I attended another input on dance and due to the close time to halloween had a focus on horror elements. We practised a dance as a whole class in time to the song thriller where we would sequentially rise after the person to our left or right did. We were split into groups and given a picture each which we should create a dance move with e.g. I got a cauldron so the dance move resembled stirring a cauldron. The other groups did likewise and presented the moves to the class which we then incorporated into one dance. By breaking the moves down into steps and allowing for different groups to come up with their own ideas. In schools when teaching this it would be an extremely effective way of allowing pupils to be more expressive and embrace their own creativity in creating a dance unique to the whole class. This tactic is a practical example of creating a framework that children can use to input their own creative ideas onto.

The second input of the day was art where we were instructed to paint an image based on a description we were read aloud by the lecturer. They described a boat on the ocean and detailed the colours in the sky, sea and boats. However, the only brushes available were intentionally hand crafted from materials that can be easily repurposed as a brush. For example mine was a stick from outside and a shredded cloth to make a brush and worked reasonably well where as a fellow group members was a stick with a slate tied to the end which worked less well. We were given the three primary colours and no colour wheel to prevent its constraining effects on creativity. This forced me to create my own colours which were unique to me. Additionally, there was a choice of paper ranging in with size and colour. I chose an A3 sheet of brown paper to allow me more room for painting and allowing me to try out a different colour. In a classroom this could allow for each piece of artwork to range hugely from one another as the scope for being creative is far wider than if regulated with uniform colours and paper.

Below is my clean sheet of paper with a border drawn round it to prevent paint from touching the table.

Painting of boats and murky sea completed at this point.

Fully finished painting with colour pallet used at the side.

This activity could be utilised excellently in class as it would allow each child to construct an image that would reflect their own interpretation. It would allow them to compare with other pupils who will be creating the same piece of work yet they will be completely different. Throughout the process an emphasis on rewards being given to those that put in the most effort rather than the most aesthetically pleasing artwork in the class to encourage them to continue self improvement for the future (Collins, 2013).

References

Collins, N. (2013) Praise children’s effort, not their intelligence. The Telegraph. [Online] 12 February. Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9862693/Praise-childrens-effort-not-their-intelligence.html. [Accessed 5 January 2017].

I recently received my first input on dance and was focused around what the 10 essential skills are to facilitate a successful dance session. One activity I found useful was the Chinese whispers dance game. In this game two lines were formed with all facing one direction except the two standing at the front of the line. The two people facing the teacher would copy their short dance and show it to the person behind them who would do likewise until the end of the line was reached. This activity would test children’s dancing skills whilst also making them rely on their memory skills. Dance also empowers pupils and gives them opportunity to discover their own feelings, thoughts and ideas (Cone, 2009). The other activity required me to work in a group in assigning all the body parts to their correct place in a body outline we draw.

List of assignable body parts

We created the outline of the body and assigned all of them with relative ease. From recent past experiences in a primary school where the focus was the human body I had a strong knowledge base to draw from this task. As a result we were able to finish first and check our answers against an iPad with a detailed outline of the different body parts.

Completed body with all parts assigned

I found this activity interesting and thought it could be excellent in teaching cross curricularly with biology.

I also attended an art session and whilst I always enjoyed art throughout my life I have never been particularly gifted. However in this session it was revealed that art isn’t about your skill level at drawing or painting but is instead about allowing the child to express themselves in an enjoyable way. By doing this they can express through art what they cannot say in words(Eisner, 2002).

During this session we were instructed to coat a wooden board in black paint and use our fingers or other objects such as lego bricks to make marks on an A3 sheet of paper. Initially I started creating a smily face with the edge of my hand being smeared in paint but the teacher removed it when he realised I was trying to draw rather than simply mark make. This was justified as the focus of the session was about how children enjoyed the feeling of drawing from other senses in art such as the feel of the paper and smell of the paint. I then proceeded to simply mark make before being rotated round to another group where we were then instructed to draw shapes and objects using the marks made by the person on the paper. One line looked like the pole of a fishing rod and I drew around it as such to make it look more like one. It was impressive to see the diverse range of shapes that was available from simply using your hand as the mode of putting paint on paper. I enjoyed this session even though I had no impressive artwork to show for it and found that mark making can be a meaningful experience that allows children to express their emotions and ideas in a more effective way than perhaps any other medium.

References

Cone, T.P. (2009) Following Their Lead: Supporting Children’s Ideas for Creating Dances. Journal of Dance Education. [Online] Vol.9(3), pp.81-89. [Available: Taylor & Francis. Accessed 2 January 2017].

Eisner, E. (2002) The Arts and the Creation of Mind, In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach. London: Yale University Press. Available: Integrated Arts module on Moodle. [Accessed 5 January 2017].