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LOVELADY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT LOVELADY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
Jenny Hedrick's Classroom
3rd Grade Fine Arts

The 3rd Grade Fine Arts TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, 19 TAC Chapter 117) mark a major transitional year. In 3rd grade, instruction shifts from foundational, play-based exploration toward formal technique, structured literacy, and technical analysis.

All four disciplines—Art, Music, Theatre, and Dance—continue to operate under the four mandatory structural strands:

  1. Foundations (Observation, perception, and technical literacy)

  2. Creative Expression (Production, performance, and creation)

  3. Historical and Cultural Relevance (Connecting arts to history and global cultures)

  4. Critical Evaluation and Response (Reflecting, analyzing, and critiquing)

Summary by Discipline

1. Art (§117.111)

  • Foundations: Students analyze both natural and human-made objects to identify formal elements (line, shape, color, texture, form, space, value) and principles of design (emphasis, repetition, pattern, rhythm, balance, proportion). They begin exploring value (lights and darks) and foreground, middleground, and background for spatial depth.

  • Creative Expression: Students refine technical skills using drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, and 3D media. They learn basic color theory concepts (primary vs. secondary colors, warm vs. cool tones) and plan compositions prior to execution.

  • Historical & Cultural Relevance: Students examine artworks from diverse cultures, historical periods, and Texas history, recognizing how art reflects specific communities, traditions, and storytelling.

  • Critical Evaluation: Children compare their own original work with art from peers and master artists, using formal art vocabulary to evaluate intent, technique, and visual impact.

2. Music (§117.112)

  • Foundations & Music Literacy: Students read, write, and perform expanded rhythmic notation—including half notes/rests, whole notes/rests, quarter notes/rests, and eighth notes—in standard meters ($2/*$, $4/4$). They read pitches on the treble clef staff ($sol, la, do, re, mi, sol, la$) and expand their ear-training to identify instrument families, vocal types, and formal structures (like round/canon, verse/refrain, $AB$, $ABA$).

  • Creative Expression: Students sing with proper posture, breath control, and accurate pitch. They play pitched (xylophones, recorders, or keyboards) and unpitched instruments, maintain independent parts in multi-part songs, and improvise/compose short musical phrases.

  • Historical & Cultural Relevance: Students explore music from diverse global cultures, American historical eras, and Texas traditions, recognizing the role of music in daily life and celebrations.

  • Critical Evaluation: Children evaluate personal and ensemble performances using formal musical terminology (tempo, dynamics, articulation, pitch accuracy) and practice attentive audience behavior.

3. Theatre (§117.113)

  • Foundations: Students develop physical and vocal control through expressive body movements, spatial awareness, sensory recollection, and vocal projection/articulation.

  • Creative Expression: Children write, improvise, and perform short scripted scenes. They develop distinct characters with specific physical traits, motivation, and dialogue. Students also explore simple technical theatre elements (selecting/arranging basic props, costumes, and scenery to define settings).

  • Historical & Cultural Relevance: Students analyze plays, folktales, and dramatic literature from various global cultures and historical eras.

  • Critical Evaluation: Children evaluate live or recorded performances by analyzing plot elements (exposition, climax, resolution), character choices, and overall dramatic effectiveness using theatre terminology.

4. Dance (§117.114)

  • Foundations: Students build physical control, alignment, flexibility, balance, and spatial awareness across various levels, pathways, and dynamic energies (heavy/light, sharp/smooth).

  • Creative Expression: Children create and perform original choreography by organizing locomotor and non-locomotor steps into structured dance phrases with clear beginnings, middles, and ends.

  • Historical & Cultural Relevance: Students perform traditional folk, square, or cultural dances from Texas, American, and international heritage.

  • Critical Evaluation: Children observe dance performances, analyze how movement conveys meaning or emotion, and assess their own technical movement execution.