Content Area IIF: Promoting Creativity and the Arts

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Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5

Level 1

• Values the process of creating as more important than the end product.
• Encourages individual creative expression.
• Accepts cultural differences that may affect children’s ways of expressing themselves creatively.
• Provides opportunities for children to use a variety of media for creative activities.

Level 2

• Encourages and supports children’s use of unstructured materials such as water, clay, paints, and blocks.
• Encourages children to express their creative abilities through language, music, dramatic play, and art.
• Describes, discusses, and accepts the process as well as the product of children’s activities with creativity and the arts.

Level 3

• Ensures that all children have access to opportunities that allow for individual creative expression.
• Supports development and acceptance of personal preferences by giving children choices and supporting discussions of likes and dislikes.
• Shows respect for creative expression though appropriate documentation and display of children’s work.
• Uses art, music, and dramatic play as a springboard for language and conversation.

Level 4

• Provides time, materials, and space to explore and experiment with creative expression in multiple media (e.g., problem solving, visual arts, construction, music, movement, drama).
• Exposes children to and helps develop their appreciation for creative and aesthetic experiences in their community.
• Encourages awareness and appreciation of the arts and creative expression from a variety of cultures.
• Challenges children to extend their creative thinking and problem solving by asking open-ended questions.

Level 5

• Using specific examples, explains how children represent their thoughts, feelings, and ideas through creative outlets.
• Informs families about the importance of individual creative expression.
• Encourages and integrates creative expression throughout the curriculum.
• Communicates to others the process for developing curriculum that promotes creative expression.