This week we were given the task to explore the archive of children’s artwork from three stages of the primary school; upper, middle and lower. It was amazing to see all the work that was created. Some of the pieces are 30 years old and the styles seem to have changed with the political development at the time the art was created. I have chosen one picture from each stage to talk about.

Lower Primary:

At this early stage, commonly described as the pre-schematic stage (Lowenfield and Brittain). This is a 5 year old child’s perspective of what looks like a rain forest, but artistic perspective is still in development at this stage. I think the most important thing for me to remember if I ever teach this stage is to write down on the back what the child has created, as not to offend them if I talk to them about it.

Middle Primary:

At this stage, the Schematic stage. At this stage the finer detail starts to show, the child tries to incorporate how the world around them really looks. Creativity and craftsmanship really comes through. This picture of a beautiful landscape is no different. Perhaps combining the skills from the Sustainable Development module and using outdoor learning could inspire such work in my own classroom.

Upper Primary:

This is the stage known as the ‘gang’ stage (McAuliffe). This is where art begins to show a decrease in originality and creativity and a rise in copying the work of others. This could be due to a lack in self confidence where it is deemed safer to plagiarise and create perfect copies than to be bold and adventurous.

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