Tag Archives: Art

Session 11 – 6/12/11

Todays lecture was focussed on using alternative approaches to art education. Specifically concentrating on Room 13 which is an art studio in a school where children are permitted to lead their own learning and let their imagination run free while creating their artwork with a teacher there only for assistance when needed. We were shown a video explaining what Room 13 is and hearing the pupils opinions on the initiative and how it had benefitted them. This was very insightful as it showed the positive impact that allowing children to be creative has on them.

Art

In todays art class we were continuing to consider room 13. Again, we discussed the benefits this project has on children such as increased independence and confidence in their ability to produce art. We were shown various pieces of work that has came from room 13 and analysed them thinking about the inspiration behind them etc.

I think that the room 13 project is very beneficial and something I will continue to consider.

Music

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Today we were introduced to the use of figure notes. This is when sheet music with musical notes is replaced by colours and shapes representing a note. Using this resulted in it being far easier to play a musical piece as the barrier of being able to read the music notes was removed. This showed how music can be taught in a simpler form for those who would struggle reading sheet music and provides quicker results for them and increasing their confidence with their ability to play music.

We had the opportunity to use figure notes for ourselves by playing tunes such as jingle bells and twinkle twinkle on the keyboard, glockenspiel and guitar.

I think figure notes is very useful and I will definitely use it throughout my career.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8579853.stm

Session 9 – 15/11/16

Today we had inputs on Art and Music.

Art

In todays class we were introduced to the painting entitled ‘Windows in the West’ by Avril Paton. Considering this piece of artwork we were prompted to develop our analytical thinking into the story behind it. See below the video describing the painting in fuller detail:

We were given a copy of this painting and bits of polystyrene and told to choose a segment of the painting to draw ourselves. Once completing this we covered the polystyrene in green paint and printed it onto a piece of red paper. This was useful as it showed a different activity to do with children and one that will encourage them to remember famous pieces of art work by creating their own representation of the piece.

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Music

Today we were exploring the musical online resource ‘Charanga’ – http://www.charangascotland.co.uk/site/

This is an amazing resource as it is full of fun ways to teach music. We were looking at all of the sites different features and trying out the various activities. This was very beneficial as it gave us inspiration on what we could use with our own classes in the future and something i will definitely use more of in the next few years.

Session 5 – 18/10/16

In todays lecture we were lucky enough to have guest speaker Isobel Laird from South Lanarkshire council who spoke about teaching the primary art & design curriculum. Isobel discussed her own experiences with teaching Art in primary schools and showed us various pieces of art from pupils. Our inputs today were Art and Drama.

Art

Our art input today was led by guest speaker Isobel Laird. She took us through various different stages of producing a piece of artwork. Firstly, we were given the task of drawing a washing line with pieces of clothing without lifting our pen from the paper. This activity is engaging from the outset as it straight away poses a challenge and as a student teacher I can clearly see how pupils would enjoy this.

We then used watercolour to give colour to the clothes we had drawn on the washing line before cutting it out.

On separate piece of paper we painted a brick wall and were given the freedom to create the bricks to look whatever way we wanted them too.

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Lastly, we used watercolours again to paint a sunset for the background of our picture, once this had dried we ripped this piece of paper in strips in order to stick them back down in a different order to give a wave like effect and put our brick wall with our washing line on top. Each piece of work had originality which was great.

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This was an extremely beneficial lesson as it filled me with ideas on how to make a lesson interesting. Instead of simply painting a picture straight onto one piece of paper there are various ways to make it more unique and enjoyable.

Drama

In todays drama input we were progressing from the prior session by looking more in depth at drama in the curriculum and the dramatic conventions.

We also covered improvisation coming up with our own drama skits continuing on from a story about a man who was returning to his hometown from jail. This showed how pupils can have the freedom to be imaginative and come up with their own ideas to continue a story.

Session 4 – 11/10/16

Today our lecture was focussing on using stimulus as inspiration for creation-child centred approach. We had Art and Dance inputs.

Art

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In todays art input we were painting with primary colours using unconventional paintbrushes. At first, I thought that painting using paintbrushes that weren’t the type I was used to would not turn out well. However, i could clearly see the benefit of doing this with a class of children as everyones brush was different which meant that it was understandable when each piece of work looked a different way. This would result in children not feeling under as much pressure to produce a piece of work that they felt was as good as their peers. It teaches children that they can paint with anything, if they do not have a traditional paintbrush they can make one out of materials they do have. It also made the lesson more unique and interesting which promoted enjoyment.

Using only the primary colours yellow, blue and red was also beneficial as it meant that you were forced to create your own colours by mixing them together which encourages creativity.

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Our lecturer read us a story detailing a scene with various different attributes. We then interpreted this story into our own painting. This was a very good method as each painting was different by each individual imagining the scene differently. It means that each piece of work is on the same topic yet has its own individual creative touch.

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Dance

Today in our dance input we were progressing from our work last week. Each group presented the dance moves they came up with relating to the different halloween themed pictures and they were then all put together to form a part of the dance routine. We also put together our group routines that were formed from the 10 skills of dance and added on new moves. These new moves were made up as we were given a list of dance terms which we had to guess the meaning of. This was good as we weren’t confined to doing the proper dance moves and were allowed to be create and make up our own versions of what we thought they were. All of this was put together into a class routine to the song ‘Ghostbusters’. This highlighted how the pupils can be the ones to come up with the routine instead of the teacher which would make the experience more enjoyable for them as they would feel more control and creativity.

“One of the most powerful experiences dance educators can offer is the opportunity to create a dance that reflects their ideas.” (Cone, 2009).

Session 2 – 27/9/16

Today was our second session of Integrated arts on Education where we had inputs of Art and Dance. In our lecture we were introduced to the 10 skills required to enable a successful dance session which I will expand on later in the blog.

Art

In todays art class we were print making with black ink using our hands. We covered our hands in the ink and pressed onto blank paper to then try and create something out of what we could see from the ink, this activity was extremely engaging as it allowed us to stretch our imagination and each piece of work was unique. We expanded on this by printing using objects such as lego bricks etc.

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Then, we studied the story of ‘The Dot’ by Peter H. Reynolds. This emphasised the point that many people will doubt their ability to produce art, but it teaches that any mark you make is artwork which you can then improve on. I think this is an important lesson to teach as it encourages self belief and the confidence to produce art.

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Dance

Firstly, we were shown different ice breaker games to play to get to know the names of pupils in your class etc while incorporating dance, this was beneficial as a student teacher to learn ways on how to get to know your class. We were given lots of ideas of games to play linking to particular topics and giving the pupils the freedom to dance however they would like.

We also thought about different parts of the body and how to stretch properly as it is important to stretch before exercising, this showed how simple it is to encourage pupils to stretch fully.

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We then looked further into what was introduced at our morning lecture – the 10 skills required to enable a successful dance session. These are kick, roll, jump, reach, hop, twist, balance, gesture, turn and slide. By putting these skills together it showed just how easy it can be to put a dance routine together. In groups we came up with our own moves for these skills and put them together to form a routine. By being in the pupils side of the situation this input was very insightful and enjoyable.
At the beginning of the input we were asked how we would feel teaching a dance session, I said I would be unsure of what to do and would not be confident with it, however after just this one input I already feel full of ideas and more at ease therefore I look forward to expanding on this over the next few weeks.

Session 1 – 20/9/16

Today was the first session of our new module ‘Integrated Arts in Education’. Firstly, our lecture was an introduction to this module where we were given an insight into what we can learn from the integrated arts. Throughout the twelve sessions we will be exploring art, music, drama and dance, focussing on two of these arts per session. Today, we were introduced to Art and music.

Art

In our first Art input we were in the University’s Art studio where various pieces of artwork were spread across three separate tables, each table displayed a different stage of pupils work ranging from Primary 1 to Primary 7. We were encouraged to look around and consider each piece of art. Something that stood out to me was that there was a vast difference between the work produced by the lower primary classes in comparison to that by the upper primary classes, understandably the work produced by a primary 7 pupil showed greater skill and precision however I was saddened by the realisation that over the years the work began to lack freedom and the ability to create whatever the pupils wanted. It was obvious that at lower level the pupils were given freedom with their pencil / paintbrush to create whatever they felt like but the older pupils were perhaps told what to do or given something to copy.

I have the freedom to discover and choose ways to create images and objects using a variety of materials- EXA 0-02a

We were given the opportunity to discuss what stage of work we liked the best, I chose the lower level work as I liked how there was greater freedom with colour, patterns, detail etc. This exercise showed me that as a student teacher it is important to allow pupils to be as creative as they like and allow them to be imaginative while also expanding their skills in art.

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Music

The first thing we focussed on in todays music input was how music affects our moods. In order to explore this thought, various different pieces of music were played and we wrote down the feeling that they gave us. This allowed me to realise the impact that music has on our lives as it can completely change your mood depending on what you are listening to.
We then moved on to musical appreciation with literacy by listening to a piece of music and imagining a story to go with it, from this we then created a storyboard in groups. This showed me how cross curricular teaching music can be by bringing in a range of subjects, music, art and literacy. The idea our group thought of was a circus theme, with each part of the music representing a different circus act. Each group had came up with a different concept which showed how listening to music can provoke your imagination.

Overall, our first input was extremely engaging and has made me excited to continue the module.