Tag Archives: Week 1

Week 1 – Music

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To introduce us to the module, we were instructed to listen to 5 different pieces of music and were asked to describe how we felt while listening to them.  This was to show how music can affect our mood and can have an impact on changing our attitudes towards certain things. After this input, we then watched a clip from Bill Baileys show, which showed him explaining the different layers of an orchestra. He explained how the different layers all work together to create a musical piece. He showed this by inviting the bassoon player to demonstrate their role.

Lastly, we listened to an excerpt from Fantasia and interpreted its meanings in groups. We listened to it all the way through then mind mapped ideas from the whole group. Once we decided on a story, we folded a piece of A3 paper into 6 equal pieces, and this was the base for our story boards. The music began quite calmly, then proceeded to get faster and faster until it came to a climax.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPLh0oeNLLg

With our integrated ideas, we managed to create a rough story which we thought agreed with the music.  We created a story about a boy and a girl in the woods, and the climax was a bear attacking them. When the class had finished with their stories, the teacher then put the song on one last time, but with visual aid. This showed us that the music was from Disney’s “Fantasia”, and the song was linked to the story of the tin man and the ballerina. This showed us how children can interpret music in all different ways, and no answer can be wrong when talking about the interpretation of the music.

Week 1 – Art

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We were introduced to different aspects of art through the work of Primary pupils. Some of the artwork consisted of interpretative drawings, scribbling and landscape design. This showed a variety of abilities and creative processes that the pupils worked through from the curriculum. We were then instructed to discuss what we thought about the stages of artwork, and how they linked to the age group. we were introduced to different aspects within art using the work of Primary pupils.

One piece of art that stood out to me was from a middle primary pupil who drew a rabbit.

rabbit-for-ia

I was particularly drawn to this piece of work, as the contrast between the paper and the drawing was really eye catching. This was a good example of still life drawing.  The way that they used the materials given to them to create the lifelike fur and texture on the rabbit was impressive to me, as it showed they had a good grasp on texture and dimensions. The use of materials was effective in this particular piece, and it showed that the pupils had an element of freedom and creativity within the classroom. The work was created with the use of black sugar paper, with a brightly coloured pink border. This enhanced the attention grabbing aspect of the drawing. Limiting the materials available to children can highly impact on their creative work. They might not be able to produce a piece of work that’s as effective if they are limited to only white A4 paper, for example. Giving children a choice increases their originality and resourcefulness, therefore impacting on the work that they can produce. As a teacher, it is important to have a tolerance for ambiguity, therefore hindering uniformity and enabling children to express their creative processes.

Another piece of artwork that stood out for me was a piece by an upper primary pupil who created a striking portrayal of a house.

house-for-ia

I think that this piece would have been created over maybe 5 or 6 art lessons in school, as it is an intense piece and it looks like the child has put a lot of effort and time into producing it. This is proven in the palpable detail of each individual brick. Again, this piece was made on black card, which made the painting stand out more to me. I also liked the contrasting colours, like the use of green for the bricks and windows. The distinction between the shades of grey and blue colours and the bold green makes this piece very detailed and deep. This combination of things gives the painting a slightly ominous ambiance, and intrigues the viewer.

This would be an ideal lesson for a themed writing lesson or perhaps a drama lesson in future. As a teacher, I would start the themed learning off with maybe an art lesson such as the one above, and then proceed to talk about the house, e.g. what might have happened to it to make it look like that, or who lives there etc. Next, I would instruct the class to make a plan for their writing story, and they could use their own artwork and imagination to create detailed story lines which could later be used as a drama lesson.