PLANNING

GRADE 7 Creative Arts Senior Phase

CAPS CURRICULUM LESSON PLANNING

Lesson Plans, General Planning Tips &

Worksheets

compiled by Cecilia Ferreira

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General Planning Tips for Teachers

a) Lists! Make lists of everything. Lists gives you control over what you

would be needing and lists save us from forgetting important things.

Lists are good for when we run out of certain materials and have to

purchase it, it helps us plan better; lists are good tools for remembering

in general.

b) Use as much visual reference material you can get your hands on.

Visual Material may include books from the library, curriculum text

books or the Internet. Learners find it hard to visualize what we are

teaching when they don‟t have visual material as reference. The

internet is the most effective, fast and reliable source for gathering

information. If your school does not have internet facilities, find a friend

or colleague who might have internet at home. When our schools

cannot provide certain things it is important to turn to our own personal

resources if the school would be able to refund us.

If you are lucky enough to have a data projector at school, use it

regularly. Even if you have to borrow the main projector used for

assemblies etc. Many of us are not lucky enough to have a projector,

but many of us have laptops. When showing visual material to learners

we can gather them around in small groups and show them on our

laptops. If we do not have laptops, we have to make the effort to find

books. Visual material is of the utmost importance when teaching art.

c) Do your planning ahead. If you leave it to the last minute it puts

pressure on you and your planning might not be as detailed as it should

be. Learners can sense when you are not prepared and this causes

chaos in the classroom and a disinterest in the subject. Not all teachers

are good with improvising at the last minute. You will have much more

confidence if you are well prepared.

d) Try to get in touch with other teachers in the Visual Arts field. Two or

three brains put together is always better than one. Sharing of ideas is

important concerning lesson planning.

e) If there is time, try to execute the lesson plan first before presenting it to

the class. If you first do a drawing, painting or sculpture you will be able

to notice where complications might come in later, you will be able to

observe personally where the challenges for the learners would be and

this will make you better prepared. You will also have a physical

example to show to the children, which is often better than examples in

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books. There is no better art teacher than an art teacher who does art

themselves! You don‟t have to be a Picasso to be able to enjoy art and

enjoy the creative process of making something.

f) Try to come up with Ideas yourself. It is always good to use references

and books, but if you can manage to tap into your own personal

creative juices your enthusiasm will carry over to the learners. It is

amazing what they can sense about us. If you are inspired and

enthusiastic they will be too. It we are afraid to try new things, they

would be too.

g) As teachers we are constantly learning. Don‟t hesitate to do research

on your own through books and the internet. In order to teach we

have to be taught. Realize that we are as much students as the

learners are. Study the Curriculum well and make sure that you are

familiar with the terms and topics used.

h) Know your learners well. Know what they are interested in and plan

your lessons accordingly. The Senior Phase learner is often an agitated

one at this age, a learner who can become bored really quickly. We

must try and make it as interesting as possible and the ideal is to come

up with projects that can be fun, projects that they can relate to. We

can only reach our audience (the learners) if we know what makes

them „tick‟.

i) Never be afraid to be a demanding teacher. Tell your principal what

you would need to be able to teach well and if your recourses are

little, try and be creative with substituting that which you are in need of

with something else. Demand that the basics are supplied to you, like

paper, pencils, charcoal and paint. Your demands is for the

betterment of education, never feel reluctant to be very clear about

what you need to be able to realize the aims of the National

Curriculum.

j) Always ask the whole staff and community to contribute. We will often

be in need of recyclable materials for our project. We can even draw

on the back of paper that has already been used. Ask your local

businesses to keep old paper and donate it to you. Ask the learners

and the staff members at school to bring you items such as empty

boxes, bottle tops, empty containers and other items which we can

use in our projects.

k) BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN ABILITIES AND HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELF.

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Grade 7

Still Lifes

For them to write in their NOTEBOOKS:

The definition of Still Lifes:

Visual Literacy

Still Lifes

A still life is a painting featuring an arrangement of everyday objects. It can

be an arrangement of

a) natural objects

(flowers, food, wine, etc.) or

b) manufactured items

(books, bottles, crockery, etc.)

A still life is "anything that does not move or is dead".

Traditionally, some of the objects in a still life were likely to have selected for

their Symbolic Meaning. Discussing the meaning of Symbolism briefly.

Symbolism is when an object or objects in a still life can represent something

else or stand in the place of something else. For instance, cut flowers or a

piece of decaying fruit, for instance, can be a symbol for mortality, or a

symbol for death, or sadness. Using the example of famous artist Vincent van

Gogh, who is very famous for his still lives of sunflowers.

. Discussing the work of 3 world famous artists and comparing different styles

of painting

. Showing learners examples of still lives done by Vincent van Gogh, Picasso

and Henri Matisse

. Working with flash cards testing their knowledge

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Vincent van Gogh

“Vincent van Gogh painted many still lives of sunflowers. His paintings sell

today for hundreds of thousands of British pounds each. He was a Dutch Artist

who only sold one painting during his whole life. He used a lot of paint when

he painted, applying the paint thick, using an expressive style. An expressive

style is when there is a lot of freedom in the way paint is applied, emotion is

shown using rough brush strokes. Vincent van Gogh was an EXPRESSIONIST, or

an artist of EXPRESSIONISM.”

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Pablo Picasso

“Picasso painted some of his still lives in a bound breaking manner. Picasso

was the father of Cubism. Cubism is when an object is being broken down

into geometrical shapes, like sharp edged triangles, cubes etc. Picasso was

famous in his life-time and sold many works. He was Spanish. He was a CUBIST,

or he was an artist part of CUBISM.”

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Henri Matisse

“Matisse was a painter who loved flat colour (colour with no light or dark). He

was a master at pattern making and his paintings are really pretty and nice

to look at. He used simple shapes to decorate his surfaces. He was French

and he was a DECORATIVE artist.”

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. Discussing compositional elements such as focal point, balance

Balance

Learners have to realize that it is important where they place or draw their

objects on the page. One cannot draw the objects really small in the corner

and leave the rest of the page empty. One cannot draw all the objects on

the left side of the page and leave the right side empty. This would be an

unbalanced work of art. A balanced work of art will have the objects spread

out on the page, or more towards the centre, so that when we look at the art

work, it doesn‟t seem like it‟s tilting to the one side.

Focal Point

A focal point in an art work is where you focus goes to when you first see the

work of art. Our eyes can only focus on one part of a picture first. Usually our

eyes will first focus on the brightest colour, or the largest object, or if the work

is very light and one part is very dark, our eyes will first fall on the part which is

the darkest. All works of art must have a clear focal point. If all the objects on

the page is the same colour, the same tone, or the same size, the viewer‟s

eyes won‟t know where to fall first and in general the work of art will be

confusing and slightly boring. Techniques in creating a good focal point:

Make the focal point in the brightest colour

Make the focal point darker than the rest

Make the focal point in more detail than the rest

Make the focal point in a cold colour when the rest of the art work is in warm

colours

Make the focal point larger than the rest of the art work

A focal point has to stand out from the rest.

Contrast

Contrast is the difference between light and dark. An image without contrast

is bland and boring. A good way of bringing objects out and making them

stand out is by the relationship between light and dark. There is always light

coming from somewhere, from some angle, no matter at what time of the

day it is. This contrast between light and dark makes an object appear three

dimensional. Sometimes we have an object that is not very visible, but as

soon as we put a really dark border around it, or when we make the

background really dark, the object stands out immediately. This is due to

contrast.

. Learners will complete a worksheet on the theoretical part of the lesson

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Still Lifes

(Worksheet for learners)

Mark: ______out of 10

Fill in the following:

A still life can be arranged out of generally two types of objects:

1. ________________________objects

2. ________________________objects (2)

Vincent van Gogh is famous for his still life paintings of ______________. (1)

A still life can have symbolic meaning. Explain

this:________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________.

(1)

Name the artist who did the following still lives by writing the artist’s name

underneath the image:

a)______________ b) ________________ c) ________________ (3)

Describe each of the still life styles above and state which kind of painter or painting

style it is (you can use one word or a sentence.)

a) ____________________________________________________

b)_____________________________________________________

c)_____________________________________________________ (3)

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Still Lifes

(Worksheet for teachers with answers)

Mark: ______out of 10

Fill in the following:

A still life can be arranged out of generally two types of objects:

1. organic objects

2. man made or manufactured objects

(2)

Vincent van Gogh is famous for his still life paintings of sunflowers (1)

A still life can have symbolic meaning. Explain this:

Symbolism is when and object can represent, or stand in the place of something

else.

(1)

Name the artist who did the following still lives by writing the artist’s name

underneath the image:

a)Vincent van Gogh b) Pablo Picasso c) Henri Matisse (3)

Describe each of the still life styles above and state which kind of painter or painting

style it is (you can use one word or a sentence.)

a) Expressionism

b) Cubism

c) Decorative art (3)

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Practical:

A) Mark making

Give the learners a piece of scrap paper. This can be the back of

paper that has been used before, or the back of photocopies. We can

use recyclable paper for this exercise, it‟s just a few quick mark makings

to get them to loosen up.

Tell the learners to divide the page in about four to six blocks. In each block

they have to experiment with different mark making. Here are a few

examples:

They can make dots to make marks

They can do cross hatching

They can use their pencil at different angles

They can make strong, dark lines

They can do light, thing lines

They can scribble by making circles over and over again

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B) Discussing volume and light source and different techniques of

shading/

Doing shading exercises accomplishing subtle variations in tone

When we look at objects, we do not only see lines. Learners are often inclined

to do only outlines and they seem to not grasp that there is an „inside‟ to an

object which makes up the volume of an object. This volume we create by

shading, or in other words, making them aware of the light and the dark

areas of an object. We do this by giving the learners shading exercises where

they have to go from dark to light using a pencil. The best and easiest way to

do this is to provide blocks for the learners. The first block must be coloured

really dark, then lighter, then lighter until really really light, or white.

Below is an example of using a grid for shading.

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Grid for shading

(Grid can be cut so that each learner receives about three lines to practise on)

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Learners will execute three different still lives in three different media and they

will been encouraged to experiment with different drawing styles. They will

work from a photograph of a still life (photocopies) and finally they will draw

one still life from real life, which would be set up in the classroom.

Materials needed for the execution of the still lives:

a) White paper, pencil

b) White paper, charcoal

c) Black paper, chalk pastel/oil pastel (Woking with white on black as

opposed to black on white is an interesting variation for them, it also helps

them to understand „negative‟ and „positive‟ space. Positive space is the

actual objects that are drawn and negative space it the area which

surrounds these objects, in other words the background.)

Another interesting exercise before starting the still life, would be to ask them

to blindfold themselves. Give them one look at the still life and then blindfold

them and ask them to draw what they have seen. You can also try placing

an object in a bag and telling the learners to draw the object by just feeling it

with their hands. These exercises are good sensory exercises and are usually a

lot of fun to do. It also teaches them to have confidence and to not care so

much about the outcome of the picture, but to focus more on the process of

making the picture.

Things to consider when setting up a still life in a classroom setting:

1) Use interesting objects with interesting textures, colours and shapes.

2) Use a variation of textures, for instance use a few smooth textures such

as metal objects, or glass with water inside, or pots and pans. Rough

textures can include tree branches, pieces of tree barks or rocks.

3) Set up the still life on a table in the middle of the class room and have

the desks or tables placed around the table in the middle. This way all

learners will be an equal distance from the still life set-up, although all

learners will have a different angle and point of view.

4) Have good light. If your natural light in the class room is low, try using

some lamps, the lamps will not only improve the light, but it can ass

nice drama to the still life, as more emphasis would be placed on dark

and light areas.

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5) If you are going to be busy on the still life for more than one session,

move the table to a corner of the class room and urge the learners not

to touch it or fiddle with it. If the learners are to continue the next week,

or next art period, the objects have to remain in the same position for

them to continue the drawing the next time.

Important things to consider about the project and about the learners:

1) If certain learners cannot execute this lesson at all, do not force them in

any way to do it. Do tell them that they will have to try their best for a

mark. If you see they are trying but they cannot do it, do not put them

down and be very careful not to say negative things to the learner

such as “look at the others, they can do it” or “this is ugly, start again.”

Remember that Art is a compulsory subject at this level and many

learners have little talent for drawing.

2) Urge the learners to do this very slowly. Many of the learners at this level

rush their drawings and they are very quick to say “I‟m finished.” Urge

them to return to their tables or desks and to really try and observe well.

Tell them to concentrate on where the light and dark areas are, tell

them to observe the background carefully etc.

3) Always make them at ease by saying that nobody in the class will fail if

you can see that they are trying their best. When assessing the works,

also keep this in mind. If there is a drawing that is lacking in all the

aspects, but you know the learner and you‟ve been observing the

learner and you know that he/she really tried his best, it might be

necessary to pass the learner, even if with the minimal pass

requirement. Certain learners are really enthusiastic and willing to try,

but they still fail to execute the project.

4) When a learner is disinterested and is not willing to try at all, it will be

necessary to fail the learner. Many learners feel that art is “not a real

subject”, and they are willing to put in effort for maths, or science and

languages, but not in art. This should not be tolerated. We cannot give

points or marks away for free.

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Grade 7

Visual Literacy: Art as heritage Discussing the work of George Pemba and Fred Page, two famous artist from

the Port Elizabeth area

This visual literacy lesson is just a bit of interesting facts about two interesting

artists from the Port Elizabeth area. We can just give short biographies of the

two artists and show the learners some of their work. These two artists are

important figures, because they are from this area and they „belong‟ to the

heritage of the Eastern Cape. The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Museum has

collections of original art works created by these artists and perhaps we can

discuss with the learners how heritage should be PRESERVED.

George Pemba

Pemba was born in 1912 in Hill's Kraal, Korsten, Port Elizabeth. As a child he

was encouraged by his father to draw and paint, and so began painting

murals in the family house and producing portraits from photographs of his

father's employers. He won a Grey Scholarship, which enabled him to receive

post primary education, and in 1931 he obtained a Teacher's Diploma at the

Lovedale Training College in the Eastern Cape. That same year he began

working for the Lovedale Printing Press, and continued to work there until

1936. The following year he studied under Professor Austin Winter Moore for

five months at Rhodes University, made possible through a bursary awarded

from the Bantu Welfare Trust. Pemba was awarded a second bursary in 1941.

This time he spent two weeks at Maurice van Essche's studio in Cape

Town attending art classes.

During the 1940s he met John Mohl and Gerard Sekoto, who encouraged

him to work as a full-time artist, however during this time he worked for the

Native Administration in Port Elizabeth as a clerk. From 1952 to 1978 he

supplemented his income selling groceries in a shop. Following that, Pemba

taught art to children at the S.A. Institute of Race Relations and in 1979 was

awarded an Honorary Master of Arts Degree from the University of Fort Hare.

A highly successful exhibition of paintings from the 1940s onwards, was held

at The Everard Read Gallery in 1991. In 1992 a second exhibition served to

commemorate his 80th birthday, which was also celebrated with the artist at

the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum.

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Works by Pemba:

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Fred Page

Fred Page is best-known for his eerie images which, according to one critic,

have made him known as „a kind of Hitchcock among painters‟. Page

always used a limited colour range in his work, mostly employing either

tempera or acrylic. The artist often claimed that he limited his palette to

black and white because of his dire financial circumstances. Page‟s early life

was unsettled. He lost his mother when he was ten, and was passed from

relative to relative, even spending some time in an orphanage in Dundee.

As an adult Page moved from one job to another, and spent some time in

the military. He first arrived in Port Elizabeth, the city with which his art is now

synonymous, to work in a tyre factory in 1937. When war was declared in 1939

he rejoined the military, serving in the Signal Corps. It was only after the end

of the war in 1945 that he decided to become an artist. He held his first solo

exhibition in 1960, followed by many others.

Most of Page‟s paintings feature spaces defined by architecture, usually

using the older quarter of Port Elizabeth as a point of reference. Figures do

not always appear in these settings, but when they do occur they have little

logical function and enhance the intended sense of oddness and disquiet. It

has been suggested that Page‟s subject-matter in his work is linked to his

interest in literature, and that „his reading habits enabled him to develop a

catholicity of taste that admitted any influence, regardless of style or period‟.

He was an avid reader of science fiction, especially Sheridan le Fanu and

H.P. Lovecraft, as well as Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll and, not unsurprisingly,

Edgar Allan Poe.

This small work by Page in the Campbell Smith Collection (plate 98) is painted

in gouache on paper, and dates from the year of his first solo exhibition. It is

remarkable within Page‟s oeuvré for the high proportion of yellow ochre used

in the foreground. The heightened mood suggested by this use of colour, as

well as the long shadows thrown by the trees, recalls the comparisons often

drawn between Page‟s work and that of the Italian metaphysical painter,

Giorgio de Chirico (1888–1978). The bleak, harshly-lit landscape with its row of

low-economic houses, however, is not of the old colonial quarter of Port

Elizabeth, but suggests a „township‟ in a semi-rural area. The black, leafless

state of the trees, on which hang tattered rags, as well as the random

scattering of white stones on the ground, indicate that some violent

cataclysmic event has just passed. Painted in 1960, it seems possible that

Page painted this small picture in response to the Sharpeville riots of that

year. If so, this is one of the more overtly political paintings by an introverted

white artist who seems on the visual evidence of his work to have been wholly

apolitical.

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Works by Fred Page

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African Masks and Body Adornment

For them to write in their NOTEBOOKS:

The definition of African Masks

African masks are a popular art form. Elaborately carved and decorated

masks have been made in Africa for thousands of years. Most African masks

are made by unknown artists and creating masks is a highly respected skill.

Masks can vary in size, shape and mediums including fabric, metal, various

woods, and leather.

Masks will usually show the faces of spirits - a god, an ancestor or an animal.

Artists carve and paint each mask in a particular way, so people know which

spirit it is meant to be. They believe that if you put on a mask, the spirit is

revealed and it will enter your body.

Masks covered a person's face and were designed to represent ancestors or

to symbolize mythical beings. Carved from wood and decorated with

grasses, feathers, or animal skins, masks were painted with intricate designs of

many colors. Unlike body painting, tattooing, and scarification, masks were

designed not to beautify but to look dramatic and imposing.

The faces carved on masks often have distorted features.

. Discussing the definition of body adornment and comparing it to fashion

. Discussing the symbolic meaning masks and adornment

Showing them visual stimuli and images of masks

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African Masks (Worksheets for learners)

Mark: ______out of 40

Fill in the following:

Masks will usually show the faces of spirits -

It can be a spirit representing a...

a) ________________________

b) ________________________

c) ________________________ (3)

Unlike body painting, tattooing, and scarification, masks were designed not to

beautify but to look _____________. (1)

Masks are usually made out of ______________________ (1)

And decorated with objects such as…..

a)

b)

c) (3)

True or false?

Masks are an art form that is very valuable and collected by art dealers.________

(1)

Masks are a new art form which began in the 20th century.__________________

(1)

Take three pieces of paper and make three different designs for masks or take one

large paper and make one design. Remember to use distorted features and to

decorate it with intricate lines and dots and patterns.

Colour the mask designs.

(30)

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African Masks (Worksheets for teachers)

Mark: ______out of 40

Fill in the following:

Masks will usually show the faces of spirits -

It can be a spirit representing a...

a) god

b) ancestor

c) animal (3)

Unlike body painting, tattooing, and scarification, masks were designed not to

beautify but to look dramatic or imposing.

(1)

Masks are usually made out of wood (1)

and decorated with objects such as…..

a) grasses

b) feathers

c) animal skins

(3)

True or false?

Masks are an art form that is very valuable and collected by art dealers. True (1)

Masks are a new art form which began in the 20th century. False (1)

Take three pieces of paper and make three different designs for masks. Remember to

use distorted features and to decorate it with intricate lines and dots and patterns.

Colour the mask designs.

(Learners can make three drawings for 10 marks each or one large drawing for 30

marks.)

Assessment for these drawings should be for the use of bright colour, strong lines,

detail, decoration and overall strength in appearance.

(30)

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Practical

. Doing sketches first (a design) of their own creations, masks they draw

themselves etc. (see worksheet above, Learners can make three drawings for

10 marks each or one large drawing for 30 marks.)

The learners will take an A3 piece of paper and do a sketch, or a design of

their own creation for a mask. They should design their masks themselves,

based on visual material which was shown to them. They should keep the

following in mind when doing their designs:

The shape of the masks

How they will decorate it with patterns, using the same type of patterns as

used in beadwork etc. from the Eastern Cape

What materials they would need and bring from home to make the design of

their mask into 3D.

The design of the masks will be seen as part of the process and can also be

given a mark.

. Creating a 3D mask in their own design created out of recyclable

objects. Learners will construct the masks which they designed out of recyclable

objects. This will force them to look at shapes in their mask designs and to find

an object that relates to this shape. After they have constructed this, they

can paint and decorate it in African Patterns. Below are some examples of

masks constructed with recyclable objects.

Materials needed for this project:

Good quality white wood glue

All kinds of ‘rubbish’ to recycle.

Here is a list of things which the learners can bring from home: (Encourage

the learners to always bring these sort of thing from home, it is good to always

have a good supply of these objects in the art room.)

Old pieces of fabric

Bottle tops

Can lids

Any type of boxes

Two litre boxes

Empty yogurt containers

Egg boxes

Ice cream sticks

Any other interesting objects with interesting shapes.

Plastic Beads

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