    Media arts means making and sharing things using tools like cameras, tablets, voice recorders, and simple drawing apps. At this age it looks like taking photos, recording a short story, or making a digital drawing. The point is to play with the tools and share what they made.

  • How can families support media arts at home?

    Hand over a phone or tablet and let students take photos of things they love, record a short voice message about their day, or draw on a screen. Ask them to tell the story behind what they made. Five minutes of curiosity beats a long project.

  • Does a four-year-old really need screen time for this?

    Not much, and not alone. The goal is short bursts where students make something, not watch something. A few minutes of taking pictures or recording a voice memo counts.

  • What should media arts look like across the year?

    Start with exploring tools: pressing record, snapping photos, tapping to draw. Move into small projects where students plan a picture or a short recording before making it. By spring, students can share a finished piece and say a sentence about what it means.

  • Which skills tend to need the most reteaching?

    Two things come up again and again: stopping to plan before pressing record, and going back to fix or finish a piece instead of starting over. Build short routines around both. A simple think-then-make-then-share pattern carries most of the year.

  • How do I know a student is ready for kindergarten media arts?

    By the end of the year, students can pick a tool, make something small with a clear idea behind it, and share it with a classmate or family member. They can say what they like about their work and another student's work. That is the bar.

  • What if students just want to play with the tool and never finish anything?

    That is normal and expected at this age. Exploration is the work. Nudge toward finishing by asking one question: what do you want to show someone? One small finished piece a month is plenty.

  • How does media arts connect to what students already know?

    Students pull from their own lives: family, pets, favorite foods, places they have been. A photo of a sibling or a recording of a bedtime story is a real piece of media art. Ask students to tell the story behind it and the connection is already there.