Integrated Arts Blog
This week for our integrated arts module we explored our artistic strengths in which we were asked to purchase some water colour paints for this task. We were provided with a pre-recorded step-by-step guide to painting landscapes.
Paint in a classroom setting can be deemed as ungovernable, messy, and hard to control – hence why many teachers reject this form of art. However, painting gives children a sense of freedom to their ability and imagination. ‘In practice which fosters creativity by contrast our focus is mainly on ensuring that we encourage children’s ideas and possibilities, and that these are not suffocated’ (Craft, 2004).
We then were introduced to paint interventions which aimed to create more controlled management. We were informed about taking specific colours out of pallets such as blacks and greens, this is because if a class is painting a landscape, they will use a lot of green shades and the aim is to not have similar pallets as it limits creativity. It is important to encourage children to create their own colours to encourage risks, and their experimental skills. We then were asked to create a border around our pages in order to create boundaries and for note taking. Instead of being shown a picture of a landscape, Dermuid explained to us what he expected us to paint through spoken instructions which really developed the power of imagination and our artistic literacy skills. This would be a very useful technique to use in the classroom as it doesn’t set expectations and limits pressure for students artwork to look a specific way (Fleming, 2012). We were then asked to reconceptualise a paint brush. I used a pen and some cotton pads as I was aiming for a soft textured landscape. Dalmuir also encouraged us to take some pictures of our gradual progression of our landscapes.
For our music workshop, we focused on understanding the use of pitch. We covered the musical notations and linked them up with their sounds (e.g C – Do, D – Re etc). We were then informed that these musical notations are sometimes hard to consolidate for children, so Julie then introduced a useful accronym to remember the order of each notation; Every Good Boy Deserves Football.
We were then introduced to some classroom resources which could be used as starter tasks to understand pitch for different levels. Our group focused on early level. We explored a starter task which focused on length of rhythm. This was a circle time task in which a bean bag was passed around whilst singing a song as a whole class. Children then chose if they wanted to perform a long or short sound.
This was an effective starter task as it warms up vocals, encourages use of choice, and is a whole class starter task meaning everyone is involved and focused.
We were also introduced to Classical FM 100 Resources. Classical 100 is designed around 100 recordings of classical music pieces which teachers can draw upon in lessons
This learning resource was highly effective during the lockdown period. The collection of 100 recordings, all from Decca artists, are free primary learning resources with activities for each piece of music. It is a universal learning resource and focuses on musical aspects such as mood, tempo, instruments, and musical historical periods
https://www.classicfm.com/classical-100/abrsm-music-education-resource-free-lockdown/
References
42, R., 2020. ‘Classical 100’ Music Education Resource Made Free For Families In Lockdown. [online] Classic FM. Available at: <https://www.classicfm.com/classical-100/abrsm-music-education-resource-free-lockdown/> [Accessed 23 November 2020].
Craft, A., 2020. Creativity And Possibility In The Early Years. [ebook] University of Exeter and The Open University, p.3. Available at: <https://my.uws.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/82780/mod_resource/content/4/Creativity%20and%20Possibility%20in%20the%20Early%20Years.pdf> [Accessed 23 November 2020].
Flemming, M., 2012. The Arts In Education; An Introduction To Aesthetics, Theory & Pedagogy.. London.
