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Teachers Notes:
Activity 1 - Bubble Printing:
(Aimed at EYFS/KS1 classes)
Lesson Focus: Creating a under the sea background with a focus on exploring colour
Starter Activity - Read the book 'Under the sea' with the children and get them to think about the patterns and colours they can see in the backgrounds of the illustrations. How do you know they are under the Ocean?
Use the Let's Read page for a reading of the book and an example starter activity you could do.
Here are some example pages you could focus on.....
- Ask children what common colours and textures they see
and what colours and patterns come to mind when they
think of an underwater scene.
- Discuss the technique of Bubble Printing with the children and get them to think about the shapes and colours they may use to create an under water background. Show them some examples from the Lets make page to help them visualise this.
Main Activity -
Following on from the discussion about the background scenes seen in the book , give them a step to step guide and demonstration of how to print using bubbles.
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Use the Let's Make resources if you are not confident to demo to the children.
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- Encourage children to experiment with colours as well as shapes/designs, they can use 2 or more colours and even mix them together.
- You may like to show the children a colour wheel to help them make decisions to create a desired effect
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* You can carry out this technique in any way you would like. An alternative idea is to use bubble wrap or even use shaving foam to create a slightly different effect that looks more like waves etc.*
After Lesson -
Get the children to present their artwork to the other children.
- Get them to describe the process they went through and which pictures they used for a source of inspiration.
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*You may choose to use this lesson as an introduction to printmaking. You could progress children further in a sequence of lessons to use some of the different printmkaing techniques to create some characters that may feature in their under water scene.
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This is a good chance to make a cross curricula link to English where children may write about the picture they have created, using it as an illustration.*
Activity 2 - String Printing:
(Aimed at KS1/KS2 classes)
Lesson Focus: Andy Warhol and his use of repeated patterns.
Starter Activity - Get children to look at Andy Warhol's work and pick out some pieces they like. Get the children to discuss what they notice about some of his images.
- Focus on a repeated piece he has created using a range of colours. For example.......
Get the children to identify what they notice ( A repeated pattern in different colours)
Also discuss Warhol's links to printmaking and define this technique - Use the Let's Explore page to help with this.
Main Activity -
Following on from the discussion about Warhol's use of repeated patterns and colours as well as the process of printmaking
that he uses, introduce children to the technique of string printing.
- Discuss the technique and do a demonstration to show them how they can manipulate the string in different ways and use other materials to create slightly different effects e.g. Cotton or clay (depending on what resources are available).
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Use the Let's Make resources if you are not confident to demo to the children.
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Allow the children to play with the materials and work with manipulating them as this can be tricky.
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Then get the children to make their own stamp - this can be based on any theme or topic but you may want to use the illustrations from the books on the Let's Read page for shape inspiration and ideas linked to the 'under the sea' theme.
- Take photos of the children creating their stamps - ALWAYS VALUE THE PROCESS!
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* Encourage children to experiment with the colours they are using for example, repeating but in different colours or layering colours using the same stamp - To aid with experimentation/adaptation ideas refer to the 'why not try' box on the Let's Make page.*
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After Lesson -
Create an Andy Warhol inspired gallery which showcases the children's work as well as the stamps they created which show the process they went through to get to the final product and the technique they used.
Activity 3 - Mono Printing:
(Aimed at KS1/KS2 classes)
Lesson Focus: Printing an outline shape using the technique of mono printing.
Starter Activity - Get children to look at Henri Matisse's work and pick out some pieces they like. Get the children to focus on his work which is made via the process of printmaking - Use the Let's Explore page to help with this.
- Focus on a some pieces that have a simple outline that could be recreated easily by
children. For example.......
- Discuss the technique of Mono Printing, could this technique have been used to create
these pieces of artwork?
Main Activity -
Following on from the discussion about Matisse's use of printmaking and the pieces he creates, discuss how the children will have the opportunity to do similar using Mono Printing.
- Discuss the technique and do a demonstration to show the two different methods and the effects they therefore create. You can show them more detailed or less detailed design ideas depending on ability.
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Use the Let's Make resources if you are not confident to demo to the children.
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* This technique can be tricky and take a while to create a perfect piece which shows a clear design. Use the time for children to experiment with the technique and practice the different methods.*- ALWAYS VALUE THE PROCESS!
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- Encourage children to experiment with colours as well as shapes/designs.
You can give the children any theme or topic to focus on, or use the Let's Read page for 'under the sea' topic inspiration - Get the children to focus on bold outlines and shapes that they see within the illustrations.
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After Lesson -
Do an artwork carousel where the children walk round a gain inspiration from other people's artwork.
- Get them to reflect on the process as well as their creations, what went well? What do they want to work on? How could they adapt their technique next time? - Get them to gain information from peers on certain designs and effects that have been created well.
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Advice - Use this as Lesson 1 in a sequence of lessons where the children can simply experiment with the technique. The next lesson could be used to plan a final outcome or design based on a theme.
Activity 4 - Body Printing:
(Aimed at EYFS/KS1 classes)
Lesson Focus: Using hands and feet to create an under the sea creature.
Starter Activity - Read the book 'Commotion in the Ocean' with the children and get them to think about the shapes and patterns they can see. Use the Let's Read page for a reading of the book and an example starter activity you could do.
- What do the animals look like? What patterns and features do they have.
Here are some examples you could focus on.....
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- Discuss the technique of Body Printing with the children and get them to look at their hands and feet, thinking about the shapes and how they could recreate on of the commotion creatures using these. Show them some examples from the Let's make page to help them visualise this.
Main Activity -
Following on from the discussion about the character's seen in the book and the shape of the children's hand and feet, give them a step to step guide and demonstration of how to print using their body.
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Use the Let's Make resources if you are not confident to demo to the children.
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- Encourage children to experiment with colours as well as shapes/designs, they can use 2 hands or a mixture of both hands and feet
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* You can carry out this technique in any way you would like. An alternative idea is to let the children dance in paint using their hands and feet without certain shapes and creatures in mind and then turn them into animals at the editing stage.*
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- When editing the prints to create different creatures, allow the children to use a range of different media and even add some more paint and use their fingers to create a dotted print for example.
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After Lesson -
Get the children to present their artwork to the other children.
- Get them to describe the process they went through and which animals/pictures they used for a source of inspiration.
Activity 5 - Foam Printing:
(Aimed at KS1/KS2 classes)
Lesson Focus: Creating a sea creature using Foam printing.
Starter Activity - Get children to look at Pablo Picasso's work and pick out some pieces they like. Get the children to focus on his work which is a combination of features from different people/animals - Use the Let's Explore
page to help with this. For example.......
- Define Printmaking to the children and discuss Pablo Picasso's link to this technique and
how these pieces could be created through this media.
* If you are covering the under the sea topic, read one of the picture books from the Let's Read page with the children and get them to think about how they could combine the creatures they see within these in a Picasso style piece.*
Main Activity -
Following on from the discussion about Picasso's work and the pieces he creates, discuss how the children will have the opportunity to do similar using the technique of foam printing.
- Discuss the technique and do a demonstration to show the method and the scope it has to create different, detailed effects t. You can show them more detailed or less detailed design ideas depending on ability.
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Use the Let's Make resources if you are not confident to demo to the children.
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ALWAYS VALUE THE PROCESS - Encourage children to experiment with colours as well as shapes/designs.
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You can give the children any theme or topic to focus on, or use the Let's Read page for 'under the sea' topic inspiration.
- If using under the sea, get the children to create a variety of foam stamps featuring different features of animals and get them to print them onto one page creating a patchwork effect piece alike to Picasso's work that they viewed earlier on.
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After Lesson -
Do an artwork carousel where the children walk round a gain inspiration from other people's artwork.
- Get them to reflect on the process as well as their creations, what went well? What do they want to work on? How could they adapt their technique next time? - Get them to gain information from peers on certain designs and effects that have been created well.
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