Creating a Career-Focused Art Curriculum for Middle School

After seven years teaching elementary art and a brief stint at the high school level, I transitioned to teaching junior high in 2020. The pandemic had shifted my plans, and I decided to move closer to home. Although I had taught sixth grade before, I had never worked with junior high students, so I knew I needed to adjust my approach.

I was fortunate to work alongside Mrs. Baker, a fellow grad school alum with extensive experience teaching junior high art. She encouraged me to try new things, like stop-motion animation and plaster cloth projects, which I had never taught before. These lessons became part of my teaching toolkit, and I learned a lot from her.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned was the importance of integrating career exploration into the art curriculum. Mrs. Baker and I introduced units that allowed students to explore careers in art, such as animators, architects, and shoe designers. This approach was not only engaging for students but also gave them a sense of how art connects to real-world professions. When I transitioned to a K-8 school in 2022, I decided to build on this idea by focusing on art careers for my 7th-grade curriculum.

At the K-8 school, my middle school students had art every day for the entire year, so I had more time to dive deeper into topics. I structured my curriculum by month to keep myself organized and ensure that each unit had enough time to explore the chosen career. Each month, we focused on a different art-related career, such as animation, fashion design, and video game design. I also shared contemporary examples of artists working in these fields, providing inspiration for students. I also created a series of posters that you can download and print for your classroom!

About half of the units were new for me, so I spent time researching and developing new lessons. I've always enjoyed writing curriculum, so this was an exciting challenge. The career-based focus made the lessons feel fresh, and I was thrilled to see students engage in problem-solving and creative thinking.

The most rewarding part of this approach was how students responded to the career-based units. Even those who weren’t initially interested in art found themselves engaged when the projects connected to real-world careers. For instance, animators had to think about storytelling, and fashion designers had to create outfits for specific customers or events. These real-world tasks helped students approach their work with a sense of purpose, even if they didn’t realize they were learning about art.

However, some students still wanted to focus more on experimenting with techniques than on exploring careers. I looked for ways to balance career exploration with opportunities for students to experiment with different mediums and techniques.
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I added units in architecture, video game design, and cake decorating. This career-focused curriculum allowed me to see students grow as both artists and problem solvers. I highly recommend trying it out in your art classroom!

You can download some of my Art Career lesson plans below:
Advertising: Soda Brand Design Packet
Special Effects Makeup: Plaster Cloth Sculpture
Photography: Green Screen Photo Portraits
Illustration: Collection Illustrations