The Arts
What to know
Candidates should understand the four arts disciplines-visual arts, music, theater, and dance-plus their elements and principles. Visual arts: line, shape, color, texture, form, space, and principles such as balance and contrast. Music: rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, tempo, and timbre. Theater: acting, script, staging, and audience. Dance: body, space, time, and energy. Know how the arts connect to other subjects and how to respond to and create works using appropriate vocabulary.
Traps to watch
- Confusing elements (building blocks) with principles (how elements are arranged).
- Mixing tempo (speed) with dynamics (loud/soft).
- Treating arts response as mere opinion rather than evidence-based description.
- Overlooking that arts standards include creating, performing/presenting, responding, and connecting.
Rule of thumb
Separate "what it is made of" (elements) from "how it is organized" (principles) when analyzing any artwork.
Worked example
Describing a painting's use of repeated blue shapes to create rhythm uses the element of color and the principle of pattern/rhythm-an evidence-based response rather than "I like it."
Health and Physical Education
What to know
This domain covers health literacy and movement. Health topics include nutrition (food groups, balanced diet), personal hygiene, disease prevention, mental and emotional health, safety and injury prevention, and substance awareness. Physical education covers motor skills, fitness components (cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, body composition), the FITT principle (frequency, intensity, time, type), and the value of lifelong activity. Candidates should know how to design age-appropriate, inclusive activities and promote safe practices.
Traps to watch
- Confusing muscular strength (maximal force) with muscular endurance (repeated effort).
- Mixing up health-related fitness components with skill-related ones (agility, balance, coordination).
- Treating warm-up and cool-down as optional rather than standard safety practice.
- Overlooking modification for diverse abilities and inclusive participation.
Rule of thumb
Use FITT to plan activity: how often, how hard, how long, and what kind-and always include warm-up and cool-down.
Worked example
A student wants to improve cardiovascular endurance. Applying FITT: jogging (type) three times weekly (frequency) at a moderate, talk-but-not-sing pace (intensity) for 20–30 minutes (time).