According to the document Visual Arts Education Grades K-2 Curriculum, “education in the arts is fundamental to the aesthetic, physical, emotional, intellectual and social growth of each individual. It provides students with unique ways of knowing, doing, living, and belonging in the global community. It also has a key role in the development of creativity, imagination and innovation.”  Many of the skills associated with Visual Arts are related to media literacy:

• Visual Arts nurtures self-expression. Through creating, students develop new ways to express their own ideas, learning, perceptions, and feelings.
• Visual Arts connects students’ learning with the world inside and outside the classroom.
• Visual Arts teaches students the skill of observation. Learning to be an artist means learning to “see”.
• Visual Arts teaches students there is more than one solution to a problem. Students develop an appreciation for other points of view.
• Visual Arts teaches students the value of persistence, critical thinking and problem solving as they learn to “work it out”.