GARDENVALE PRIMARY SCHOOL
MICHELE JONES - VISUAL ARTS COORDINATOR

AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPES UNIT - LEVEL 4

As part of a Senior School Level 4 Integrated Unit, entitled "Australian Landscapes", students spent Term 1 in the art room investigating and exploring the following landscapes: -

Rainforest landscape Desert landscape Bush landscape Coastal landscape Cityscape

Levels 1 - 4 at Gardenvale Primary School undertake four CSF 11 Integrated Units each year. Team planning days are allocated each term and specialist teachers use these plans, (which are electronically recorded), as a basis for specialist programs.

As Visual Arts Coordinator, I studied the Level 4 unit plan and after consultation with the level coordinator (to clarify certain aspects of the unit) and the Information Resource Manager (to ascertain the availability of resource materials/kits/calendars/software etc.), I was able to create my unit plan to distribute to the teachers in this level.

AUSTRALIAN RAINFOREST LANDSCAPE

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. A4 cartridge paper (For best results use a heavy quality or even infant squares card)
2. Assorted card scraps
3. Foam trays for paint storage and mixing
4. Paint - including at least 3 different greens, black, brown, white and yellow.
5. Dry pastels or artist chalks in greens, greys, browns and black
6. Assorted collection of dried ferns, grasses, leaves and bark
7. Sheets of "Rainforest" paper (available from C.A.M.)
8. Black cover paper for the backing mount
9. PVA glue / scissors / hand staplers / drawing pencil
10. Scrap paper for experimenting with printing techniques
11. Collection of rainforest pictures, post cards and calendars

PROCEDURE:
Display a wide range of rainforest resource material and tree fern foliage on benches/notice boards prior to students commencing art session. Play rainforest tape music (available from Australian Geographic stores) and crush leaves to create a sensory experience when the students arrive. I actually purchased a large plastic green tree frog, which croaks when you walk past as its sensor is activated and he has become part of our rainforest display in the office foyer! Needless to say the frog is a huge hit with the students and especially to all the unsuspecting visitors who climb the staircase!!!

Having giving the students time to take in the displays, a discussion and brainstorming session then followed, to draw their awareness to the plants, colours, temperature, odour and light conditions of Australian rainforest landscapes.

The students then returned to their tables and folded a piece of scrap paper to create 8 boxes. Using a pencil, their task was to draw a texture, line or shape that they recognised in the rainforest pictures. (You could photocopy pictures to be shared with groups of students for this task). This exercise should only take 5 minutes and when completed, students placed their work in the centre of a floor space and observed, discussed and offered opinions about each other's interpretations.

The next task involved experimenting with card printing techniques - once again on scrap paper. If you are really pushed for time, you could leave this stage out. However, students who are not normally risk takers and who have never printed with card before, greatly benefited from being given the opportunity to explore this technique in draft mode! Discuss such vocab as fold, bend, drag, pivot, dab, swirl, dot, flick and curve when referring to how the card can be used. Discuss how blending a range of paint colours creates that damp, dark, lush rainforest appearance. While walking around, hold up examples showing a variety of prints to inspire greater risk-taking and experimentation. Give students only 5-8 minutes at this stage.

Before students started printing on to their sheet of cartridge, they created a background by smudging a variety of colours using artist chalks or dry pastels Greens with a layer of brown and then a light layer of black looks great, but encourage originality!

Now for real printing! Students began by printing the tree trunks first and they then added the rainforest floor vegetation. Then they were on their own! The results were amazing and well worth the preparation time beforehand.

When the rainforest scene had been completed, students glued the finished work to the black cover mount. Using glue or a hand stapler, students were encouraged to "frame' their print with dried leaves, twigs and bark to create an almost 3D effect. To add the finishing touch, students cut out and glued butterflies, lizards or tree frogs from the C.A.M. "Rainforest papers" collection.

The final stage to this session was a reflection and discussion time. Students were encouraged to explain their techniques and ideas, while receiving positive feedback from their peers. Students were free to offer comments about the activity and share their feelings about their artwork.

As a finishing off activity, I showed the classes a collection of artist Ken Done's interpretations of an Australian rainforest landscape and we chatted freely about the techniques he may have used to create various effects. It was interesting to note that many of the students felt that their representation of a rainforest was equal if not "superior" to Ken Done's work and this led to a short but fascinating discussion about what determines a "work of art" and personal taste issues!!!!

The rainforest landscape artwork was completed in one 100-minute session. Students at Gardenvale Primary School all receive a 100-minute visual arts session once a fortnight. Artwork that was not displayed throughout the school was returned to each class with an accompanying sheet, containing a description of the activity, which teachers could enlarge, and display in the class or adjoining corridor. Linking visual art sessions to Integrated Units at each level, certainly has many advantages, as it supports and enriches existing programs, allows students to become immersed in the unit and adds relevance and meaningfulness to artwork being undertaken.