Visual Arts

Early Stage 1 — About Me

Subject Matter: People
Unit Duration: 4–6 lessons
Forms: Drawing, Painting

In this unit, students explore their uniqueness and individuality in their making of artworks and recognise
that other artists think about the uniqueness of people when they make portraits of them. Students will
make self portraits developing their observational skills and considering the qualities and relationships
between features and how these are represented in their picture making. Students will experiment with a
range of media and make individual and group works based on their experiences. Students will also
develop some imaginative works as they collectively use their hands as a stimulus for pattern making.

Content
Students in Early Stage 1 will

learn to: learn about:

• think about themselves as artists in their • who artists are, what they do, what they make
artmaking (within a limited understanding of
the artist’s function)
Early Stage 1

• explore different kinds of things and • how their interest in things and experience
experiences in their making of artworks affects what they and others represent in
pictures and other kinds of artworks
• make drawings, paintings, sculptures etc • the properties of drawings, paintings,
about things of interest to them and their sculptures etc, what they are about and what
experiences they are made from
• use a variety of media, techniques and tools • the properties of some media, tools and
to create different effects techniques and how they can be used to
• look at details within their own and others’ create interesting effects
artworks and talk about associations with their
own experience and the effects of the works

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Outcomes and Indicators

Making
VAES1.1 Makes simple pictures and other kinds of artworks about things and experiences
• investigates relationships in their artmaking eg the features of the face and how parts are
connected to one another
• talks about significant features and relationships within their artworks.

VAES1.2 Experiments with a range of media in selected forms

• explores the qualities of different drawing media eg crayons, inks, pencils, textas
• recognises how qualities such as colour, thickness, length and density of lines can assist
them to depict features of the face
• explores pattern making through repetition, overlapping, changing direction
• uses scissors to cut shapes from paper and assembles these in a variety of ways by
overlapping, gluing, and sticking.

Appreciating
VAES1.3 Recognises some of the qualities of different artworks and begins to realise that artists
make artworks

Early Stage 1
• identifies some of the ways artists depict the qualities of the face in an artwork
• talks about different media and effects that artists achieve
• talks about artworks they have seen, noting what they are about and who they were
made by.

VAES1.4 Communicates their ideas about pictures and other kinds of artworks
• identifies features in the works, eg the qualities of the face, that are significant to them
and makes links with their experience
• shows preferences for particular artworks based on eg feelings, colours, subject matter,
associations.

Resources
• Prints/postcards of portraits eg available in Art Pack on Faces from S & S Wholesalers. Others available
from galleries across the state
• Camera, film, photocopier
• Magazine pictures of facial features
• Prints/postcards of hands eg Aboriginal artworks showing lines and patterns
• Mirrors, crayons, charcoal, soft pencils (2B and 4B), black textas – fine and thick, cardboard, art paper,
mural background, glue, paint, inks/dyes, brushes, scissors.

Assessment
Key assessment opportunities are marked *.

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Sequence of Learning Experiences

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

To closely look at works • Have students observe and discuss portraits of Images of life like
made by different artists people of different ages by selected artists eg an old portraits would be most
and the qualities of the suitable for this activity.
lady (Rembrandt), a young child (Renoir), and an
artworks Some students will say
adult male (Holbein). that the picture of the
• Question students about how old each person looks young girl and the artist
who painted it are the
in the painting and ask them to think about how they
best because at this
know this. Have students think about the techniques stage students transfer
the artists use. They may also consider whether or the properties of the
not they think the artists have been successful in picture to the artist
their artworks.
To think about how • Using Paul Klee’s Senecio, Arcimboldo’s The Gardener
artists create different and David Hockney’s Mother as a stimulus, discuss
effects
how artist have manipulated the portraits in a
creative way to produce very different results.
Students respond and discuss which ones appeal
and why.
Early Stage 1

To explore the qualities • Discuss with students what makes people unique. Cards containing a
of the face and Students observe similarities and differences within magazine picture of each
relationships between the class eg face shapes, hair types and colour, eye item could be used to
features and to seek to focus attention on each
colour. Each student finds another person who has
represent these in facial feature.
drawings the same hair colour, eye colour, looks similar, looks
As they are drawing,
different. Have students list all the features of the question students about
face. the size of features and
relationships to each
• Have students draw their own face from memory other. First part of the
using crayons, charcoal or black textas. They focus unit could conclude here
upon details such as shape and position of nostrils,
nose, eyes and eye lashes, mouth, ears and face.*
• Take close-up photographs of each student’s face
and, when developed, enlarge on a photocopier to
produce a life-size black and white copy. Have
students identify their own faces from the enlarged
photocopies, which are then coloured to look more
life-like.
• Guide students to make another drawing of their face
To investigate the use of using mirrors to observe facial details. Assist them to Media such as felt pens
media and effects further consider the details of eg eyes, ears, nose, or soft black pencils
created assist students to
mouth and their relative sizes. Have students explore
capture details
the qualities of different media in making this
drawing, eg the firm black line of felt tip pen
compared with the variations of the weight of lines
that can be achieved with pencils.*

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PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

• Photocopies of faces are cut in half and one half is

mounted on card. Facial features are discussed again
and students complete the ‘other half’ of the face,
focusing on symmetry of features and using crayons
and pencils.
To have the students • Students compare their memory drawings,
discuss similarities and observation drawings and half photocopy drawings.
differences between They discuss the differences between the three works
artworks and how they
and reflect on the different results. They consider
depict things such as
faces which drawings give the most complete picture of
the face and why.
• Have students select their favourite drawing from
earlier activities to be displayed as part of a class
mural/collage. Have students cut out the portraits
and place these on the mural background.
• Guide the students on placement and provide This unit could conclude

Early Stage 1
examples of grouping and overlapping. Further work here or continue with a
could focus on connecting the portraits and more imaginative focus
developing a coherent mural. Have students use
pencils, inks, and dyes to finish this large group work.
To further investigate the • Have students discuss the individuality of the hand,
expressive use of palm, and fingerprints by observing their own hands
different media and comparing them with one another.
• Have students, using fluoro or other paint, create a
series of hand prints – overlap shapes and investigate
ways to create interesting effects. They may change
the direction of the hands, have them pointing up or
down, left or right, or rotating. Patterns of the hands
could suggest tracks or pathways.
• Have students further develop these imaginative
pictures by including further pattern work including
zigzags, circles, wavy lines, stripes. Students could
use black felt pen, edicol dyes, ink washes to
produce these.*
To further consider the • Students observe prints of hand stencils made by
work of artists and think Aboriginal artists. They identify and discuss the
about how these artists
different shapes/lines/patterns, comparing these
use symbols of their
identity which may assist works to their own. Discuss with students the
them in their own reasons why these kinds of works were made. They
pictures may add further details to their own large pictures as
a consequence of looking at these works.
• Exhibit the artists’ prints and students’ artworks.
Have students talk about features at that are of
interest to them.*

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Links with other artforms

DRAMA
DRAES1.1 Making
DRAES1.3 Performing
Ask students to mime an everyday routine and peers to decide what they are doing.
Develop a short play about a personal event.

Links with other Key Learning Areas

PDHPE
GDES1.9 Growth and Development
Discuss similarities and differences in appearance; Body parts, senses and basic needs;
Changes in appearance; Values — likes and dislikes, uniqueness.

Links to module I am Special in PDHPE K–6 Modules p 141.

ENGLISH
TES1.1 Talking and Listening
WES1.9 Producing Texts
Provide opportunities for students to talk about special events in their life, their friends and family.
Read a range of recounts and model the writing of a recount for the class as a joint construction.
Early Stage 1

HSIE
CCES1 Significant Events and People
CUES1 Identities
Discuss family traditions and special events, and people that are important in the lives of children.

Links to This is Me unit in HSIE K–6 Units of Work p 31.

About Me — Additional Information

This unit has been designed to be taught within the first half of the Kindergarten Year. It focuses attention
on students and allows them to become more familiar with their classmates. It offers the chance for
students to work both individually and as a group, and it provides an opportunity for very young students
to learn to listen to, and value, the opinions and work of their classmates.

It is important for teachers to closely observe students prior to teaching the unit in order to ascertain their
level of fine motor skills development. Important considerations are: How a child holds a pencil for a
drawing task; how effectively and how accurately he/she can use scissors; how competently he/she can use
crayons to make marks; and whether he/she can vary the pressure on the tool to create variation in line.

The use of scissors is a skill which needs to be developed in young children. The teacher must ensure that
all students can hold a pair of scissors correctly, place their fingers in the correct positions, use the correct
cutting action, and use their other hand to control, guide and turn the paper as they cut. Edicol dyes are
particularly vibrant and have a great impact when combined with oil crayons. However, they require great
care in the hands of young students, especially if they are working in a carpeted room, as dyes can stain.
At this early stage, until routines are established, supervised small group use of dyes is recommended.

Classroom Organisation
Most of the materials used throughout this unit are easily managed within a classroom situation. It will be
up to the teacher to decide if the class will work as a whole or in small rotating groups.

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 Visual Arts

Early Stage 1 — Fireworks

Subject Matter: Events
Unit Duration: 3–4 lessons
Forms: Drawing, Monoprinting, Sculpture

A public display of fireworks such as that viewed in the 2000 New Year celebrations or others that are
taking place as celebratory events over 2000–2001 is the stimulus for this unit of work. The enjoyment of
watching the fireworks: the colour, noise, lines and patterns — are used as the experience for students’
making of imaginative artworks. Students are encouraged to experiment with a range of media using paint,
drawing and sculpture in order to respond to this event. The unit offers opportunities for students to think
about how photographers/artists can represent experiences such as celebratory events in artworks. It also
provides the opportunity for students to consider that artists make sculptures as well as paintings and
that sculptures are viewed differently from paintings.

Content
Students in Early Stage 1 will

learn to: learn about:

• think about themselves as artists in their • who artists are, what they do, what they make
artmaking (within a limited understanding of
Early Stage 1

the artist’s function)

• explore different kinds of things and • how their interest in things and experience
experiences in their making of artworks affects what they and others represent in
pictures and other kinds of artworks
• make drawings, paintings, sculptures etc • the properties of drawings, paintings,
about things of interest to them and their sculptures etc, what they are about and what
experiences they are made from
• use a variety of media, techniques and tools • the properties of some media, tools and
to create different effects techniques and how they can be used to
create interesting effects
• look at details within their own and others’
artworks and talk about associations with their
own experience and the effects of the works

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Outcomes and Indicators

Making
VAES1.1 Makes simple pictures and other kinds of artworks about things and experiences
• explores significant events in their lives such as celebrations, displays and festivals.

VAES1.2 Experiments with a range of media in selected forms

• explores the qualities of different drawing and printmaking media such as crayons,
pencils, printing inks
• recognises how qualities such as colour, thickness, length and density of lines can assist
them to depict experiences and things eg the fireworks
• explores the qualities of paint and uses cardboard strips to create textures, patterns, lines
and areas of colour
• explores simple construction techniques and manipulates sculptural materials such as
pipe cleaners, foam, foil, by joining, modelling, forming.

Appreciating
VAES1.3 Recognises some of the qualities of different artworks and begins to realise that artists
make artworks

Early Stage 1
• identifies different colours, lines, directions and other things of interest in artworks
• talks about the three dimensional qualities of sculptures.

VAES1.4 Communicates their ideas about pictures and other kinds of artworks
• identifies features in artworks that are significant to them and makes links with their
experience
• show preferences for particular artworks based on favourites
• talks about the artists who made selected paintings and sculptures.

Resources
• Video of a fireworks display, photographs eg from newspaper etc
• Selected prints or postcards of artworks eg Ken Done Sydney Nights and a 3-D sculpture if possible
• Monoprinting: perspex sheets, permablock inks, rollers, art paper
• Sculpture: shiny pipe cleaners and/or thin soft wire such as fuse wire, hat wire, coloured wire
• Other media: for example, streamers, coloured paper, cardboard, pastels, shiny paper and fluoro
paint, foil, party champagne poppers, squeeze bottles, steel wool, glitter pens, glitter glue, gold and
silver paint, confetti, thick foam, beads, sequins, fabric strips, coloured threads, cellophane, tissue
paper. A visit to Reverse Garbage or a similar recycling plant can yield some valuable items suitable
for collage and sculpture.

Assessment
Key assessment opportunities are marked *.

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Sequence of Learning Experiences

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

To consider reasons why • Have students view a fireworks display. Have Alternatively students
events are celebrated students talk about the purpose of the event can watch extracts of a
and why people, video of a fireworks
celebrated when the fireworks display occurred.
including themselves, display, or observe large
enjoy participating in • Ask students to think about the movements of photographs of
these events. To focus on different fireworks and have students use their exploding fireworks eg
the students’ experiences from newspapers
bodies to demonstrate the various movements of
of the event and the
visual qualities of the eg a sparkler, rocket, catherine-wheel etc. Discuss the
fireworks they have seen different colours, shapes, lines, directions and
patterns made by the exploding fireworks. Students Safety factors need to be
taken into account in this
could throw streamers up and down or the teacher
activity
could pop some mini party champagne bottles that
shoot out streamers to suggest the movement of
the fireworks.
To encourage • Have small groups of students (approx. 3–4 per Work areas need to be
experimentation with group) experiment with collage materials such as organised for materials.
materials to create See additional
black cardboard, foil or fluoro paints to create visual
particular effects and information
Early Stage 1

encourages reflection on effects like fireworks. Students to discuss and

activities evaluate the effects, deciding which materials offer The first part of the unit
the most ‘realistic’ images of fireworks.* could conclude here

• Have students use crayons and paper to further

experiment with the lines, shapes and patterns
created by fireworks. They select two or three of the
lines, shapes and patterns and use white crayon on
black cardboard to create an image of exploding
fireworks. Lines, shapes and patterns are repeated.
• Using art paper and building upon their line work, With teacher assistance,
have students complete a light pencil drawing of students make their
exploding fireworks. Students to use this drawing to monoprint by inking up
a perspex sheet using a
make a monoprint. Students to use a pencil to trace
roller and Permablock
heavily over the fireworks design. When complete, ink. They place their
have them peel off their paper to reveal the image. paper over the inked-up
The print may be left as is, otherwise inks or water surface ensuring their
colours may be used to enhance the print when dry. drawing is visible (ie
facing upwards). See
Alternatively, a second print could be made and
further details in
glitter pens, shiny confetti, gold and silver paint, additional information
sequins, bright cotton threads etc. could be added to
provide further impact.*

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PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

To introduce students • Have students think about how artists also make Ken Done’s work is an
some appreciating artworks about special events and celebrations. As example. Other bright
activities where celebratory artworks or
an example, students to look at Ken Done’s Sydney
connections are made photographs in
between what artists Night and identify the shapes, lines, colours and newspapers of displays
do and what they patterns that make his work interesting to look at. of fireworks from
themselves are doing Students respond to the qualities of the artwork and celebratory events could
in their artmaking identify features that are of interest to them.* be used

To consider artistic terms • The teacher poses the question ‘What is a sculpture?’ It would be useful to have
and concepts. Students and using an example of a sculpture, identifies with an example of a sculpture
also realise that artists available. If this is not
students the qualities of sculptures eg materials,
make sculptures and not possible a photograph or
just paintings size, and what makes it different from a painting. print would do but the
The teacher assists students to appreciate that a important point to make
sculpture can be viewed from different angles so is that sculptures are
they can consider this when constructing their own viewed from different
3-dimensional work. angles

To investigate the • Students are given a foam base, a selection of pipe The foam base could be

Early Stage 1
concept sculpture in the cleaners both shiny and plain coloured, and some painted dark blue to
students’ artmaking. suggest the night sky
thin wire that is easy to bend. Building upon their
To encourage previous experiences in this unit, students further
experimentation and the
investigate how they can make various lines and
trialling and use of
patterns by bending the wire and pipe cleaners Pipe cleaners are flexible
materials and ideas
around certain objects eg pencil, ruler, finger. and can be stretched out
or squashed together to
Students are also encouraged to consider their achieve different effects
selection of colours and how these relate to their
experiences of the fireworks. Once students
understand how to manipulate the materials, they
can begin to place wire and/or pipe cleaners into
the foam base.
• Encourage students to look at their sculptures from
different angles to ensure that it is interesting to
look at and that all aspects are developing
concurrently. Discuss how to achieve different
heights and/or levels within the work. Students may
like to further develop their sculpture by adding
materials such as foil strips, cellophane.
• Students exhibit their sculptures and select their
favourite works within the class group, explaining
their choices eg colours, squiggly lines, direction of
lines and relationships between parts.

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Links with other artforms

MUSIC
MUES1.4 Listening
Provide opportunities for students to listen to a selection from Handel’s Music for Royal Fireworks Suite.
Discuss how the music indicates when fireworks explode and the instruments that are used.

MUES1.2 Organising Sound

Provide opportunities for students to explore different sounds to accompany a visual presentation (video
or CD-ROM) of fireworks. These could be organised into a soundscape.

DANCE
DAES1.2 Composing
Encourage students to create a series of movements to perform for peers.

Links with other Key Learning Areas

HSIE
CCES1 Significant Events and People
Research the important cultural events for children in the class and the local community. Particularly
explore those events which have fireworks or other traditional features.
Collect pictures, postcards and newspaper articles of these events and discuss similarities and differences.
Early Stage 1

Links to This is Me unit in HSIE K–6 Units of Work p 31.

ENGLISH
TES1.1 Talking and Listening
Provide opportunities for students to discuss what it was like to watch fireworks or similar events. Create
wordbanks of descriptive words and phrases as they arise.

RES1.5 Reading and Viewing

Locate and discuss a range of texts which describe special events, particularly fireworks, and discuss the
words used to describe fireworks and other traditional features.

Factual texts could be used to demonstrate how information can be gained from a range of visual sources.
Guided reading provides an opportunity to explore features of these texts.

WES1.9 Context and Text

WES1.10 Skills and Strategies (Grammar and Punctuation)

Provide opportunities for students to write descriptive passages to describe fireworks exploding. Discuss
how the words used can sound like the explosion or what they look like eg bang, rocket, whoosh.

Experiences of viewing of fireworks for a special event can be written as a recount.

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Early Stage 1

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Fireworks 17

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Early Stage 1

18 Fireworks Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

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Fireworks — Additional Information

It is recommended that this unit be taught in the latter half of the year to allow students to develop some
familiarity with classroom procedures during Visual Arts lessons. They will need to be able to listen
carefully to instructions, work independently and in small groups, share materials and feel confident with
the use of particular tools eg scissors.

Classroom Organisation
Organisation of materials. These are suggestions only:
Group 1: Black cardboard and squeeze bottles of fluoro paint
Group 2: Black cardboard, gold and silver paint and cardboard strips
Group 3: Black cardboard and oil and soft pastels
Group 4: Black cardboard, glue and confetti
Group 5: Black cardboard, glue and glitter
Group 6: Black cardboard, fluoro paint and steel wool
Group 7: Black cardboard and small pieces of shiny paper and/or foil.

When setting up the sculpture activity, ensure there are plenty of pipe cleaners for each student and
perhaps allocate sets of materials to each group of students.

Specific Techniques

Early Stage 1
Making a monoprint:

This is a relatively simple technique that results in the production of one print each time.

1. Block printing ink (eg Permablock) is rolled evenly onto a perspex sheet. Young children may require
assistance with this step as even pressure and complete coverage is important.
2. Students place their art paper over the inked-up perspex sheet with their drawing facing upwards (ie
visible) so it can be easily traced.
3. Using a pencil and firm pressure, students trace over their fireworks drawing and transfer the image
onto their art paper. Other items can also be moved across the page to provide different lines/effects.
It is vital at this stage to ensure students do not let their hand lean on the paper as this pressure can
transfer unwanted marks. Remind them to keep hand/wrist away from surface.
4. When drawing has been completely traced, students gently peel off their sheet to reveal the print.
5. The print must be dry before any further work on it can occur. Prints can be left as is, or additional
work as suggested in the unit can take place. The perspex must be washed between prints.
6. It is strongly recommended that the monoprinting process be conducted in small groups. This way,
only a small number of perspex sheets are required by the teacher and he/she can carefully supervise
students and lend assistance when necessary. A specific area set up for printing will allow students to
move to the area when a space is free.

Further Consideration for Students

Where students have problems with tasks, adaptations may be needed. For example, special scissors or
different strength wire may be required for students with hand function problems. Alternative methods
and materials should be investigated to suit student needs. An occupational therapist may be able to
assist with suggestions in this area.

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 Visual Arts

Stage 1 — Fish and Sea Creatures

Subject Matter: Other Living Things
Unit Duration: 5–6 lessons
Forms: Drawing, Painting, Printmaking

This unit provides a sequence of learning opportunities which are designed to heighten students’
awareness of the sea and its remarkable inhabitants. Students explore, observe, investigate, imagine, and
experiment in their own artmaking. They respond to the artworks of other artists who have explored
similar subject matter in their explorations of the world, and think about the reasons the artists may have
made these artworks. The unit encourages group work and collective decision making about the kind of
artwork that is to be made as a mural. The unit also encourages experimentation with a printmaking
technique that may be unfamiliar to students, and extends the ways in which they may think about
artmaking.

Content
Students in Stage 1 will

learn to: learn about:

• think about how they can work in similar ways • how artists make artworks for different
to artists in their making of artworks reasons
• explore different kinds of subject matter and • how different aspects of the world are
Stage 1

concepts in their making of artworks represented in pictures and other kinds of

artworks
• make different kinds of artworks including • the diversity of kinds of things that are made
paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, as art (eg paintings, drawings, sculptures,
digital artworks and videos photographs, digital works, videos)
• extend their skills in using a variety of media, • the properties of a wider range of media, tools
techniques and tools to create effects that and techniques and how artists, including
link to things in the world themselves, can use these to create various
effects
• take into account various factors when talking • who audiences are, what they do and where
about art (eg details within an artwork, what they look at art
the work is about and what the artist has done)

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Outcomes and Indicators

Making
VAS1.1 Makes artworks in a particular way about experiences of real and imaginary things
• investigates details of other living things eg fish and sea creatures
• talks about significant features and relationships within their artworks referring to such
things as size, scale, proportion, colour.

VAS1.2 Uses the forms to make artworks according to varying requirements

• thinks about how they can interpret the teacher’s or others’ requirements for artmaking
eg use of materials, investigation of subject matter, scale and purpose of the work
• experiments with the properties of different drawing, paint media and techniques in an
attempt to capture likenesses of things depicted
• explores various printmaking techniques to create one-offs and multiples
• emphasises particular features suited to the purpose of artmaking eg line, scale,
repetition, shape, colour.

Appreciating
VAS1.3 Realises what artists do, who they are and what they make
• talks and writes about particular artists’ works, and artists’ areas of interest, recognising
that they gain ideas in a variety of ways

Stage 1
• talks about some of the symbols and techniques artists use in their making of art
• identifies particular qualities in artworks such as the way the subject matter is
represented and the use of particular techniques and the effects these have in the artist’s
work and on viewers.

VAS1.4 Begins to interpret the meaning of artworks acknowledging the roles of artist and
audience
• recognises that artists may account for their work in different ways to an audience
• recognises that artists explore the world in particular ways in their approach to their
artmaking and in the artworks they make.

Resources
• Prints/postcards/posters of artworks about the sea eg Art Pack on Water from S & S Wholesale or other
resources available from galleries across the state
• Other pictures/prints of the sea and found objects eg shells, from the seashore
• Classroom materials include: black and white paper and cardboard, paint, inks, watercolours, wax
crayons (ie conte crayons), edicol dyes, sponges, brushes, foam rollers, combs, magnifying glasses,
thin and thick textas, scratch foamboard sheets for printing, Permablock printing inks and rollers.

Assessment
Key assessment opportunities are marked *.

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Sequence of Learning Experiences

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

To look at different • Have students observe a variety of artworks of water Use prints of artworks
artworks made by artists and seascapes. Students should be questioned by artists such as Claude
about the sea. To Monet’s Waterlilies, or
about the colours and techniques the artists have
consider the reasons why Michael Johnson’s After
artists make artworks used to depict the movement of water and the Sirius or other examples
qualities of the sea. Students are encouraged to from the Art Pack on
write about how the artists have interpreted the ‘Water’
world in their paintings and to suggest some of the
reasons why these artworks were made.*
To develop skills in using • Guide students in experimenting with how they can This activity is well
a range of media, using represent the colour and movement of the sea. suited to small group
different techniques and work.
Inspired by the artworks they have looked at, have
evaluating their Connections should be
effectiveness students work on large sheets of art paper and
made with the things
experiment with a variety of media eg paint, water
they have discovered in
colours, spray containers, foam rollers, sponges, looking at the artists’
paint scraped with wide-toothed combs, water works and the effects
wash and ink, bubble printing. they may achieve in their
artmaking. Teachers
• Question students about the different effects they should demonstrate
have created and have students consider which different techniques as
Stage 1

techniques look the most natural, most imaginative, required

or most fluid. Students decide which technique they
will use as a background for a mural on the sea.
Have other groups of students use the technique on
large sheets of paper joined together to form the
background for the mural.
To link other learning • Read Margaret Wild’s There’s a Sea in My Bedroom. Have Ask students to imagine
experiences with this unit students discuss the story and illustrations by Jane themselves as the person
and to develop students’ holding the shell and
Tanner. Talk about the various sights, sounds and
imaginative responses think about what they
smells of the sea and have students describe how would make come out of
the different surfaces would feel. their shell if they had the
power.
See additional
information

To gain skills in looking at • Have students select their own shells and observe
details and in responding them carefully using a magnifying glass, describing
to experiences. To further
what they see and feel. Have them respond to the
investigate techniques
and their effects shapes, sizes, colours, textures and patterns on the
shells. Have students make observational drawings
using black crayon or textas on white paper and
white conte crayon on black paper.*

22 Fish and Sea Creatures Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

To closely observe details • Use the collection of shells and have students draw Students’ drawings can
and further investigate different shell outlines in thick black textas. be further enlarged on a
techniques and their photocopier if required.
effects • On separate sheets of paper and using thin black Students should be
textas, have students experiment with particular encouraged to make big
lines and patterns observed from the shells eg spiral, drawings. However, some
may find this difficult
zigzag, stripes, sharp/curved/radiating lines. Have
and can be encouraged
them make larger drawings of the shells using over time
crayons, watercolours or inks focusing on the lines,
patterns, and shapes.*
• Have students assess these drawings for their
suitability for the mural.
To further investigate • Have students observe a variety of shapes, sizes, Such an experience
techniques and their colours and patterns of tropical fish. Guide students may coincide with an
effects in depicting the excursion to an
in how they can make large drawings/paintings of
qualities of subject aquarium, or large
matter fish and tropical sea creatures by considering their photographs/prints of
shape, colour, repetition of lines, using wax crayons, tropical fish, eg travel
inks, paints and/or edicol dyes.* posters of fish from the

Stage 1
Barrier Reef, could be
• Have the class consider the suitability of drawings used
for the mural and possible placement, and locate
areas that could show emphasis and focus.
• The underwater mural can be completed with The unit could conclude
shell designs, fish and sea creatures, seaweed, here
grasses, rocks, coral etc. Alternatively have drawings/
paintings mounted and displayed separately.

To further investigate • Have students select their favourite fish shape and This part of the unit
techniques and their draw/trace these onto pieces of foamboard using provides for further
effects thick pencils. experimentation and the
development of
• Assist students to press firmly into the foamboard techniques in printmaking
with pencils to create the lines/patterns of the fish
body. Use a roller and a dark permablock printing ink
and demonstrate how foam boards can be inked up
and printed.
• Have students ink up their foamboard designs, place
the paper over the foamboard and using a spoon or
fingertips apply even pressure over the back of the
paper to make a print or series of prints.*
• Have these prints added to the mural, or
alternatively mounted on cardboard and exhibited
separately.

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Fish and Sea Creatures 23

 Visual Arts

Links with other Key Learning Areas

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
LT S1.3 Living Things
INV S1.7 Investigating
DM S1.8 Designing and Making
UT S1.9 Using Technology
Investigate a selection of sea creatures and fish focusing on their habitat, food, place in the food chain
and individual features.
Design and make a model of fish tank with fish and other sea creatures and a viewing tool to observe
these living things from the surface. Develop a fair test to assess the effectiveness of each one.

Links to Living Things unit (p 74) and Growing Up unit (p 66) in Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus and Support
Document.

ES S1.9 Earth and its Surroundings

INV S1.7 Investigating
DM S1.8 Designing and Making
UT S1.9 Using Technology
Collect weather charts for several days including tide charts and investigate the relationship between the
moon and tide heights. Design and make a tool to measure the differences in tidal movements.
Research widely to find articles and information on effects caused by the sea/waves on land and sea
creatures.
Stage 1

ENGLISH
RS1.5 Reading and Viewing
RS1.6 Skills and Strategies
WS1.9 Producing Texts
WS1.10–1.12 Skills and Strategies
Identify and read a range of literary and factual texts which focus on the sea and associated content.
Discuss the differences in language used in literary texts and factual texts to describe sea creatures.
Select and read Dreaming Stories which have a sea creature as a focus of the text.
Write descriptive passages about individual sea creatures or shells.
Jointly construct an information report for a particular creature or habitat, before asking students to write
an individual or group report.

MATHEMATICS
MEASUREMENT
M S1.2 Length
M S1.3 Area
M S1.4 Capacity and Volume
Use a variety of materials relating to the sea, eg shells, water, sand, model fish to measure as informal
units, use as tessellations to cover particular areas, to compare capacity and volume of sand and water
comparing differences.

HSIE
ENS1.6 Relationships with Places
SSS1.7 Resources Systems
Investigate the local area and identify the use that is made of the ocean (or local river or estuary) as a
source of food. Identify any processing of sea food that takes place locally, how it is delivered to the
factory, distributed to wholesalers and stores.

Links to Workers in the Community (p 43) and Wet and Dry Environments (p 71) in HSIE K–6 Units of Work.

24 Fish and Sea Creatures Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

Fish and Sea Creatures — Additional Information

This unit could be incorporated into an integrated unit on ‘The Sea’ covering various KLAs.

It is highly recommended that teachers experiment with materials and attempt all techniques prior to
teaching the unit.

Students are expected to have had some prior experience in Visual Arts in making and appreciating. They
should have some familiarity with the materials used in this unit. However, it is not essential that
students have previously used scratch foamboard to make prints (details of which appear below) or have
completed murals or collage works.

Margaret Wild’s There’s a Sea in My Bedroom

Other activities could be substituted when Margaret Wild’s There’s a Sea in My Bedroom is read. Students
could create a painting to illustrate part of the story. The original sheets of experimental water surfaces
can be cut out and used as collage material or as a background for the work. Other materials may be used
to create a mixed media result and wax crayons, watercolours, textas and inks can be added. Items from
the beach or rockpool could be used to add a 3-D aspect to the work. Students could discuss their
completed artworks, explaining why they chose that part of the story to paint and the process they used
to create it.

Specific Techniques

Stage 1
Making a scratch foam board block and print:
• Students plan their drawings on paper the same size as the scratch foam board.
• Place paper over scratch foam board and trace over the design to indent the foam surface.
• Remove the guide and draw over the visible lines more heavily so that the surface is ready for inking.
The design should be clearly visible. Thicker, stronger lines print more effectively.
• Using a roller (young children need assistance with this step as heavy, even pressure is required) ink
up the foam board with printing ink eg Permablock. (Experiment with other kinds of paint as well eg
tempera paint.)
• Place the art paper/card over the inked surface and rub evenly with fingertips or clean roller.
• Slowly peel off the print. Inking and rubbing can be repeated if more prints are required.
• Foam blocks should be washed as soon as possible and can be saved for future use when dry.
• It is highly recommended that the steps in the printmaking section of the unit are conducted with
small groups of about 5 or 6 children. This will allow the teacher to ensure that assistance is given
where required. These printing blocks can be used in a variety of ways. The fish shape can be cut out
and printed onto an experimental background; foam boards can be kept rectangular and prints pieced
together to form a class mural; or individual gift cards could be made.

Classroom Organisation
Teachers need to carefully consider supply of materials in this unit. Class sets of the more unusual
materials, such as thick and thin felt pens, magnifying glasses and sheets of scratch foam board, will
need to be obtained. The inking of the foam board blocks should be done in small groups and 6 rollers
would be sufficient. Permablock printing inks are available in a wide range of colours and darker colours
(eg black, dark blue) generally produce a sharper print.

When students are drawing their shells, it may be helpful to place some shells on an overhead projector.
This is a useful way of highlighting the shell shape and may assist students in thinking about how the
three-dimensional form can be represented in two dimensions.

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Fish and Sea Creatures 25

 Visual Arts

Stage 1 — The Vase of Flowers

Subject Matter: Objects, Other Living Things
Unit Duration: 4–5 lessons
Forms: Drawing, Printmaking, Collage

Students investigate the unique qualities and details of a vase of flowers as a still life arrangement in this
unit as the initial investigations for their artmaking in drawing, printmaking and collage. By considering
this arrangement students develop understandings of the importance of balance, harmony and contrast in
shapes and colours and how these concepts can be used in the making of artworks. The unit also offers
opportunities for students to look at, in some detail, artworks made by artists such as Vincent Van Gogh
and Margaret Preston who interpreted similar kinds of subject matter in their artworks.

Content
Students in Stage 1 will
learn to: learn about:
• think about how they can work in similar ways
to artists in their making of artworks
• explore different kinds of subject matter and • how different aspects of the world are
concepts in their making of artworks represented in pictures and other kinds of
• make different kinds of artworks including artworks
Stage 1

paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography,

digital artworks and videos
• extend their skills in using a variety of media, • the properties of a wider range of media,
techniques and tools to create effects that tools and techniques and how artists,
link to things in the world including themselves, can use these to create
various effects
• take into account various factors when talking
about art (eg details within an artwork, what
the work is about and what the artist has
done)

26 The Vase of Flowers Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

Outcomes and Indicators

Making
VAS1.1 Makes artworks in a particular way about experiences of real and imaginary things
• investigates details of objects and other living things eg vases and flowers
• talks about significant features and relationships of objects, referring to such things as
shapes, materials, proportion and colour in their artwork.

VAS1.2 Uses the forms to make artworks according to varying requirements

• experiments with different drawing media including crayons, paint, dyes, rollers, to create
particular effects in an attempt to capture likenesses of things
• explores various printmaking techniques eg paper stencil techniques in silk screen
printing to create one-offs and multiples
• emphasises particular features suited to the purpose of artmaking eg balance, harmony
and contrast in shapes and colours.

Appreciating
VAS1.3 Realises what artists do, who they are and what they make
• talks about artworks made by particular artists and the techniques these artists use eg the
work of Vincent Van Gogh and Margaret Preston.

Stage 1
VAS1.4 Begins to interpret the meaning of artworks, acknowledging the roles of artist and
audience
• recognises that artists explore the world in particular ways in how they approach their
artmaking and in the artworks they make.

Resources
• Prints/postcards of artworks which have floral still life as subject matter eg Margaret Preston’s Still Life,
Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, S & S Wholesales Art Pack Still Life or other prints/postcards available at
galleries across the state
• still life arrangement for classroom; vases of various shapes and sizes
• leaves; paint; brushes; art paper; flowers; oil pastels; vegetable dyes; silk screens; squeegees; printing
ink; scissors; masking tape; tissue paper; adhesive coloured dots; shiny squares; crepe paper;
corrugated cardboard; PVA glue.

Assessment
Key assessment opportunities are marked *.

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work The Vase of Flowers 27

 Visual Arts

Sequence of Learning Experiences

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

To focus attention on the • Have students carefully look at and discuss artworks Any prints or originals
particular qualities of such as Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and the Still Life by that have the subject
different artworks and matter of flowers would
Margaret Preston.
the techniques artists be suitable. Images with
use to achieve these • Guide students in considering: bold shapes and colours
effects – the ways in which the artist had made the artwork would be most effective
given the focus of the
interesting unit
– varied the lengths and shapes of flower stems
– how the artist had used particular media
– the kind of background each artist has used, and
the effect of the background on the vase of flowers
– the way the artist has added contrast, yet created
a harmonious composition.*

To encourage • Have students view a variety of vases and discuss

observation and their shapes. Talk about their symmetry or asymmetry,
discussion about objects
the flatness of the top and the bottom of each vase,
and their qualities
the dimensions of the vases, their transparency and/or
opacity, their colours, the material from which they
were made, and any patterns that decorate the vases.
Stage 1

To work with particular • Have students make a paper stencil for a silk-screen If the teacher is not
techniques and to print. They should draw their favourite vase using familiar with silk-screen
evaluate their printing, a print can be
simple shapes onto a piece of art paper and have
effectiveness made by using a small
them cut the vase shape out. Students may want roller and paint over a
to make more than one stencil, then select the one stencil
which they find the most pleasing and which suggests
the qualities of their favourite vase.

• Use a silk-screen that has been masked to ensure a Guide the students in
clean border. Have students place their cut-out placing the vase shape,
ensuring that enough
shapes on top of the paper on which they will print
room is left on the page
and consider where the vase shape will look the to place additional items
most effective. of the still life such as
stems and flowers. Some
• The vase shapes are printed onto sheets of art paper. students may prefer to
Several prints may be made, the most successful centre the vase while
used for further work. others may choose to
place their vase slightly
off-centre. The first part
of the unit could
conclude here.

To suggest how ideas • Have students collect a variety of leaves with This discussion helps
and use of materials are interesting veins. They cover the backs of the leaves students to decide the
further developed in a with thick acrylic paint of a single colour using a foam most effective method
unit of work for printing leaves.
brush and a dabbing technique. Several prints are
Students will use these
made from the same leaf before adding more paint.
experiments in their
Direct students to practise printing the leaves directly collage work later in the
onto sheets of paper by covering the upturned and unit
inked leaf with paper and rubbing it with their hand.
• Discuss the variety of effects.

28 The Vase of Flowers Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

Again, the focus returns • Have individual students contribute to a class

to particular qualities collection of flowers. Students closely observe the
and the techniques that
variety of flowers. They note their colours, shapes and
can be used to suggest
the qualities of objects textures, their smell, their petals, stamens, pistils etc.
and living things • Have students draw the flowers focusing on the
details of individual flowers, experimenting with oil
pastels, blending the colours with their fingers and
applying one colour on top of another.*

• Have students look again at the flowers to closely Question students about
examine their stems, discussing their colours, the stem shapes and
thicknesses while they
thicknesses and shapes. Have them draw the stems
are drawing
with long vertical lines using coloured crayons and
cover a sheet of art paper.

• Have students observe a still-life arrangement of a They can be shown how

vase and flowers. They discuss its composition and to add tones and/or tints
to suggest form and
examine the relationships between parts eg between
perhaps even try to
flowers, leaves, stems and vase. They identify suggest reflections from

Stage 1
interesting aspects eg contrasts between shapes, the background
colours, textures and lines. Students use oil pastels
(eg black, white with one other colour) to make an
outline drawing of this arrangement over their silk
screen print of the vase.

• Have students return to their stem drawings and Stems should vary in
have them cut out an odd number of stems from length
these drawings. After discussing some of the features Vegetable dye could be
of still-life artworks, such as harmony, unity, contrast, applied to the vase so
that it complements the
variation of levels of the flowers, and focus of printed or plain
interest, the flower stems are glued down on the background colour
previous drawing/print.

• Have students select their favourite flower drawings Flowers should be glued
from earlier in the unit and make their own flowers down on the artwork with
PVA. Students will need
using tissue, corrugated cardboard, crepe paper etc
guidance as to the
to be attached to the drawing/print. Students to different techniques they
consider the whole composition of the artwork as can use for joining parts
they decide how to make the flowers and where they of the flowers
can be placed on their artwork.

• Have students consider how their printed leaves It is important that the
from earlier in the unit could be glued onto the artworks do not become
too busy or overloaded.
artwork to add further areas of interest. Students to
Some discretion may
investigate different arrangements before deciding have to be used
on the position of their leaves.

To investigate • Students evaluate their own artworks.* They reflect Refer to initial questions
connections between the on their use of media within the composition. at the beginning of the
work of other artists and unit
their own artmaking • Display and discuss artworks.

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work The Vase of Flowers 29

 Visual Arts

Links with other Key Learning Areas

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
LT S1.3 Living Things
INV S1.7 Investigating
DM S1.8 Designing and Making
UT S1.9 Using Technology
Undertake a study of a particular plant, graph its growth and write a procedural recount explaining the
process of planting to full bloom
Investigate particular flowers and write an information report.
Design and make a vase of flowers using a range of materials and/or computer-based technology.

ENGLISH
RS1.5 Reading and Viewing
WS1.9 Producing Texts
Locate a range of texts which focus on plants and identify and record in a word bank the adjectives used
to describe their colours, shapes, textures, parts and other features.
Write an information report about a particular flower.

HSIE
CCS1.1 Significant Events and People
Research information about Australian artists, particularly those that work with plants.
Research the floral emblems of Australian states and territories.
Stage 1

30 The Vase of Flowers Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

The Vase of Flowers — Additional Information

Silk Screen Printing
The technique of silk-screen printing involves pushing ink through a fine-mesh screen onto paper or fabric.
An area is masked off by a stencil on the underside of the screen and this remains unprinted. The printing
ink is forced though the screen by means of a squeegee (a rubber-bladed tool) onto the printing surface.
For this unit, the stencil can be made from thin paper or newspaper.

Method for this unit:

• A vase shape made of paper or newspaper is used as the stencil to resist the ink. The image printed is
the background to the vase.
• Alternatively, the vase shape could be cut out of a sheet of paper that is larger than the screen. This
large sheet of paper with the vase-shaped hole could then be used as the stencil, so that the image
printed is the vase shape.
• A sheet of art paper (larger than the screen) is placed onto a smooth, hard surface and the vase shape
lightly placed in position.
• With another set of hands holding the screen in position, the squeegee is placed in the ink and
pulled evenly (at an angle of about 45 degrees) down the screen, forcing the ink through the mesh
onto the art paper.
• The screen is lifted carefully, resulting in a print with blank spaces and flat colour shapes.
• The paper stencil will adhere to the back of the screen. Another print can be made before peeling it
off. Screens must be washed and dried thoroughly before making more prints.
• Students can repeat the process with a clean, dry screen and an alternative vase shape.
• Students examine the vase prints and select the best one for further work.

Stage 1
Classroom Organisation
It is suggested that the process of silk-screen printing be conducted in small groups under the direct
supervision of a teacher as this may be the first time that young students have used silk-screen printing
equipment. Perhaps another activity in the unit could be done while small groups are withdrawn to
complete their silk-screen printing process, or some kind of independent work could be assigned so that
the teacher can assist students in this process. Perhaps two different printing areas could be set sup with
a different colour in each area so that students could then choose their preferred printing colour.

When students are completing the collage flowers and gluing them on their still-life arrangement some
guidance may be required depending upon the age of the students or the extent of their Visual Arts
experiences.

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work The Vase of Flowers 31

 Visual Arts

Stage 2 — Insects and Dragons

Subject Matter: Other Living Things
Unit Duration: 5–6 lessons
Forms: Drawing, Sculpture and 3-D Forms, Fibre

This unit of work focuses on the subject matter of insects and dragons and offers students the opportunity
to explore real and imagined creatures in their artmaking. Students experience insects through their
contact with mealworms in the classroom. This experience offer them opportunities to creatively transform
ideas from 2-dimensional drawings of insects and creatures into 3-dimensional mythical beings using
wire, fibre and fabric. The structure and movement of these 3-dimensional creatures is emphasised and
students are encouraged to create new and original creatures that suggest feelings of power or the
creation of another mood. Students also explore the presence of mythical creatures in artworks from
different times and cultures and appreciate their meaning and purpose within these cultures.

Content
Students in Stage 2 will

learn to: learn about:

• develop their artistic intentions in artmaking • how artists, including themselves, have
and consider how these affect the look of the intentions that affect the look of the work and
work, its details and an audience’s response its details
Stage 2

• how artists think about what an audience may

think about their work when they make art
• select and explore different aspects of subject • how artists, including themselves, can
matter in particular ways in their making of interpret the world in particular ways in their
artworks artmaking
• use particular artistic traditions guided by • traditions associated with different forms
the teacher’s instruction in artmaking, and such as drawing, painting, sculpture,
experiment with techniques, tools and graphic printmaking and digital works
schema (eg in drawing, painting, sculpture,
printmaking and digital works)
• interpret the meaning of artworks by taking • how pictures and other artworks invite
into account relationships between the interpretations from audiences
artwork, the world and the artist

32 Insects and Dragons Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

Outcomes and Indicators

Making
VAS2.1 Represents the qualities of experiences and things that are interesting or beautiful by
choosing amongst aspects of subject matter
• talks about and thinks about their intentions for artmaking and recognises how these
affect their selection of ideas, materials, tools and techniques, and methods of working
• focuses on details of the subject matter of insects and their features
• considers how insects lend themselves to sculptural interpretations.

VAS2.2 Uses the forms to suggest the qualities of subject matter

• experiments with different techniques in drawing
• emphasises certain characteristics and consider how these can be represented as subject
matter using particular techniques and effects
• investigates various construction techniques and spatial arrangements suited to the
interpretation of this subject matter in sculpture.

Appreciating
VAS2.3 Acknowledges that artists make artworks for different reasons and that various
interpretations are possible
• discusses reasons why artists make artworks, focusing on who, where, when, why, how.

Stage 2
VAS2.4 Identifies connections between subject matter in artworks and what they refer to, and
appreciates the use of particular techniques
• identifies resemblances between subject matter in artworks from different cultures
• expresses opinions about how well the subject matter represented in particular forms
refers to the world and appreciates the skills involved to achieve these effects.

Resources
• classroom mealworm display
• factual Big Books of insects
• prints/postcards of artists’ works eg Chinese and medieval artists, and those of Takis and Pol Bury
• Graeme Base’s Discovery Book of Dragons
• photocopier, soft pencils, art paper, long ribbons, crepe paper, paints, inks, brushes, pipe cleaners,
malleable wire, cling wrap, old stockings, socks, beads, straws, felt pieces, buttons, fabric and fibre,
scrap textiles, feathers, sequins, fabric paint, glue, needles, wool, cotton thread, environmental
materials (eg sand, gravel, grasses, seeds, bark, shells, nuts, pine cones).

Assessment
Key assessment opportunities are marked.*

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Insects and Dragons 33

 Visual Arts

Sequence of Learning Experiences

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

To stimulate students’ • Use factual Big Books containing large photographs Record the features that
curiosity about insects of insects. Have students identify features of insects students identify
including the shape of their body parts, the texture
of their skin, the patterns of their wings, the lines of
their antennae, their colours.
To focus on details and • Have students make drawings of insect body parts, Question students about
relationships between shapes, textures or patterns suggesting why certain the details and how they
parts in students’ can represent these
features appeal to them. Students to use soft pencils
observations and using the qualities of
drawings to make these drawings on art paper of different lines, shapes, textures
sizes.* and patterns

• Students study mealworms by observing their These drawing records

features and their transformation into beetles. Have could be kept over time
and may form the basis
students use soft pencils and art paper to sketch and
for some future work that
record the changes that occur at different stages of is time-based. Students
this transformation. could also photograph
the mealworms

To investigate how artists • Have students study artworks of mythical creatures

Stage 2

have interpreted similar by Chinese and medieval artists, and others by Takis
subject matter at
and Pol Bury. They discuss the stories that could be
different times and
places. To learn from associated with these artworks, the common features
these artists and their of the creatures, how movement has been suggested
artworks by the artists and the reasons why the artists have
made these artworks.*

To consider the • Have students use long ribbons of material and This part in the sequence
movement of insects and crepe paper to simulate the movement of insects could be videoed or
other creatures and other creatures, eg use ribbons and crepe paper photographed
to represent ‘squirm’, ‘flutter’, ‘crawl’, ‘scuttle’, ‘fly’,
‘slither’, ‘hop’, ‘swim’. Have students interpret these Students may need some
movements using thinned paint and inks and assistance in these
experiments
brushes of different thicknesses.

To make connections • Have students study the work of Graeme Base in

with students other Discovery Books of Dragons and identify the stories and
experiences features of his creatures, their environment, and the
atmosphere and information he conveys about them.

To develop ideas further • Have students combine photocopied sections Students should be
and to consider of their original drawings of insect parts, create reminded of the
imaginative possibilities new and imaginative creatures and suggest discussions and stories
for artworks related to mythical
characteristics and roles for their new creatures
creatures
eg powerful, tricky, frightened, hard worker, loyal.
• Have students create backgrounds which might
accommodate these insects and indicate where they
might be found and how they might be related to,
and engage with, their environment.

34 Insects and Dragons Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

• Have students try to create a sense of the creature’s

movement through this environment.*
• Assist students to arrange their insect/dragon-like
creatures on backgrounds after discussions about
composition. Students need to think about the ways
in which the creatures relate to the background, how
they can achieve the greatest visual appeal and
impact, and how they can best convey the mood and
feeling which is most appropriate for their creature.

To further develop • Have students examine 3-dimensional toys and

imaginative possibilities creatures that resemble insects and dragons
and for students to investigating how they are constructed. These works
explore 3-D possibilities
should be viewed from different angles. Discuss the
movement of various parts of their bodies eg wings
and tails, and identify their main structural elements.
• Have students work with thick, strong malleable wire It is important for
to a 3-D creature based on their drawings, students to work ‘in the
round’ and for them to

Stage 2
imaginative photocopied works and class
continue to turn their
discussions. Wire is used to create the basic shape
wire construction around
and form of the creature. When students are happy while examining its
with their overall shape, they can wind cling wrap or development from all
stretch an old stocking over the wire framework. angles
• Have students stuff stocking/old socks into the main
structure to provide extra form eg to develop the tail,
ears, wings. Visual impact and surface decoration
can be added with applied fabric paint, sequins
and/or scrap textiles. Antennae can be formed with
pipe cleaners or extra wire.*
To reconsider the • Have students reconsider recent artworks of insects
significance of artists and and dragons and those of medieval and Chinese
their works and how origin. Discuss how these artists created shape and
ideas may apply to their
artmaking
form and how space has been used in these sculptural
works. Consider how relief sculpture, sculpture in the
round and interactive forms involve the audience.
Identify the purposes of the artworks and the
meanings of the works.
• Have students further consider any implications for
their own 3-D work (its space, form and impact) and
refine or rework any sections of the creatures.
To recognise the • Decide with students upon the most effective Invite others to view the
importance of the location for completed 3-D creatures and organise works the students have
audience for students their placement. Creatures may be suspended or made. Have one or two
own artmaking students address the
handheld as props and moved through the
audience about their
environment. Have students discuss the purpose of work and what they have
their creatures and presence as creatures. Consider learnt about and to do in
how they move and their visual impact on others. this unit

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Insects and Dragons 35

36 Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work
 Visual Arts

Links with other Key Learning Areas

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
LT S2.3 Living Things
INV S2.37 Investigating
DM S2.8 Designing and Making
UT S2.9 Using Technology
Investigate the habitat, food, reproduction and other features of different insects and dragons.
Design and make a food chain representation of an insect’s food chain.

Links to Mini-worlds unit in Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus and Support Document p 92.

ENGLISH
RS2.5 Reading and Viewing
RS2.6 Skills and Strategies
Locate, read and discuss a range of literary and factual text, both paper-based and multimedia, that focus
on insects and dragons. Discuss the differences and types of texts, focusing particularly on the descriptive
passages.

Insects and Dragons — Additional Information

The most challenging aspect of this unit of work is the transformation from a 2-dimensional creature into
3-dimensional form. While the manipulation and bending of wire to form 3-dimensional work is a
legitimate form of sculpture (see Bicycles unit), it is used here as the basic shape and structure of the

Stage 2
creature. Very little of the wire may ultimately be seen as most of the body parts will be covered with some
kind of fabric/material.

It may beneficial for students to model their creature out of plasticine or soft clay in order to get a sense
of how body parts relate and to sense how the 2-dimensional ideas can be adapted in the 3-dimensional
form. If students have very little prior experience of 3-dimensional work, it may be worthwhile giving them
the opportunity to construct a sock puppet prior to commencing the unit or before the 3-dimensional
component of the unit. Making a simple sock puppet involves students in the manipulation of materials
such as needles, thread, buttons, ribbons, beads, pieces of fabric. These skills are valuable prerequisites
for the 3-dimensional activities within this unit.

Alternatively, the task of constructing an imaginary 3-dimensional creature could be made more specific
for students. They could explore the various textures of creatures eg slippery, prickly, fluffy, furry, knobbly,
sticky, soft, spiky, smooth, by constructing an imaginary beast which has texture as its most important
characteristic. These activities would allow students to explore and combine materials to achieve the type
of textured creature they have chosen. They could conduct some preparatory research and discussion
which would include looking at different beasts and noting their different textures as well as their shape,
size, mobility, method of protection eg camouflage, strength, speed, cunning, as well as their lifestyle.

Classroom organisation
Organisation of materials in this unit will require careful preparation. Teachers will need to collect all
materials and set them up in such a way that allows for easy distribution and easy access by all students.
Students could also be encouraged to bring items from home which they wish to use in making their
3-dimensional creatures.

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Insects and Dragons 37

 Visual Arts

Stage 2 — Bicycles
Subject Matter: Objects
Unit Duration: 3 lessons
Forms: Drawing, Sculpture

Bicycles in their different shapes and sizes form the stimulus for this unit of work. Students respond
to these objects, generally of great variety and interest to them at this age, from memory and through
observational drawings. In the unit they work towards producing more imaginative kinds of artworks as
linear sculptures using wire. Students are encouraged to think about their own intentions as they
produce these works and investigate and make use of different forms, techniques and media. The unit also
offers opportunities for students to view artworks including paintings, sculptures and photographs made
by artists and photographers, and to consider how the artists/photographers have achieved certain effects.
They can also consider what effects the works have on the them as they view them.

Content
Students in Stage 2 will

learn to: learn about:

• develop their artistic intentions in artmaking • how artists, including themselves, have
and consider how these affect the look of the intentions that affect the look of the work and
work, its details and an audience’s response its details
Stage 2

• how artists think about what an audience may

think about their work when they make art

• select and explore different aspects of subject • how artists, including themselves, can
matter in particular ways in their making of interpret the world in particular ways in their
artworks artmaking

• use particular artistic traditions guided by the • traditions associated with different forms
teacher’s instruction in artmaking and such as drawing, painting, sculpture,
experiment with techniques, tools and graphic printmaking and digital works
schema (eg in drawing, painting, sculpture,
printmaking and digital works)

• interpret the meaning of artworks by taking • how pictures and other artworks invite
into account relationships between the interpretations from audiences
artwork, the world and the artist

38 Bicycles Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

Outcomes and Indicators

Making
VAS2.1 Represents the qualities of experiences and things that are interesting or beautiful by
choosing amongst aspects of subject matter
• talks about and thinks about their intentions for artmaking and recognises how these
affect their selection of ideas, materials, tools, techniques and methods of working
• focuses on details of the subject matter of the bicycle and its particular qualities eg
pedals, tyres, spokes, wheels, seat
• considers how the bicycle lends itself to linear sculptural forms.

VAS2.2 Uses the forms to suggest the qualities of subject matter

• experiments with different techniques in drawing to recall details
• emphasises certain characteristics and considers how these can be represented as subject
matter using particular techniques and effects eg close-up views, enlarging, pattern,
movement
• investigates various construction techniques and spatial arrangements suited to the
interpretation of this subject matter in sculpture.

Appreciating
VAS2.3 Acknowledges that artists make artworks for different reasons and that various

Stage 2
interpetations are possible
• discusses reasons why artists make artworks focusing on who, where, when, why, how

VAS2.4 Identifies connections between subject matter in artworks and what they refer to, and
appreciates the use of particular techniques
• identifies resemblances between subject matter (bicycles) in artworks and the features of
things as they exist in the world, recognising similarities and differences in how things are
represented in the artworks
• expresses opinions about how well the subject matter represented in particular forms
refers to the world and appreciates the skills involved to achieve these effects.

Resources
• Prints of artworks about bicycles eg John Olsen’s The Bicycles Boys Rejoice, Fernand Leger’s The Cyclists,
Jean Metzinger’s The Racing Cyclist
• photographs of bike races and/or racers, video footage of bike races
• bicycles, small bicycle tyres of different sizes such as those from toy bikes
• large sheets of paper and/or card for group printing work, smaller pieces of textured and coloured
card, art paper, soft pencils (2B or 3B) for memory and observation drawings, thin black felt pens for
continuous line drawings, paint, viewing frames, charcoal, black textas, wire, wire cutters, long-nosed
pliers, glue, brushes, crayons, printing sticks (small sections of thick cardboard).

Assessment
Key assessment opportunities are marked *.

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Bicycles 39

 Visual Arts

Sequence of Learning Experiences

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

To gauge the students’ • Have students identify all the parts of a bicycle they
understanding of can think of. Findings are listed on the board eg
relationships between
handlebars, wheels, tyres, frame.
parts that are
remembered and can be • Have students draw a bicycle from memory, trying to
represented in drawing include as many of the identified parts as possible.
To focus moves to • Set up a bicycle in the classroom or take students Discussion should
looking at details in outside to the bike rack. Students carefully observe promote a greater
particular rather than awareness of parts of the
all the parts they have previously identified.
general ways bicycle and their
Additional features can be identified. Students relationships to other
discuss which parts are rough, smooth, shiny, parts
textured, patterned, dark, light etc. They look for and
discuss the various shapes and lines that make up
the structure of the bike and identify the directions
of these lines.
• Students make a large detailed drawing of the
bicycle from observation using pencil, crayon or
charcoal.*
Stage 2

To provide an • Have students compare their memory drawings with

opportunity for students their observation drawings. Discuss the differences
to reflect on their between the two works and consider whether one
different learning
experiences
drawing tells more about the physical qualities of
the bicycle than the other. Discuss what has been
discovered in using the different approaches to
drawing (memory and observation).
To further investigate • Have students use a viewing frame to concentrate on Cardboard cylinders,
details and the use of an interesting section of the bike’s wheel. They look slide mounts or
artistic devices such as a at the lines and shapes between the spokes and cardboard windows make
viewing frame to enhance good viewing frames.
carefully draw what they see, enlarging it to fill the
the formal aspects of the There could be a break in
artwork such as line, page.*
the unit at this point
shape

To investigate different • Use prints or postcards of paintings that are about Some background
ways that artists make bikes such as The Bicycle Boys Rejoice by John Olsen, reading about the
artworks about similar Fernand Leger The Cyclists, and Jean Metzinger interests of these artists
kinds of subject matter would assist in informing
The Racing Cyclist, and compare how the artists have
and to speculate on the discussion with
intentions and meanings made paintings about bicycles in different ways and students. See Additional
with different intentions. Consider some of the Information
reasons why the artists made these artworks and why
they look so different from each other.*

40 Bicycles Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

These appreciating and • Show students photographs of a bicycle race, taken Examples from
making activities from newspapers and magazines. They observe and newspapers or video
reinforce the idea of the clips from news/sports
discuss how the figure sits on the bike, the position
particular in artworks programs would be
including the students’ of the arms, head and body. Have students suggest suitable
artworks the angle the photograph was taken from and why
the photographer would use this angle of view. Have
students consider how the angle of view influences
the visual impact of a photograph or other artwork.
• Students pretend they are in the race and consider Different angles of view
feelings and body reactions as they ride very quickly. could be investigated eg
They pose as if riding the bike and notice the angle above, below, at eye
level. Students could
and position of their spine, arms and legs. They compare the different
make quick sketches with pencils, textas or crayons approaches.
of each other from different viewpoints whilst posing There could be a break in
in a position on the bike.* the unit here
• Look with students at examples of the wire sculpture
work of Calder and discuss how he has drawn lines
through space using wire and how these lines

Stage 2
suggest shapes. Students select one of their quick-
action sketches to develop as a wire sculpture.
To extend the drawing • Examine selected sketches with students and look
experiences into a three- for lines they can emphasise to suggest the position
dimensional experience of the rider and the bike. Have students make a
for students
continuous line drawing highlighting these
important lines, and suggest to them how this kind
of drawing is like drawing in wire.
To explore the malleable • Demonstrate the technique of cutting and bending See Additional Notes
properties of the wire wire and using pliers. Discuss with students how
and its representational sculptors draw with line by using wire. Have students
qualities which are
use thin wire to construct their drawing in space. As
suited to an
interpretation of the they construct their sculpture, students need to view
linear qualities of the their 3-D form from all angles and observe how their
bicycle line suggests shapes.*
To introduce students • Exhibit the sculptures with drawings and invite other
to other audiences for teachers and students to view what students have
their work produced. Nominate one or two students to explain
what they have learnt about in this unit of work.

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Bicycles 41

 Visual Arts

Links with other Key Learning Areas

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
BE S2.1 Built Environments
INV S2.7 Investigating
DM S2.8 Designing and Making
UT S2.9 Using Technology
Explore the local community to identify where specific facilities have been made for bicycle riders.
Investigate what types of facilities are provided in other areas.
Design and make a bike track that could be built in the local area.

PP S2.4 Physical Phenomena

INV S2.7 Investigating
DM S2.8 Designing and Making
UT S2.9 Using Technology
Investigate how gears/cogs make things work. Label parts of a bicycle and other geared toys. Draw
diagrams of different wheeled vehicles that students use. Investigate safety issues associated with riding
bikes.
Design and make a means of transport for the future.

Links to Out and About unit in Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus and Support Document.

HSIE
ENS2.5 Patterns of Place and Location
Stage 2

ENS2.6 Relationships with Places

SSS2.7 Resource Systems
Investigate how the needs of the community and changes in lifestyles, the use of public transport and the
need for bicycle facilities are met.

Links to Cooperating Communities unit in HSIE K–6 Units of Work p 77.

ENGLISH
RS2.5 Reading and Viewing
Identify, read and discuss texts where bicycles feature, particularly those relating to community facilities

PDHPE
SLS2.13 Safe Living
ALS2.6 Active Lifestyle
Discuss reasons why riding a bicycle is a healthy activity.
Discuss rules for riding bicycles and safety issues.

42 Bicycles Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

Bicycles — Additional Information

This unit offers students the opportunity to look at
a familiar object in an unfamiliar way. The wire
sculpture work encourages students to understand
lines and shapes in space, and to express and
manipulate them in a 3-D form. This may give
students the chance to use new and different
materials. They may also want to investigate the
life and work of Alexander Calder (1898–1976) who
was interested in mathematics, mechanics and
engineering. His wire sculptures were often made
of one continuous piece of wire which was bent in
different directions to create a three-dimensional
form. Creating a linear sculpture in wire is like a
‘drawing’ in space. Calder’s Cow (1929) shows a
simple strong wire conveying a humorous
expression. Calder created freestanding sculptures
and was the first sculptor to make mobiles.

Making a Wire Sculpture

Wire comes in a variety of widths and weights. When making a wire sculpture, any wire that can bend,

Stage 2
curve, hold its shape, and be able to be joined and attached to a base is suitable. Wires include
galvanised, aluminium armature wire, soft thin wires, florists’ wire and coathanger wire. Some wires have
extreme flexibility while others are more suitable for providing strength or wrapping around shapes.

After selecting a suitable wire for the artwork, cut the required length with wire snips if the wire is thin, or
metal shears if it is thick, and proceed by bending and securing it with hands or tools. Round-nosed pliers
are used for forming the wire without creases and for creating hooks for joining lengths. Flat-nosed pliers
are used for creating sharp bends. The wire sculpture can be mounted on a firm base with nails or staples,
or suspended for a mobile construction using wire from the fulcrum.

While students are constructing their wire sculptures, they should be encouraged to turn their
construction around to see how it looks from the front, the back, the other side. They should be aware of
the different angles from which their sculpture can be viewed and be aware of ensuring the development
of the ‘whole’ work.

Safety issues need to be considered with the use of wire and wire cutters. Students need to have the
necessary skills demonstrated before use and must exercise care with tools. It is recommended that they
have the opportunity to experiment with the wire and tools before beginning their bicycle sculpture and,
as always, it is important for the teacher to have trialled the use of materials and tools in order to ensure
familiarity.

John Olsen’s painting The Bicycle Boys Rejoice

The following questions may assist in discussion: What do you think the artist intended in this artwork?
What do you see? How do you think the boys are feeling? Where are they? What materials did the artist
use? How did the artist paint the boys and the background? What lines and shapes can you see? When do
you think this was painted? Why? What qualities do you like in the work?

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Bicycles 43

 Visual Arts

Stage 3 — Shovels, Picks and Pans

Subject Matter: Objects, Events
Unit Duration: 5–8 lessons
Forms: Drawing, Painting

This unit has a strong focus on appreciating activities and also offers students a range of experiences in
artmaking. It considers how artists respond to events of significance in their own time and from other
times. The main focus is the era of the gold rush with consideration of how selected artists, including
Julian Ashton and Sidney Nolan, made artworks about the people, the landscape, the tools and the
experiences that had — and continue to have — symbolic meanings for audiences today. The styles and
concepts associated with these artworks are also considered in terms of their relevance to practices in art
in Australia since the nineteenth century. Making activities focus on students’ development of skills in a
range of techniques, including observational drawings, and colour and tonal mixing, further extending
their understanding of concepts that can be applied in artmaking. The unit also provides opportunities for
students to engage in research about selected artists.

Content
Students in Stage 3 will

learn to: learn about:

• think about their artmaking as a kind of social • how artists engage in a form of social practice
practice that employs both their own in making art and contribute to the field of
Stage 3

resources and their understanding of art the visual arts

• apply what they have learnt about concepts in • a range of concepts and subject matter that is
the artworld to their artmaking of interest to the artworld and community
• interpret subject matter which is of local
interest in particular ways in their making of
artworks
• organise and assemble materials in various • how concepts and materials are thought
ways in the making of artworks suited to about, organised and assembled, and serve
particular purposes and think about the different ends in artworks that they and others
meaning of their decisions make
• become critically focused in their judgements • how audiences can form different opinions
about artworks and artists and seek to explain about artworks and artists
their reasons

44 Shovels, Picks and Pans Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

Outcomes and Indicators

Making
VAS3.1 Investigates subject matter in an attempt to represent likenesses of things in the world
• closely observes details of things in the world and seeks to make artworks about these
• utilises different artistic forms and explores how symbols may be used in their
interpretation of selected subject matter
• explores subject matter of personal and social interest from particular viewpoints
including objects, events, places and spaces.

VAS3.2 Makes artworks for different audiences, assembling materials in a variety of ways
• examines a range of concepts and their relationships to selected forms, and experiments
with such things as the expressive use of colour in painting or drawing.

Appreciating
VAS3.3 Acknowledges that audiences respond in different ways to artworks and that there are
different opinions about the value of artworks
• talks about and writes about the meaning of artworks, recognising how artworks can be
valued in different ways, by themselves as audience members, and by others
• identifies some of reasons why artworks are made eg the artist’s personal interest, a work
commissioned for a site, a work made to commemorate an event in a community

Stage 3
• recognises that views about artworks can change over time and are affected by different
theories and beliefs.

VAS3.4 Communicates about the ways in which subject matter is represented in artworks
• identifies and describes the properties of different forms, materials and techniques in
artworks and comments on how these are employed in the representation of subject
matter
• discusses the artist’s intention and/or the use of styles and techniques in selected works
and considers the possible meanings of these works
• discusses how subject matter can mean different things in artworks and seeks to explain
the meanings
• discusses a range of artworks and their subject matter including paintings, drawings.

Resources
• Selected prints/postcards/slides/videos of artists and artworks eg artworks such as The Prospector by
Julian Ashton, and Pretty Polly Mine by Sidney Nolan. Other examples of these artists’ works would also
be beneficial. See Australian Eye video series, prints/postcards slides from galleries across the state
• Tools used in the goldfields or garden tools, prints of other tools
• Art paper, soft drawing pencils (eg 2B, 4B, 6B), paint, brushes, cardboard strips, twigs, pastels,
charcoal, spray fixative, scissors.

Assessment
Key assessment opportunities are marked *.

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Shovels, Picks and Pans 45

 Visual Arts

Sequence of Learning Experiences

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

To consider the • Have students look at a range of artworks by Julian Ashton’s artworks and
contribution of selected Ashton. Students should note the dates of these others produced by eg
artists to Australian art the Heidelberg school
works, the types of subject matter, the use of various
and for students to artists could be
consider the social techniques in his drawings and paintings. Have considered as symbols in
practices artists students record their findings in their the growth of national
engage in diaries/journals. identity.
Ashton’s works could be
• Discuss with students how the artworks reflect
compared with other
interests in Australian history and the characteristics artworks produced at
of Australian life in the late 1880s and 1890s. around the same time.
Students could
• Consider the details in Ashton’s painting of The
undertake some research
Prospector eg the physical stature and stance of the to compare the work of
man, his clothing, activities, the surroundings and these painters eg Tom
how these are painted. Have students consider what Roberts, Arthur Streeton
these types of paintings may have meant at the time and/or Frederick
McCubbin, Jane
they were painted and what they mean today.
Sutherland, Clara
Discuss concepts such as naturalism, realism and Southern. An excursion
the heroic in relation to the features in the painting. to a gallery would be
Consider the techniques the artist uses to achieve useful in assisting
Stage 3

these effects and what the artist knows about artistic students to respond as
traditions. audience members to
original artworks.
To have students identify • Have students look at a range of tools that would Actual objects or similar
details and consider have been used in the goldfields including shovels, types of objects from the
relationships in their pans, pick, gold weights. garden shed could be
drawings and to evaluate used. Students will
how successful these are • Have students explore the qualities of these objects needed to questioned
from different viewpoints concentrating on their use, while they are drawing eg
size, weight, shape, and surface qualities. Have them how large is the object
relative to other objects?
make realistic drawings (eg linear and tonal
How heavy is the object
drawings) of these tools and attempt to show the and how would you show
proportions, weight and relative sizes of the objects. this? What is its surface
Students could also take photographs of the objects like?
from different angles.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the drawings with
students.*
To extend students’ • Have students look at a range of artworks by Sidney Examples could include
understanding of a range Nolan. Focus on such things as how the artist The Ned Kelly Series,
of artistic concepts and explores Australian landscapes, myths and legends outback paintings
for them to apply these including Pretty Polly Mine.
to their own artmaking
in his artmaking and often refers to particular
Students could
historical incidents and events that are still relevant
undertake some further
today. Discuss the techniques the artist uses and research on this artist
compare these with those of the earlier Australian and consider his
painters discussed previously. Consider concepts significance in
such as abstraction and distortion and the Australian art
techniques the artist uses.*

46 Shovels, Picks and Pans Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

• Look at the details in the painting Pretty Polly Mine Discuss terms such as
(1948), and have the class consider how the painting foreground,
is made, giving attention to colours, contrasts and middleground and
background.
meanings relative to the figure and landscape; and
It would be useful to
details of objects in the foreground and background
compare this work with
and their relative sizes. other works produced
To comment on the • Have students consider how the artist has explored around this time and to
approaches artists use to consider how artists
distance in the picture. In particular, students are led
make art and to moved away from trying
to see where the horizon line sits; how the painterly to show a natural image
investigate particular
colours are more muted to suggest distance but are to something more
techniques and methods
of working harshly contrasted with the sky. They can also be expressive, and possibly
directed to see how objects in the distance appear more personal
smaller than those in the foreground, with the
exception of the bird. Have students think about why
the artist may have used distortion in this work.
• Have students make sketches experimenting with the
placement of horizon lines and the location of objects
within an environment considering different effects.

Stage 3
• Demonstrate, using the examples that have been Have students keep
discussed, different painting techniques including these experiments with
applying paint with different implements, mixing annotations about the
techniques in their
tints and tones by adding white and/or black to diaries
colours. Have students investigate colour mixing and
changing tonal values and approaches to using
various tools eg brushes (thick and thin), offcuts of
cardboard, twigs, sponges. These experiments can be
extended to include students learning how to blend
colours using pastels.
• Discuss the results of these experiments.*
To have students apply • Reconsider initial sketches of tools with students
to their own artmaking and have students think about how their drawings
what they have learnt could be further developed by adding colour and
from their appreciation
of artists and their works
tone with crayon or paint and how particular objects
could be distorted for certain reasons.
• Rearrange the tools and have students make large Drawings/paintings where
drawings/paintings of the objects using the charcoal has been used
techniques they have learnt about. should be sprayed with
fixative or hairspray to
• Encourage students to fill the page and to look at prevent smudging
the objects from different and imaginative angles
and viewpoints. Discuss symmetrical and
asymmetrical placements and how artworks can be
more interesting when they are off-centre. Refer to
Nolan’s work.

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Shovels, Picks and Pans 47

 Visual Arts

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

• Have students blend solid areas of colour with darker

tones and highlights to suggest the volume of the
objects. Hatching techniques can be used to suggest
volume and depth and may add further definition (eg
use charcoal pencils).
To reconsider the • Have students use brushes and other tools to make Students could explore
techniques that can be backgrounds using a limited palette of colours natural features in their
used and the meaning of similar to that used by Sidney Nolan. surroundings to develop
the artworks including emphasis and a sense of
how objects and images • Encourage experimentation by mixing a variety of form for backgrounds
may act as symbols oranges, browns and pinks, and using a range of eg rocks, trees, old
buildings.
blues for the sky. Students use offcuts of cardboard
as scrapers to suggest the qualities of different The background may be
done separately from the
objects using light-toned paint. They can also use objects which are then
twigs to ‘scratch’ dark purple, raw umber or burnt cut out and reassembled
sienna paint to suggest the harsh, pointy forms of
trees and other objects in the distance. Small
shredded or crumpled pieces of shiny gold paper
could be added to enhance the symbolic quality of
the work or to highlight features of the work to which
the student artist wants to draw the viewer’s
Stage 3

attention.
• Exhibit the artworks and initial experiments and
invite other classes to view the students’ works.
Have students talk to others about the works which
they think are the most effective, giving reasons for
their views.*

48 Shovels, Picks and Pans Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

Links with other Key Learning Areas

HSIE
CCS3.1 Significant Events and People
CCS3.2 Time and Change
ENS3.6 Relationships with Places
Explore the influence of gold on Australia, including the effects on people and events associated with the
history of gold.
Investigate inventions that resulted from gold discovery in Australia.
Research the countries of origin of the first immigrants to the gold fields.

Links to Gold! Unit in HSIE K–6 Units of Work p 115.

ENGLISH
WS3.9 Producing Text
WS3.13 Context and Text
WS3.14 Language Structures and Features
Encourage work on historical recounts of people from the goldfields.
Develop advertising to encourage workers and prospectors to the goldfields; consider the type of language
structure and grammatical features that would be most appropriate.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

ES S3.6 Earth and its Surroundings
INV S3.7 Investigating

Stage 3
DM S3.8 Designing and Making
UT S3.9 Using Technology
Explore how gold is found, mined and sold in a variety of forms.
Design and make, trial and test a tool that could be used in gold mining.

Links to An Ancient Land unit in Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus and Support Document p 128.

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Shovels, Picks and Pans 49

 Visual Arts

Stage 3 — Making Music

Subject Matter: Objects
Unit Duration: 6–8 lessons
Forms: Drawing, Painting, Collage

The physical and auditory qualities of musical instruments and the experiences of playing them are the
focuses of artmaking in this unit of work. Students respond to the musical objects through investigations
in their artmaking, exploring details of their shape, size, form, texture and sound. Students also view a
range of artworks made by artists including Chagall and Picasso. Students’ understanding is further
developed through their analysis of the compositional devices used by these artists to communicate to
audiences. These devices are then employed in the students’ own approaches to artmaking. The qualities
of abstract works are considered in the unit; students are also required to write about and reflect on their
own artworks and the works of the other artists noted.

Content
Students in Stage 3 will

learn to: learn about:

• apply what they have learnt about concepts in
the artworld to their artmaking

• interpret subject matter which is of local

Stage 3

interest in particular ways in their making of

artworks

• organise and assemble materials in various • how concepts and materials are thought
ways in the making of artworks suited to about, organised and assembled, and serve
particular purposes and think about the different ends in artworks that they and others
meaning of their decisions make

• become critically focused in their judgements • how artworks can be subject to different
about artworks and artists and seek to explain interpretations by artists and audiences
their reasons
• how audiences can form different opinions
about artworks and artists

50 Making Music Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

Outcomes and Indicators

Making
VAS3.1 Investigates subject matter in an attempt to represent likenesses of things in the world
• closely observes details of musical instruments, and seeks to make artworks about these,
using various techniques such as proportion, perspective, composition, foreshortening
• utilises different artistic concepts eg colour, tone, line, scale, abstract, and explores how
these may be used in their interpretation of this subject matter.

VAS3.2 Makes artworks for different audiences, assembling materials in a variety of ways
• examines a range of concepts and their relationships to selected forms, and experiments
with such things as the use of line to suggest form and the abstract use of colour in
painting, drawing and collage
• reflects on how they go about making their artworks.

Appreciating
VAS3.3 Acknowledges that audiences respond in different ways to artworks and that there are
different opinions about the value of artworks
• identifies some interpretations that selected artworks might sustain and acknowledges
that people could respond in different ways.

Stage 3
VAS3.4 Communicates about the ways in which subject matter is represented in artworks
• identifies and describes the properties of different forms, materials and techniques in
artworks and comments on how these are employed in the representation of subject
matter
• discusses artists’ intentions, their styles and techniques in selected works and considers
the possible meanings of these works eg Chagall and Picasso.

Resources
• A variety of musical instruments and photographs and charts of musical instruments
• prints of Cubist artworks eg a print of Three Musicians by Picasso (available in the Art Pack on
Celebrations, supplier S & S Wholesale) and other artworks where the subject matter is about music eg
Picasso’s The Wine Bottle, Still Life with Guitar, Chagall’s painting Green Violinist, and Degas’ The Orchestra of
the Opera. These can be varied as resources permit.
• drawing media: 2B–6B pencils, charcoal, graphite, felt pens, conte and water-soluble pencils
• a variety of papers eg textured, tinted, black, shiny, patterned
• acrylic paint, inks, dyes and brushes
• collage materials including photocopies of music scores.

Assessment
Key assessment opportunities are marked *.

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 Visual Arts

Sequence of Learning Experiences

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

To use ‘iconic’ examples • Have students look at and discuss the works of Artworks such as the
from the visual arts to artists who have used musical instruments as Cubists’ works may be
broaden students’ unfamiliar to students
subject matter in their artworks. Particular emphasis
appreciation of how and may appear strange
ideas are represented in is given to the work of eg the Cubists, Picasso and and funny. The teacher
paintings. To suggest Braque. The teacher and students consider how can encourage students
how multiple views are Picasso overlapped several views of violin/guitar in to consider how multiple
possible in one artwork the one picture. Students study Picasso’s still-life views are overlayed in
works that include musical instruments eg The Wine these works and how
some shapes are reduced
Bottle, Still Life with Guitar. Students speculate on the
to suggest negative
possible meanings of these artworks and how the forms
world is viewed in the artworks.
To develop students’ • Bring musical instruments to class (eg guitar, violin, If the range of
observational skills and clarinet, French horn) for students to draw. Have instruments is limited,
for them to understand students identify the shapes, materials and forms of these can be
relationships amongst supplemented by
musical instruments and consider the relative sizes
parts, and to represent photographs and prints.
these in their drawings. and functions of different parts of the instruments
Tonal and textured
To focus on the (eg knobs, buttons, handles, keys, pedals, effects can be achieved
development of mouthpieces, strings, wood, brass, plastic, silver, by different techniques
particular drawing
Stage 3

gold, wire). such as using the tip of

techniques that assist the pencil to make dots
students in their • Have students investigate the qualities of these (stippling), repeating
representational activity instruments in a series of drawings eg contour short parallel strokes
drawings, continuous line drawings and detailed (hatching) or crossing
tonal drawings. Using a window frame, students draw short lines in many
directions (cross-
an interesting section of their instrument. This is
hatching). Soft pencils
enlarged and changed to fit a shape eg circle.* (2B–3B) are used for
shading by applying
pressure in varied ways
or mixing the grades of
pencil within the picture.
There could be a break in
the unit at this point
To extend appreciating • Have students discuss the possible meanings and
opportunities and compare artworks about individuals playing musical
increase the range of instruments, eg Chagall Green Violinist, Picasso Three
works students have
Musicians and Degas The Orchestra of the Opera.
access to, and for
students to recognise Comparisons are made of: style; the focus of subject
relationships between an matter; composition of the work; viewpoint;
artist’s intentions, how treatment of figures; and the relationship of the
the world is interpreted figure to the instrument. Students may also
in an artwork and what
complete a written comparative account of selected
audiences think
works focusing on the ways the artists have
approached their making of the paintings and
different interpretations audiences may have.*

52 Making Music Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

 Visual Arts

PURPOSE TEACHERS CAN NOTES TO TEACHERS

This further develops the • Have selected students pose for the class playing Drawings take
earlier drawing activities musical instruments. Direct students to look at how concentration; the teacher
and extends students’ should seek to question
the body relates to the proportions and shapes of
understanding of students as they are
proportion and relative the instruments. Students make continuous line working, to improve
size of the figure and drawings in felt pen and large expressive sketches observations and how
instrument using charcoal, graphite or conte crayon on different these are represented.
textured and coloured papers. Water-soluble pencils Drawings can be kept in a
such as Aquarelle pencils have their own unique class folder or individual
folders.
character. These can be used alone or combined with
Students also benefit from
other drawing media.*
making evaluative
• Students develop short evaluative statements about comments about their
what they have learnt in doing these drawings. artworks in progress. A
diary is useful for this
purpose. There could be a
further break in the unit at
this point
For students to recognise • Have students select parts of their drawings of This activity builds on
and apply concepts in art musical instruments to photocopy and enlarge. the earlier appreciating
to their artmaking. These are reorganised into a new composition activities in this unit

Stage 3
showing different viewpoints in the one picture.
Parts are extended, distorted, overlapped, elongated
or eliminated. Following the planning of the
composition, students select collage materials to
apply to the work.
For students to • Assist students to consider their intentions for their
experiment with different collage artworks and the effects of different colours.
surface qualities such as Have them investigate the qualities of different
newsprint, patterned
colours and paint media and make decisions on how
paper, music scores etc,
to make a visually to use acrylic paints, inks, dyes and paint sticks to
interesting surface achieve their intentions.
Students can refine areas • Have individual students talk about their completed Students can record their
of their work following artworks in a class discussion and identify the extent responses to their works,
reflection and evaluation to which their works have visual interest and where and their understandings
gained, in their folders or
improvements could be made to give impact to the
diaries
works. In the light of the discussions, students make
adjustments to their artworks. These could include
such things as re-working an area of paint or
reconsidering an area of collage.
• Prepare an exhibition of artworks.* Have students
discuss the subject matter and use of techniques,
and reflect on what they have learnt in terms of
developing their own works, on other artists and
their artworks, and on how artworks generate
different responses from audiences.

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Links with Key Learning Areas

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
PP S3.4 Physical Phenomena
INV S3.7 Investigating
DM S3.8 Designing and Making
UT S3.9 Using Technology
Investigate how sound is made on a variety of musical instruments. Design and make musical
instruments.

ENGLISH
WS3.9 Producing Texts
WS3.10 Skills and Strategies (Grammar and Punctuation)
Write a personal response to the artworks.

HSIE
CCS3.1 Significant People and Events
CUS3.3 Identities
Research significant Australian artists and musicians and their
contribution to Australian heritage and culture.
Stage 3

54 Making Music Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work

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Stage 3

Creative Arts K–6 Units of Work Making Music 55