explain how semester B completes the record’s projects and strands, carries the honors investigation, and ends in the year-end portfolio and exhibition.
Semester B completes the full-year course modeled on record WE2HBX. Semester A covered observation and criticism, abstraction, the poem collage, the found-object sculpture and the altered hat or shoe, and ended with the midyear show and each student’s sustained-investigation proposal. Semester B covers the record’s remaining projects (trompe l’oeil colored-pencil painting, painting with paper, stepping stones to peace and the school poster), its social-issue assignment, its units on connections and careers, and its year-end exhibition.
Record coverage. Unit 1 (illusion) covers record Units 1, 3, 4, 5 and 7; Unit 2 (landscape) covers 1, 4, 5 and 8; Unit 3 (art with a message) covers 1, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8; Unit 4 (the working artist) covers 2, 3, 6, 8 and 9. With semester A, all nine record units are covered, and the validator checks this.
Standards. Semester B leans further toward the Advanced (HSIII) level than semester A. The Presenting anchors (Pr4-Pr6) carry most weight in Unit 4, where students curate, install and defend. VA:Cr1.1.HSIII, art that can affect social change, is the primary standard of the Unit 3 social-issue task. VA:Re9.HSIII, constructing evaluations from differing sets of criteria, runs through the critique labs.
The investigation thread. The sustained investigation is the honors spine of the semester. Each unit’s culminating task includes a checkpoint: two works or studies after Unit 1, four after Unit 2, six after Unit 3, and the final six to eight in the portfolio. Unit projects may count toward the investigation when students design them to address their question. This keeps the load manageable: students are not running two separate courses.
The year-end show. The record says every Advanced Art student exhibits at a year-end show. In our version students curate it in teams, install it, stand with their work and give a portfolio defense to a panel. Book the venue and panel members now.
Writing. Semester B’s writing includes a position statement on illusion, a landscape comparison, a comparison of media coverage of an exhibition, a social-issue statement, a career profile, a curatorial rationale and a 300-500-word artist statement. Each is short, specific and tied to work.
Semester B units, projects and record coverage
| Unit | Main project | Investigation checkpoint | Record units |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Illusion | Trompe l’oeil colored-pencil painting from an original photograph | 2 works | 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 |
| 2 Painting With Paper | Paper landscape over a wash | 4 works | 1, 4, 5, 8 |
| 3 Art With a Message | Stepping stones; poster campaign; social-issue work | 6 works | 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
| 4 The Working Artist | Documentation, portfolio, statement, curated show, defense | Final 6-8 works | 2, 3, 6, 8, 9 |
Students must complete six investigation works in addition to every unit project.
How confident are you that you can explain how semester B completes the record and carries the honors investigation?