Visual Arts Prep - Year 6

Foundation

In Foundation students have been learning about ways artists incorporate colour, shape, line and texture to express and communicate an idea or an emotion to an audience. 

Firstly, we discussed prior learning on elements including Line, shape and colour. Then we watched a clip on the element of Texture and students were engaged and stimulated as they sang the catchy tune. 

Next, we communicated our thinking on these elements and created a group ‘mind map’ for ‘Trees in Art’. Students were open minded and connected the mind map to a word cloud.     

They were asked to recall words to describe emotions and they came up with happy, sad, excited and scared just to name a few. We chose 3 emotional words and thought about lines, shapes, colours and textures that we could associate with these emotions. Below are some ‘texture’ trees that the students completed using textured plates and crayons to show their understanding on ‘Texture”. 

Years 1 & 2

In Year 1 and 2, students have been learning about the art of ‘Assemblage’. They were introduced to the art of Louise Nevelson who was an American sculptor known for her monumental, monochromatic, wooden relief sculptures After viewing the work and life of this artist, students were asked to think about their own artwork and reflect on the material choices they could consider for their own assemblage.  

Students were given a short time to communicate their ideas on items they could incorporate in their art. They were then asked to draw these ideas within their art journal. Upon further discussion on the elements of art (Space, Scale, Proportion and Perspective), students arranged the items to fit within the bounds of their A4 page. 

This preliminary stage gave students the opportunity to plan their ideas for their art and consider the processes that an artist undertakes when developing a well-balanced art piece.

Year 3

In Year 3, students have been studying Pablo Picasso's artwork in preparation for their forthcoming excursion. We have examined the development of self-portraits as well as the characteristics to look for while evaluating them. We began the lesson with a warmup activity ‘Roll a Picasso'. The students really enjoyed completing this art which was fun and engaging while learning about the style that Picasso is best known for. Below is an example of the game template and a student's self-portrait interpretation. 

Following this practise, students began to contemplate how they may create the background for their self-portrait. They were to cut or shred paper and arrange the pieces on an A4 page using coloured tissue paper, scissors and glue. 

Year 4 

Students in year four have been learning about ocean pollution and how they can help marine life and keep the ocean clean.   They are beginning their final project on creating a healthy marine environment by practising and consolidating their drawing skills.  Students have learned how to draw various types of fish and will choose their personal best to include in their final art project. 

Year 5

Students in year 5 have been creating cubist inspired still life drawings.  They have have sketched contours of various everyday household items and applied segmented lines to fragment their images.  This is known as Analytic Cubism which defines a style of Cubism that fractures the subject into multi-layered, angular, surfaces.  

Year 6

Students in Year 6 have been consolidating their drawing skills of facial features.  They have practised various ways to draw the nose, eyes and lips using drawing tutorials and scaffolded drawing handouts. Students will then decide which drawing style they prefer and apply it when they begin their self portraits for their Visual Art term project on Portraiture.