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Learning Standards Standards

What does a student learn in ?

This is the year media projects start carrying a real point of view. Students plan a video, podcast, or digital design from a first idea to a finished piece, pulling from their own lives and what they see in the world around them. They learn to revise their work based on feedback and to talk about why someone else's media lands or falls flat. By spring, they can present a finished media project and explain the choices behind it.

  • Video projects
  • Podcasts
  • Digital design
  • Revising media work
  • Giving feedback
  • Presenting projects
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

    Finding ideas worth making

    Students start the year by turning their own interests and experiences into ideas for short videos, audio clips, podcasts, or digital images. They sketch out concepts before touching the software.

  2. 2

    Planning and building media

    Students organize their ideas into something a viewer or listener can follow. They draft storyboards, scripts, or shot lists and start producing real pieces with cameras, microphones, or editing apps.

  3. 3

    Refining and presenting work

    Students revise their projects with a clear audience in mind. They cut what does not work, adjust pacing and sound, and decide how each piece will be shown to the class or shared online.

  4. 4

    Looking at media with a critical eye

    Students study work made by professionals and classmates. They describe what choices the maker took, guess at the message, and use shared criteria to judge how well a piece does its job.

  5. 5

    Media in the wider world

    Students connect their projects to the culture, history, and communities around them. They look at how media shapes opinion and how their own work fits into a larger conversation.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 7.
Connecting

  • Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art

    MA:Cn10.7

    Students connect what they already know and what they've lived through to the media art they create, letting personal experience shape their choices in the work.

  • Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural

    MA:Cn11.7

    Students look at a piece of media art and figure out what was happening in the world when it was made. They connect the work to the culture or moment it came from to understand why it looks and feels the way it does.

Creating

  • Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work

    MA:Cr1.7

    Students brainstorm and develop original ideas for media art projects, deciding what story, message, or effect they want to create before they start building.

  • Organize and develop artistic ideas and work

    MA:Cr2.7

    Students plan and refine a media arts project by making deliberate choices about images, sound, or text. They revise their work until the piece communicates what they intended.

  • Refine and complete artistic work

    MA:Cr3.7

    Students revisit a media arts project, make specific changes based on feedback or their own review, and bring it to a finished state.

Performing/Presenting/Producing

  • Analyze, interpret, and select artistic work for presentation

    MA:Pr4.7

    Students review a collection of media pieces and choose which ones to present, explaining why each selection fits the purpose and audience of the show or exhibition.

  • Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation

    MA:Pr5.7

    Students review and improve their media projects before sharing them, making deliberate choices about how the final piece looks, sounds, or flows.

  • Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work

    MA:Pr6.7

    Students choose how to share a media piece so the audience understands the intended message. The format, framing, and sequence all support what the work is trying to say.

Responding

  • Perceive and analyze artistic work

    MA:Re7.7

    Students look closely at a media artwork (a video, website, or ad) and explain what they notice about how it was made and what message it sends.

  • Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work

    MA:Re8.7

    Students explain what a media artist was trying to say and why specific choices, like color, sound, or camera angle, create that meaning.

  • Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work

    MA:Re9.7

    Students use a set of criteria to judge a piece of media art, explaining what works, what doesn't, and why. The criteria act as a checklist that keeps the evaluation grounded in specific evidence rather than personal taste alone.

Common Questions
  • What is media arts in seventh grade?

    Media arts covers things students watch and make on screens, like short videos, podcasts, animations, photo essays, and simple game or web projects. Students learn to plan an idea, produce it with tools like a phone or laptop, and share it with an audience.

  • What projects might my child bring home this year?

    Expect short videos, podcasts, animated clips, edited photos, or simple interactive pieces. Most projects start with a plan or storyboard, move through filming or recording, and end with editing and a final share. Ask to watch the rough cut before the final version.

  • How can I help at home if my child is stuck on a project?

    Ask three quick questions: who is this for, what should they feel, and what is the one main idea. Most blocks come from a fuzzy plan, not from the editing software. Ten minutes of talking through the idea usually unsticks the work.

  • How should I sequence media arts across the year?

    Start with short, low-stakes pieces that build one skill at a time, like framing a shot or recording clean audio. Move to projects that combine skills, then end with a longer piece students plan, produce, and revise. Build in reflection after each unit.

  • What does mastery look like by the end of the year?

    Students can take an idea from rough sketch to finished piece, make choices about sound, image, and pacing on purpose, and explain why those choices fit the message. They can also give and take feedback without scrapping the whole project.

  • Does my child need expensive equipment to do well?

    No. A phone camera, free editing apps, and a quiet room handle most projects at this level. What matters more is a clear plan and a willingness to revise. Headphones help when editing audio.

  • Which skills usually need the most reteaching?

    Audio quality, pacing, and revision tend to lag behind camera work and visual effects. Students also struggle to tie creative choices back to a clear purpose. Build short critique routines that ask why a choice was made, not just whether it looks good.

  • How do I talk about media my child watches or makes?

    Ask what the maker wanted the audience to feel, and what choices created that feeling. Notice music, camera angles, cuts, and silence. These same conversations about a favorite show or video help students think like a maker, not just a viewer.