Morse School co-curricular teachers are integral to the fabric of the school. Learning that happens in the grade level classroom is complemented by learning throughout the school day in various settings. Students have experiences in art, music, physical education and library/media on a weekly basis. The curriculum in each of these areas is rich, engaging, and hands-on. The relationships built between students and their co-curricular teachers are long-lasting and very important to students over time.
Cambridge Public Schools Visual Art Mission Statement
It is our vision to nurture and explore the artist within all the students. While doing so, students will:
Develop basic concepts of design and elements of art
Be enhanced intellectually by the history and style of the visual arts
Celebrate and respect works of art from global cultures
Create artwork that integrates emerging technologies as well as traditional techniques
Learn to analyze in a supportive and respectful manner the visual artworks of others
Recognize visual arts as a continually evolving entity that incorporates many different media
Create pieces of artwork that portray emotions and personality
Learn the skills to apply the arts to all areas of their academic, personal and professional lives
Develop a growing appreciation of the artist, works of art, and development of the arts in the community
Preschool - 2nd Grade
These students are introduced to many art mediums, including drawing, painting, ceramics, collage, sculpture, and printmaking. Students will create self-portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and abstract art. They will learn and use vocabulary to investigate and discuss art. Every year, students will explore several master artists, art movements, and multicultural art forms. Students will create one self-portrait and one observational drawing every year.
3rd - 5th Grade
In 3rd grade-5th grade, students expand and refine the skills they’ve learned in earlier years. Color theory and Elements of Art/Design (color, value, line, shape, form, texture, and space) are investigated. Art critique and discussion skills will be further developed. Independence and self-initiative are encouraged. Students will create one self-portrait and one observation drawing every year.
When possible, students will create cross-curricular artworks in conjunction with a Science/Social Studies/ELA/Math unit.
Art projects in K-5 may include these master artists, but are not limited to:
Vincent van Gogh
Eric Carle
Georgia O’Keeffe
Piet Mondrian
Andy Warhol
Jasper Johns
Wassily Kandinsky
Faith Ringgold
Andy Goldsworthy
Christo & Jean Claude
Cezanne
Pablo Picasso
Frank Gehry
IM Pei
Leonardo da Vinci
Alexander Calder
The Morse school is dedicated to helping each student experience the joy of music by providing them with a quality musical experience that they will take with them and remember throughout their lives. Kodály is our concept of education and a philosophy of teaching. Singing is the essence of this concept, along with learning to listen (the development of the inner ear). Learning to sing tunefully is the overarching goal of the elementary music curriculum.
The purpose of music education at the elementary level is to introduce and enhance musical meaning centered around the development of the individual singing voice. In its many forms, music serves as an access point for understanding the world in which children dwell. Music is taught at the Morse School to enable children to experience community at its deepest level in the form of ensemble music-making practices where many diverse ethnicities, religions, world-views and backgrounds can be unified in a “oneness” only available through artistic means. This view promotes the school atmosphere as a microcosm of the world in which children will someday inhabit and shape as adults.
As students work to become expressive musicians, the practice areas of musical development are:
inner hearing (audiation)
singing and solfege
rhythm and rhythmic solfege
part work such as canons, rounds, ostinato, and partner songs
the role of audience member in various contexts
listening for understanding
music notation and composition (reading and writing music)
Students in 5th grade choose an instrument (winds, brass, strings) and are taught twice weekly to develop basic playing techniques.
Students in grades 3, 4 and 5 have the opportunity to participate in the Morse Morning Singers, which meets before school on Wednesdays in the auditorium at the Morse.
Morse Music Structure
PK-2 classes engage in the Kodaly music program 3 or 4 times per week
Grades 3 & 4 experience general music once per week for 45 minutes
Grade 5 studies instrumental music including woodwinds, brass, and strings and meets twice per week for 45 minutes.
The mission of physical education in the Cambridge Public Schools is to use physical activity to teach students the physical, cognitive (intellectual), and social skills necessary to develop and sustain a healthy lifestyle.
This mission is achieved through the delivery of a planned, sequential, K-12 Curriculum that draws its content and program goals from the MADOE & SE comprehensive health frameworks and the Shape America Standards.
The scope and sequence for each grade level can be found here.
