Ask your child what their favorite part of the day is, and you’re likely to hear about something taught during specials – Art, Music, and Physical Education (PE). These classes give students a creative outlet and offer valuable educational benefits.
Art, Music, and PE are critical specialized classes provided for all students in elementary school. These classes offer mental, emotional, and physical benefits. Lessons taught in these classes go beyond the discipline and enrich the student’s life-long skills, by enhancing motor skills, language skills, social skills, effective decision-making, problem-solving, and inventiveness.
Art
Skills taught in art become more advanced over time. The youngest learners focus on exploration with materials and learning to identify what images represent. In turn, students begin to create using different types of materials.
By fifth grade, students interpret art by analyzing characteristics of form and structure, contextual information, subject matter, visual elements, and use of media to identify ideas and mood conveyed. Creation allows for experimentation with art-making techniques and development of media artworks as an expression of internal and external inspiration – such as hobbies and experiences.
Examples of Your Child’s Work at School:
- Count objects to tell how many there are.
- Act out, using objects, addition and subtraction word problems, and/or draw diagrams to represent them.
- Add with a sum of 10 or less; subtract from 10 or less; and solve addition and subtraction word problems.
- Fluently add and subtract within 5 (e.g., 3 + 1).
- Correctly name shapes regardless of orientation or size (e.g., a square oriented as a “diamond” is still a square).
Music
Music integrates many different subjects to ultimately enhance much more than just a student’s musical talents and abilities. Students enrolled in music classes experience increased language development, enhanced math skills, and history knowledge.
Development of music skills is a life-long gift. For many students, early music education is the root to finding a life-long passion. Even more, the stress-relief, self-discipline, and bonding skills discovered through music arms students with tools to succeed now and into the future.
Read an extended list of music education benefits from the NAMM Foundation
Examples of Your Child’s Work at School:
- Perform music for a specific performance with expression and technical accuracy.
- Improvise rhythmic and melodic patterns and musical ideas for a specific purpose.
Physical Education
One obvious benefit of physical education (PE) is improved physical fitness. Students should get at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. PE class helps to build this habit. Through PE, students develop self-discipline and responsible life choices for health and wellness. Lessons taught in PE classes help students develop motor skills, manage stress, work collaboratively, and achieve goals.
Research shows the PE also improves how students perform in the classroom for general education lessons. Physical activity serves as an outlet for students, and by releasing energy in PE, students return to the classroom with the ability to focus more intently. Innovative lessons also allow PE lessons to incorporate content from science, math, and social studies.
By Fifth Grade, Students Will:
- Demonstrate mature patterns in kicking and punting in small-sided practice task environments.
- Combine foot dribbling with other skills in 1v1 practice tasks.
- Volley a ball using a tow-hand overhead pattern, sending it upward to a target.
- Combine hand dribbling with other skills during 1v1 practice tasks.
- Create a jump-rope routine with a partner, using either a short or long rope.
- Strike an object with a long or short-handled implement in gameplay.
- Throw overhand using a mature pattern in non-dynamic environments, with different sizes and types of objects.
- Catch with accuracy, while both partners are moving.