This full-year course is developed to accommodate students who have demonstrated a strong interest and commitment to excel in visual arts. 

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Students will complete a 2-D Art and Design, 3D, or Drawing portfolio. 

Research, field trips, group discussion, written critiques, and community 

display will be integral parts of this course. Students will submit a portfolio at 

the completion of the year that complies with the AP Portfolio requirements. 

*Students will complete both sections (Sustained Investigation and Selected 

Works Section) of the portfolio.

The College Board will asses students’ portfolios for an overall score of 2 - 5

 that may earn them college credit and/or prerequisite waivers their college freshmen year.

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The portfolio, uploaded to the College Board in May, requires 15 digital images 

in the Sustained Investigation section, and 5 images in the Selected Works section for review.

Portfolio Requirements

1. Sustained Investigation

REQUIREMENTS AND PROMPTS

Submit 15 images that demonstrate:

• Sustained investigation through practice, experimentation, and revision

• Sustained investigation of materials, processes, and ideas

• Synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas

• 2-D/3-D/drawing skills (depending on type of portfolio submitted)

State the following in writing:

• Identify the inquiry or question(s) that guided your sustained investigation

• Describe how your sustained investigation shows evidence of practice,

experimentation, and revision guided by your inquiry or question(s) (1200

characters maximum, including spaces, for response to both prompts)

Questions that guide the sustained investigation are typically formulated at 

the beginning of portfolio development. Students should formulate their 

inquiry or question(s) based on their own experiences and ideas. These

 guiding questions should be documented and further developed by students 

throughout the sustained investigation.

2. Selected Works (Quality):

REQUIREMENTS AND PROMPTS

Submit five works that demonstrate:

• Advanced 2-D or drawing skills (depending on type of portfolio submitted)

• Synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas

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Technology

Students are required to use a device (laptop, phone, iPad…) for research,

reference, access and uploading to the AP website as well as developing their 

own online display of work. That display may be in a blog, social media page, 

website, Pinterest board, or other form of (limited) public access for display. 

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Rigorous Work

Students will be required to invest extra time researching and developing their

work outside of class time. AP students are welcome to schedule extra time in the classroom throughout the week.

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Course Schedule

August - November: Problem Solving/ Quality Work Projects

Week 1 - Overview, Sketch Journal Backgrounds, Artistic integrity, View AP

Sustained Investigation Examples, Introduce Divergent Sketch Journals

Week 2 - Where I Stand

Week 3 - Meaningful Association Still Life

Week 4 - Gestural (Horse Barn offsite)

Week 5 - Opposing Forces

Week 6 - Freedom

Week 7 - Transparency Portrait

Week 8 - Memorializing Significant Event

Week 9 - Edit/Upload Present images in online portfolio

Week 10 - Interior/ Exterior Space

Week 11 - Deconstruct/Reconstruct

Week 12 - Edgy S.I.

Week 13 - Guiding Questions/ Mapping

Week 14 -17 (After Thanksgiving - Dec. 20th) Mini Sustained Investigations

November - December: Guiding Questions through Investigation

Students will use mind-mapping and nonlinear brainstorming activities to hone-in 3 of their most interesting guiding questions to develop ideas considered for the Sustained Investigation. Students will create a ‘Mini-Investigation’ series that includes edited photos of their process, visual outcomes, and written narrative.

Jan 9th- April SUSTAINED INVESTIGATION

Students must have their guiding questions and investigation concept chosen by Jan 6th. We will have class display and discussion of student progress every week along with periodic individual critiques with the instructor. Formative assessments will continue that lead to developing research according to the student’s chosen guiding questions and inquiry based projects.

• Work prepped for community display at Vagabond Blues Palmer 

APRIL Anchorage School District Show at Museum (Field Trip)

• All images of work uploaded to AP website

• 5 Selected Works chosen

• Edited narratives completed for portfolio

MAY 6th AP Portfolios Due

Please email me with any questions you have regarding student placement in AP. 

Tina.Fisher@matsuk12.us