Art

In today’s seminar we had the opportunity to let our creative minds flow and put ourself in the shoes of the children we will soon be teaching. We were given a bunch of different materials and asked to make a paintbrush. At first, I began to wonder why we were creating paintbrushes, but the whole task underpinned a very valuable lesson.

As children start to appreciate others works around them, they begin to realise that everyones skill level is different. They then start to compare each others work and some chidlren’s confidence begins to drop as they may not think their art and design is as good as the person next to them (McAuliffe, 2007). When a children is given a standard paintbrush, it is as if they are all expected to produce the same art work. Before the children even begin their work, we are giving them the means to compare and how can we possibly expect anything unique. As an educator it is very important that we make sure children are given equal oppertunity’s and that they feel as valued as one another.

Our task in the seminar was to create our own paintbrush. We were given a wooden broomstick, and many materials such as wool, string, tape and feathers. Everyone at my table ended up creating a very unique piece of art.

After creating our paintbrushes, we then had the chance to then paint a picture. Our lecturer described a scene and then we began to paint with our own creations. I felt confident when doing this excerise as it felt fun when using the paintbrush that could create different marks and lines. Again, not being restricted to materials also let me explore with different colours of paints and helped me paint freely.

The Ciricculum for Excellence (2004) ensures that all children should have equal oppertunitys. Providing a lesson such as creating your own paintbrush will not make the children feel as if they are all the same.

 

Music

In today’s music lesson, we had the chance to explore music within the expressive arts. As i had not taken part in any music lessons since standard grade in fourth year i felt nervous, however when being introucded to Figurenotes (2017) I felt confident and I was able to follow and read the music using this fantastic strategy.

Figurenotes allows you to play the instrument by looking at colourful symbols. This would be appropriate in a primary classroom as it is a step by step easy way to read music. When trying a few songs i began to build my confidence, and i was able to improvise infront of the class.

This lesson proved to me that anyone can play music. The Curriculum for Excellence provides many oppertunities for music to be played in the classroom, and figure notes would give children the confidence to do so.

 

References :

Figurenotes (2017). How it works. [Online] Available : http://www.figurenotes.com/how-it-works/#.WgI-Y4XXLmI. [ Accessed : 28th September 2017]

 

The Visual Arts

It is important that children have the chance to explore the arts from a young age. The arts not only provide enjoyment and pleasure, but they develop the mind and help the pupils to think. The arts also help the children develop personal qualities,  provide insight into human situations and also the arts improve performance in other subject areas ( Fleming , 2012).

From an early age children enjoy making marks. This is closely linked with a number of stage theories by the work of Lowenfield and Brittain (1987). The 4 stages are closely linked with children’s age for example the pre-schematic stage is where children from ages 4-7 are seen to perform. However, as the times have moved, as educators we tend not to slot children into these stages as we appreciate that children come from different backgrounds, cultures and often progress at different times as one another.

In today’s seminar, we had the chance to look at children’s art work that had been collected over the years. The art work was placed on three tables, and each table was specific to an age group. For example, table 1 had work from the early years ages 3-5, table 2 middle primary school around primary 2-4 and the table 3, the upper school p5 to p7. We were able to explore the work and see the progress of the work as the child grows older.

At table 1, I noticed that a lot of the art work contained just scribbles which I read up on and figured out this was named mark marking. When children fist begin to put pen to paper, they are seen to make marks. Children find it easy to communicate through mark making and can often tell a story through the random marks that they have made on a page. Some children even find it easier to draw to express their feelings rather than using the spoken word. These marks are often referred to as meaning making ( Matthews, 2003). It is important as educators that we don’t just ignore these scribbles, but we ask the child what their picture is about.

As children move through each stage, they often become obsessed with their work being perfect. When children reach the second level ( the gang stage) they often want their work to stand out, and be as artistic as possible.

As the child progresses, attention to detail becomes more significant (McAuliffe, 2007). In this portrait, you can see that the child is paid great attention to detail and put a lot of work into the piece. As children also progress, they often pay attention and start to notice other children’s work that can make them feel self conscious about their own.  It is important as educators that we encourage children to be creative and unique, and let them understand that everyone’s piece of art will be different.

It is important that we also make cross curricular links with the expressive arts. As numeracy and literacy often take priorities in the classroom, it is important that we can incorporate the arts into these areas of the curriculum. This may help children understand areas that are more difficult for them, and they may also find enjoyment in an area of difficulty. As educators we can set different tasks for example giving children a story and then asking the children to draw pictures over the words which might engage the children. We want children to express their literacy and numeracy through art. I was able to witness this in a few of the children’s drawings in the seminar :

This clearly shows how the arts has been integrated into other areas of the curriculum, in these examples literacy and religious education.

 

Music

The introduction to music in today’s workshop was very interactive and fun! The workshop was based on different types of music and how it made us feel.

The lecture began by 5 different pieces of music being played and we were to write down how it made us feel. We then had a whole class discussion which was interesting as we all had written down different answers. After this, we then were played another piece of music. In groups, we were to create a story board that linked with the music. This was a great task as it allowed us to share our ideas, and create a completely random story. When discussing our stories at the end of the seminar, everyone had came up with near enough the same storylines.

We can use music through out the curriculum. After creating the story board, we could of went on and created a creative piece of writing that was inspired by the music we have just listened to. It is important that we understand that both music and arts can be integrated through other areas such as literacy.

 

 

References :

McAauliffe,D. (2007) Foundation and Primary Settings. In Teaching Art and Design 3-11. (Edited by Sue Cox, Robert Watts, Judy Grahame, Steve Heme and Diarmuid McAuliffe) London : Continuum.

Matthews, J. (2003) Drawing and Painting. Children and Visual Representation. 1st ed. London : SAGE publications.

Fleming, M (2012) The Arts in Education. An introduction to aesthetics, theory and pedagogy. London : Routledge.

 

 

 

 

 

Growing up, my parents insured I had many opportunity’s to take part in creative arts. I firstly joined a dance group at 6 years old in the local community, followed by a drama grouped based in Paisley named Pace. Being fortune enough to get chosen to sing in the Scottish National Youth Choir, I had many opportunity’s to perform in Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall and this is where I also had the chance to learn how to play the violin. I had a real passion for music, dance and drama.

In today’s lecture, I found myself day dreaming back to the days that my life was filled with the pleasure and joy of the arts. It also made me think about how much I have drifted away from my these aspects in my life. Through out this module, I would like to gain more skills and knowledge so I become a creative teacher. I would also like to help children have a positive experience with the arts growing up just like I did.

After exploring the Tallis Habits Peadagogy Wheel (Thomas Tallis School, 2017) I discovered that where many ways that we can implement the arts through out the curriculum. This has gave me confidence that I will be able to teach arts through out the years drawing on my past experiences. Looking ahead, I am excited to share my knowledge and skills with my peers and also to have fun in the classroom!

Thomas Tallis School. (2017) The TALLIS Habits Pedagogy Wheel. [Online] Available: http://www.thomastallisschool.com/tallis-pedagogy-wheel-guide.html [Accessed: 14 September 2017]