I am already thinking about artwork for my first week or two back after summer holidays.
I am switching grades to a Stage 2 class and am looking forward to the opportunity to do some amazing art with my students.
I am planning a short unit of work on "Why I Love Australia" for the first week back, a chance to celebrate Australia Day with my students and dive deep into text-based learning. I love that the author of this text Bronwyn Bancroft, has expressed her love for Australia in rich beautiful language as well as gorgeous expressive illustrations. It will create so many learning opportunities for reading and writing.
To integrate my English program with Visual Arts, I plan to do a semi-directed draw of a boab tree.
I have an enormous oak tree out the front of my classroom that is swollen in shape and reminds me of the roundness of the boab. I hope to link this art lesson into a discussion about our school and surroundings. I will ask the students to draw the people in their family in their tree, linking in a little part of our 'getting to know you' activities for the week and discussion on how we are all different.
I want the students to draw something that is inspired by Bronwyn's work, but has elements of their own design. The top picture on this post is one I quickly drew for an idea. I will direct students through the drawing process and give them opportunities to differentiate their work in terms of shape, colour and detail. I have simplified the detail from the illustration in the book to accommodate an oil pastel medium.
I am not getting the paint out on the second day of school!
I just wanted to post about this, so you have time to get a copy of the book before school starts back. I will return soon with a more detailed lesson plan and step-by-step guide.
Enjoy the rest of your break!
