Skip to main content
Ministry of Education New Zealand
On this page
Important

This page is based on the draft Year 5 content for the Arts, which is currently open for feedback. Schools are not required to implement changes until the consultation process is confirmed.

Have your say:

Consultation for Year 0 to 10 draft curriculum content

In Years 4 to 6, students build confidence as they make thoughtful artistic choices and apply creative techniques across drama, dance, music and design. They explore how cultural and historical influences shape different art forms.

In this phase, arts teaching is structured around 3 strands that focus on key areas of learning. These include:

  • Performing Arts: making and creating, observing and responding
  • Music: elements of music, listening and responding, performing, including singing, playing instruments, and creating and composing
  • Visual Arts: making and creating, observing and responding.

Performing Arts#

Ideas to help at home

With your child, you could:

  • share a known story and turn it into a dance, drawing from familiar dance styles, like siva Sāmoa, waiata-ā-ringa or ballet
  • explore the use of shadows in storytelling, for example, making a shadow theatre or trying hand shadow puppets
  • read a known story and respond to it using a drama convention your child has learned at school, for example:
    • mirroring: one person copies the movements, gestures, or facial expressions of another, like a reflection in a mirror
    • freeze frame: people use their bodies to create a still picture that shows an important moment in the story. You can also imagine other moments, like:
      • 10 minutes before this scene (what were the characters doing then?)
      • 10 minutes after this scene (what might happen next?).

What the teacher will focus on#

The teacher will focus on helping your child express and interpret meaning through movement and performance, while exploring dance and drama from both local and global contexts.

For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:

  • choose elements, techniques, and conventions to structure a performance, give it meaning, or achieve a specific effect, for example:
    • devising scenes and movement sequences with a narrative arc, rising action, conflict and resolution
    • using choreographic devices like repetition, contrast, canon (dancers perform the same movement one after the other) or unison (dancers perform the same movement at the same time)
    • using drama conventions like narration (a performer speaks directly to the audience) and split stage (2 scenes shown at the same time)
  • experiment with movement, voice, facial expression, and formation to show different environments, ideas, relationships and feelings
  • take part in performance practices from te ao Māori, showing understanding of cultural frameworks like tukanga, kawa and whakapapa
  • reflect on how they can improve the impact and clarity of their performances
  • describe the structure of a performance and the use of choreographic devices and drama conventions to achieve specific effects.

Music#

Ideas to help at home

With your child, you could:

  • view and participate in live performances of singing and instrumental groups, cultural groups and other musicians in the community
  • play music games, such as:
    • freeze: dance when you hear the music and freeze when it stops
    • charades: make a list of songs or other music, take turns to clap, hum, or write short excerpts, then guess the name of the piece
  • organise a house concert for your whānau and invite people to come and play, sing or dance
  • make a playlist of music and talk about the features of each piece of music or why it makes you feel a particular way (you could build the playlist around themes, such as music that evokes emotions like excitement, music that makes you want to dance or calming music).

What the teacher will focus on#

The teacher will focus on helping your child express and interpret meaning through movement and performance, while exploring music from both local and global contexts.

For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:

  • understand that key signatures and scales organise pitch, for example, music may be in C major or A minor
  • understand the difference between 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 time signatures
  • understand that music can communicate ideas and emotions, and give examples from a range of cultures
  • analyse a kapa haka performance, identifying specific actions and vocal features, and how the performers demonstrate the correct processes and respectful practices that uphold tikanga
  • compare composers’ works, including differences in their style and use of melody, rhythm and instruments
  • know that subtle changes in pitch are called “tuning” and:
    • a slightly low pitch is flat
    • a slightly high pitch is sharp
  • maintain the correct tune, rhythm and phrasing when singing or playing with others
  • play simple melodies alone and with others on a “pitched instrument” (one that plays musical notes) and reflect on their performance
  • consider tempo, dynamics and articulation when composing a short piece of music.

Visual Arts#

Ideas to help at home

With your child, you could:

  • use different art-making resources to create a mixed-media artwork, for example, combining paper collage, paint, and pencils in the same artwork
  • create a 3D artwork modelling clay
  • set up a mini gallery at home, providing short descriptions of each artwork and the stories behind them, and then invite people to come and view it
  • ask enquiring questions about your child’s artworks, giving them space to talk about their choices, for example:
    • Tell me about this part.
    • What’s the story your artwork tells?
  • go on an arts walk, looking at the different types of art around you, such as murals, waharoa, pou, sculptures, and local installations, read and discuss any information about how the artworks were made, their history and links to pūrākau.

What the teacher will focus on#

The teacher will focus on helping your child express and interpret meaning through movement and performance, while exploring visual art from both local and global contexts. For example, by the end of the year, your child may be able to:

  • combine elements and principles to communicate ideas, stories, values, connections, identities, and culture, including:
    • tone (shade): how light or dark a colour is
    • form: a 3D shape with height, width, and depth
    • colour theory: how colours can be combined, like warm and cool or opposites, to create mood or balance
    • balance: how visual elements are arranged to make an image feel symmetrical or asymmetrical
    • space: the use of filled areas (objects) and empty areas (background) to show shape and depth
  • use a variety of art-making media, for example, dry media like charcoal, wet media like paint, collage materials and printmaking tools
  • use a variety of art-making tools and techniques, for example, sponges to layer and blend colours
  • recognise that cultural symbols or patterns (like kōwhaiwhai and tatau) tell stories and reflect identity, and include some in a design of their own, for example, a quilt.