The Big Book of Primary Club Resources: Creative Arts

Fe Luton, Lian Jacobs

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138318847
• eBook ISBN: 9780429845123
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Didattica
• Subtopic: Didattica generale

These days, running a club is an accepted part of the teacher's remit, adding additional pressure to an already substantial workload. The Big Book of Primary Club Resources: Creative Arts aims to ease that burden, providing a simple and clear week-by-week plan for creative arts focused clubs.

Each chapter aims to explore the creative arts in a context that complements classroom practice without specifically following the National Curriculum. Containing two years' worth of club sessions, this book is a quick, accessible and easy-to-use guide which provides clear and creative ideas, all of which are easy to resource, set up and run. A myriad of art forms is covered, including:

• Textiles
• Collage
• Photography
• Artist and illustration study
• Sculpture
• Abstract and 3D art

All activities are adapted for three age groups (4–7 years; 7–9 years and 9–11 years) and achieve highly satisfying outcomes for pupils. Taking the strain out of club planning, this book is an invaluable resource for teachers and teaching assistants running clubs for children aged 4–11.

1 Illustration

Over the course of this block, children will create and illustrate their own version of a traditional tale, drawing their inspiration from six well-known children’s illustrators. During each session, they will explore the work of a different illustrator, and then try out some similar techniques to create an illustration to include as the next page of their own books.

This block includes the following sessions (key resources underneath):

1. 1 Lauren Child: collage and drawing
   1. Picture books by Lauren Child; food, home, travel and clothing magazines; fabric scraps; wallpaper; wrapping paper; crayons; watercolours; glue sticks; scissors; paper or card
2. 2 Eric Carle: colour combinations and collage
   1. Picture books by Eric Carle; large sheets of paper; poster paints; paintbrushes; scissors; glue sticks
3. 3 Quentin Blake: ink and watercolours
   1. Sample Quentin Blake illustrations (ideally including some examples in colour, such as from The Enormous Crocodile); waterproof ink pens (you can use biros if ink is not available); watercolours; paintbrushes; watercolour paper
4. 4 Nick Sharratt: cartoon art using pens
   1. Picture books by Nick Sharratt (try to have copies of Pants, Socks and Ketchup on your Cornflakes? among others); drawing pencils; pens and felt tips
5. 5 Oliver Jeffers: painting and pencil
   1. Picture books by Oliver Jeffers; paints: watercolours, acrylic and poster; coloured pencils
6. 6 Jan Pien´kowski: contrasting colours and cut-outs
   1. Picture books by Jan Pien´kowski; coloured paper (preferably gummed bright paper); glue sticks

In preparation for this block gather together sample picture books for the following illustrators:

• Lauren Child (e.g. Charlie and Lola books)
• Eric Carle (e.g. The Hungry Caterpillar)
• Quentin Blake (e.g. most Roald Dahl books)
• Nick Sharratt (e.g. Pants; Ketchup on Your Cornflakes?)
• Oliver Jeffers (e.g. Lost; On the Way Home)
• Jan Pien´kowski (e.g. Meg and Mog books)

You will also need two sheets of A3 paper or thin card, per child, to create the children’s books. Each week their illustrations and story writing will be stuck into this book.

Session one
Lauren Child: collage and drawing

This week children will choose which traditional tale they would like to work on during the block as whole and divide it into six scenes (one for each week of the block). They will then illustrate the first of them, drawing their inspiration from techniques similar to those used by Lauren Child in her Charlie and Lola and Clarice Bean books. She creates her illustrations using mixed media, including: fabric, photographs, collage, drawing and watercolours.

Resources needed

Picture books by Lauren Child; food, home, travel and clothing magazines; fabric scraps; wallpaper; wrapping paper; crayons; watercolours; glue sticks; scissors; paper or card

Activity

1. 1 Explain that in this block, children will create and illustrate their own version of a traditional story. Explain that they will continue their story each week using a different illustrator’s style for each page
2. 2 Get children to choose a traditional story and split it into six key parts. Help younger children if they find this tricky
3. 3 Show children examples of Lauren Child’s work and ask what they like about them. Then ask how they think Child creates her images. Choose a page from one of her books and highlight the range of media she has used (photos, fabric, drawings, etc.)
4. 4 Children plan their illustration by creating a rough sketch, deciding which parts will be drawn (outlined in crayon) and cut out, which will be patterned paper or fabric, and which will be cut-out images. Once they are happy with the plan, they can begin
5. 5 Once the illustration is complete, children write a sentence for the first part of their story. Then photograph or scan each picture. Print these off to create the final page
   1. 4–7 years – children create a background with a drawn main character and one or two cut-out items. They write a simple opening sentence
   2. 7–9 years – children create a background with a wall and a contrasting floor. They include one item of furniture and other cut-out objects. Children draw at least two characters. They write an opening sentence using creative story language
   3. 9–11 years – children create a multi-faceted background and include several items of furniture and other objects. They use a range of media and draw at least two interacting characters. Children write their opening sentences using creative story language and humour

Key questions

• What will the illustration tell us in addition to the words of the story?
• How will you decide what media to use for the different parts of the illustration?

Helpful hints

• Encourage children to lay out their pages first before sticking anything down

Figure 1.1 Collage with mixed media

Figure 1.2 Collage with mixed media

Prep for next session (Eric Carle)

Ask children to find any Eric Carle books, cards, fabrics or prints that they may have at home

Session two
Eric Carle: colour combinations and collage

For the second double-page spread in their self-illustrated traditional tales, colourful will be the order of the day. Eric Carle, best-known for his brightly coloured picture books, including The Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, will provide the inspiration, as children paint sheets of paper with bold, swirled colours, and then cut and layer them to form distinctive collaged images.

Resources needed

Picture books by Eric Carle; large sheets of paper; poster paints; paintbrushes; scissors; glue sticks

Activity

1. 1 Show children Eric Carle’s books and ask what they notice about the illustrations. How does his use of bright colours impact on the reader? How do they think Carle has created the images? Explain that he paints the colours onto paper first by mixing and swirling the paint, and then cuts it up and creates his illustrations through collage
2. 2 Explain that today children will continue their story from the previous session, creating an illustration using similar techniques to Carle’s
3. 3 Get children to plan their illustrations, deciding which coloured pages they would like to create and which shapes they will need to cut out. They can then go wild, creating an array of painted pages by mixing and swirling paint colours (see Figure 1.3). While these dry, children can write out the words for this section of their story
4. 4 Children cut out the shapes that they need from their sheets of painted paper to create their collage. Even if the pages are not completely dry by this point, they should be fine to cut out and stick down
   1. 4–7 years – children create two main characters or elements by combining colours using swirling paint movements and collage. They write a sentence to accompany each illustration
   2. 7–9 years – children create illustrations that show the interaction of two elements or characters. They write the words to their story using creative story language
   3. 9–11 years – children develop illustrations showing interactions of multiple characters and elements. They write their story using creative story language and humour

Key questions

• How will the colours you choose affect the overall feel of the illustration?
• What shapes will you cut out?

Helpful hints

• Encourage children to use very thin layers of paint, as they will dry much quicker

Figure 1.3 Swirled painted paper

Figure 1.4 Collage with painted paper

Prep for next session (Quentin Blake)

Ask children to find any books illust...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of contributors
• Introduction
• 1 Illustration
• 2 Collage
• 3 Recycled art
• 4 Abstract art
• 5 3D art
• 6 Textiles
• 7 Artist study: Wassily Kandinsky
• 8 Printing
• 9 Photography
• 10 Self-portraits
• 11 Sculpture
• 12 Nature art