Art outdoor lesson – Summer Painting
Melinda Nagy
Liceul Tehnologic Octavian Goga Jibou, Romania
Summary
In this lesson, summer is analysed through music, literature, colours, personification and will end with the creation of a summer painting all in an outdoor setting.
Introduction
In this visual and performing arts lesson, students will explore their artistic skills while becoming more connected with nature, literature and music. Students will apply artistic processes and skills, using a variety of media to communicate meaning and intent in original works of art.
Learning objectives
-to use visual structures and functions of art to communicate ideas
-to develop their use of art to convey meaning and their ability to discuss their art and the art of others
-to use observation to develop a visual representation of basic objects
Resources
-white paper
-coloured pencils
-markers or crayons
-erasers
-acrylic or watercolor paint
-paintbrushes
-poems about summer
-smartphone/tablet and portable speakers
Activity
Step 1: Summer in music. Teacher plays Antonio Vivaldi’s Summer from “Four Seasons” and elicits from students whether they know what they are listening to and gives additional information about Vivaldi and “The Four Seasons”. Teacher asks students to tell songs about summer.
Antonio Vivaldi’s Summer continues during discussions in steps 1-3.
Step 2: Summer in poetry. Students are handed out 3 poems with the theme of summer. They need to underline the passages which describes summer (colours, scenery, feelings, shapes, etc.). These are read aloud and analysed.
Step 3: Personification of summer. Students need to imagine that Summer is a human being. Working in groups of 3-4, they need to write down the characteristics he/she would have. They are presented in a whole group discussion.
Step 4: Walking in the Botanical Garden, observing the summer landscape, choosing a place for painting. Students are asked to work in groups and create a collective summer painting. During the artistic process, students can listen to music about summer of their own choice.
Step 5: As a conclusion, students analyse the other group’s painting and try to identify the summer elements they used.
Comments from the learners’ surveys
Students enjoyed this outdoor lesson. They appreciated the outdoor setting, The Botanical Garden in Jibou and the use of music throughout the lesson, which stimulated them to express their artistic views.
Final remarks
The Art outdoor lesson provided opportunities for students to gain basic knowledge about classical and pop music of summer. They had the chance to identify and analyse in more depth the visual elements used to depict summer and use them in their own painting.
Arts lesson: Reusing trash for crafting!
Department of Arts and Crafts - IES Madina Mayurqa, Palma, Spain
Summary
We throw away tons of rubbish every day without even considering that we could reuse it. Reusing trash to make crafts is the idea behind this project. This activity was done with our 2nd of ESO students (aged 13-14 years old) in May 2018.
Introduction
Nowadays we are all quite aware of the importance of recycling and of protecting our environment. However, when we don’t have a recycling center nearby, we should try and give a second chance to the items we are about to toss away. Reusing old items and making something useful from them is also a good way of taking care of our environment!
Learning objectives
To learn that we should recycle and reuse more. To learn that we can all be creative.
To be able to work in group.
To enjoy our environment and nature.
Resources
Trash.
Scissors, cardboard, crayons….
Activity
A group of students went to Alcúdia to join a workshop about how to make art from trash. The students were divided into small groups with a leader. The leader sat the in a circle and talked to them about the importance of reusing old materials instead of throwing them away. After that, the leader showed the students all of the things they could reuse to create something beautiful. Everything had been recovered from the trash containers! We then moved into a space where we could work in groups and exploit our creativity! It was really great to see everybody at work! Here you can see some of our creations! The best creations and the most original ones are going to be shown at an exhibition this summer.
Comments from the learners’ surveys
Our students enjoyed the trip very much and realised the importance of knowing that we must recycle and reuse. Many didn’t think trash could be fun!
Final remarks
An outdoor lesson is always welcome, and in this case the activity was particularly well-received as students enjoyed creating their “works of art”.
ART Outdoor Lesson - Carini, Italy
Art lesson:
Walking over the time, Art as a message to locate,
understand and decode.
Visit to “Ajutamicristo Palace” – Palermo
Salvatore Giammanco/ Rocco Giannì
Summary
Very often, when we walk around the streets of our historic centres, we don’t pause to think about the stories, events, inventions and efforts that monuments, palaces and churches can hide. Or even the tangle of lanes leading to the popular markets, beating heart of daily life.
The aim of this learning activity is:
-to get students to observing urban environment, guiding them to locate artistic buildings, architecture and historical-social evidences.
-to provide students with tools to decode iconographic messages that art wants to show us.
-to inspire students a sense of belonging to a social-historic community.
Introduction
Two students, attending the second classes of our school carried out a real time travel, entering the hidden rooms of “Ajutamicristo Palace” one of the most prestigious buildings in Palermo, dating back over five centuries.
The Baron Vincenzo Calefati of Canalotti, last descendant of the family that owns the palace, guided the students to do their historical and artistic research, giving them all the information about the place and the people who lived there. Finally, the owner answered the students’ questions patiently.
Times
The activity was carried out in April - May in 12 hours distributed as follows:
Time: 3 hours
Time: 5 hours.
Time: 3 hours.
Learning objectives
-
Learning to observe the urban environment
-
Learning to identify art styles and architecture.
-
Learning to identify, observe and decode iconographic messages
-
Learning to work in group.
-
Learning to select information
Learning to connect all the selected information
Resources
Activity
First step: Preparation.
The students, guided by Italian, History and Art teachers carried out the research about the Palace and its story and drew up a list of questions to prepare the interview.
Second step: Visit-Action
The students reached the place by bus and visited the Palace in small groups. Each group was in charge of observing, taking notes, taking pictures, shooting videos and drawing everything of special importance in terms of History and Art. Particular attention was given to the Monumental Dance Hall with a vault embellished with a baroque fresco “Triumph of the virtuous prince”. In this fresco every human figure conceals a reference to the Prince Giovanni Luigi Moncada Ventimiglia Ruffo of Paternò, leading nobleman in Sicily at the end of XVIII century.
Third Step: Art and Life.
Interview to the Baron Vincenzo Calefati of Canalotti in order to find all the connections among art, history and his life in the Palace.
Fourth step: Final product.
Production of PWP with news, pictures, drawings and videos concerning the whole activity, including the interview
Final Remarks
Our students, autonomously and consciously, really appreciated the role of active protagonists over the time through art and history, they had a real field experience enjoying all its advantages.
Supplementary material
https://youtu.be/pelVOYXRF7M
https://twinspace.etwinning.net/45380/pages/add
Escola Dr. Horácio Bento de Gouveia, Funchal Portugal
Summary
This activity allowed the students were accomplishing it abroad.
The students were motivated to create containers/packaging for the Bio of the school garden, as if they were Designers. These wrappers serve to package, store, protect, save some products.
Intended that students develop your creativity through the implementation of sketches for holding flowerpots, birdhouse or garbage containers using recycled materials. Students as creators of new objects should be aware of the feature of durable materials, environmentally friendly and reusable.
Awareness of the role of each one of us in society and the preservation or destruction of the environment, as well as the use in the everyday life of the objects we choose and how we use it. Later these packages have been planned and some students performed small models of your work.
The Design process and the ecodesign
Introduction
Study design and design objects, responding to specific needs with the purpose of improving the quality of life. Allow the students to understand that the Design is not the final product, but the whole process undertaken to achieve.
Learning objectives
The design process or methodology of design, consists of a series of phase, following that guide the work of the designer. Each student had to follow and develop the different stages of your work depending on the needs to be met within your project.
Resources
The students took your discipline-specific material: pencil, Eraser, markers, colors and drawing sheets A4
Activity
After the introduction to the methodology of design, students were grouped according to the execution of your packaging. Three working groups were organized.(Class prior to the field trip) Each student individually worked to your packaging/object according to the following steps:
- Enunciation of the problem-analysis and clear definition of needs and functions of the object design. What's the point? To where? For who?
- Study of the materials and manufacturing process-what materials to use?
- Formal research-what already exists with similar function. practice of School redesign abroad.
- (Bio 80 minutes of school vegetable garden in outer space) running sketches/drawings that were made; Studies and application of color.
Note the students had a file/script to guide your work. Development (ongoing activity) in the context of the classroom Project-development of sketches /drawings that were made; Studies and application of color.
- The best solution presented Selection.
- Project-development of sketches with the application of the system of representation technique, scales for a good read of the object represented (90 minutes)
- construction of model/3D drawing (90 minutes)
Comments from the learners’ surveys
The students enjoyed the activity, suggested that there were more classes abroad.
Some students feel difficulties in the execution of his designs in relation to the specific function of the object design.
Duration of activity abroad (80 minutes)
Final remarks
This type of activities is stimulating and allows addressing different areas of visual education. There was a group of students very engaged in the activity while those who are not motivated for this area of the drawing that feel they have not enjoyed the fitness activity.
ENIAIO EIDIKO EPAGGELMATIKO GYMNASIO- LYKEIO AGIOU DIMITRIOU
TEACHERS: EYFROSYNI PATRA, NIKOLAS STAMOULIS
Playing percussion instruments in the school yard
Summary
On May 21st 2018 an outdoor music lesson was organized in the school yard with the participation of 50 students from classes C and D. Students were divided in two groups and each group participated in the activity for one hour. Different percussion instruments were presented, as well as typical rhythms of Greek music and students played music, sang and danced.
Introduction
Playing percussion instruments one can make music directly, without having any knowledge about music. Therefore this activity is important because all students have a chance to play a musical instrument and in the same time understand the meaning of different rhythms.
Learning objectives
- Learn about percussion instruments.
- Learn about different rhythms in Greek music.
- Listen to music carefully.
- Play a musical instrument following the rhythm.
- Enhance eye, ear and hand coordination.
- Synchronize with others while playing music together.
- Express and enjoy themselves.
Resources
Percussion instruments: darbuka (Arabic hand drum), davul, riqq, kajon, wooden sticks), portable speaker.
Activity
Step 1:
Percussion instruments were presented as well as information about their place of origin.
Step 2:
Teachers played each instrument and students listened to the different sounds.
Step 2:
We listened to Greek songs that had different rhythms: kalamatianos ( 7 beats, 3-2-2), zonaradikos ( 6 beats, 3-3) and syrtos ( 8 beats,3-3-2). Teachers explained what rhythm is and how to identify each one by the beats. Then we sang all together listening to the songs.
Step 3:
Students were divided in two groups: one playing percussion instruments and the other performing body percussion. Teachers showed them how to play each rhythm by counting the beats.
Step 4:
Students played music, sang along and some of them also danced following the rhythm!
Comments from the learners’ surveys
Students loved the activity and had a really good time. They showed interest in participating in it and some of them expressed the wish to learn how to play a musical instrument. They thought it was an easy and pleasant lesson.
Final remarks
Students were interested to learn about the instruments and play with them. They were happy to be able to play music by themselves and did really well. The seemed happy and comfortable and we noticed that some of them were very talented, so we suggested them to have music lessons! It was important to have this lesson outdoors, because we could be louder than it would be indoors, less distractive for other classes and the nice sunny day made it even more fun for all of us.
Supplementary material
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Ενιαίο-Ειδικό-Επαγγελματικό-Γυμνάσιο-Λύκειο-Αγίου-Δημητρίου-189143001818475/photos/