Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 1
Creative arts: drawing, painting and simple crafts – Week 1 focus
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Creative arts: drawing, painting and simple crafts – Week 1 focus
Download the Lessonotes Mobile South Africa app for faster lesson access on Android and iPhone.
Subject: Life Skills
Class: Grade 1
Term: 2nd Term
Week: 1
Theme: General lesson support
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Welcome, Grade 1 learners! This week, we are going to explore the wonderful world of creative arts! This means we will be drawing, painting, and making simple crafts. Creative arts are important because they help us to express our feelings, tell stories, and explore our imagination. In South Africa, creative arts are a part of our rich culture, from colourful Ndebele house paintings to vibrant Zulu beadwork. When we create art, we are connecting to our heritage and sharing our unique perspectives. We can draw pictures of our families, paint scenes of our favourite places, or make crafts inspired by the animals and plants around us.
Drawing: Drawing is using a pencil, crayon, or marker to create pictures on paper. We can draw lines, shapes, and even people, animals, and objects.
Lines: Lines are the basic building blocks of drawing.
There are different types of lines: straight lines, curved lines, zigzag lines, and dotted lines. Practice drawing different kinds of lines.
Shapes: Shapes are made up of lines. Common shapes include circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles. We can combine shapes to create more complex drawings.
Example: Draw a house using squares for the body, a triangle for the roof, and a circle for the window.
Painting: Painting is using paint and a brush to create pictures on paper or other surfaces. We can use different colours to make our paintings bright and interesting.
Colours: Colours are what we see when light reflects off objects. There are many different colours, like red, blue, yellow, green, and purple. We can mix colours together to create new colours.
Example: Mixing blue and yellow makes green. Mixing red and yellow makes orange.
Paintbrushes: Paintbrushes come in different sizes and shapes. A small brush is good for painting small details, and a large brush is good for painting large areas.
Example: Paint a South African flag using red, blue, green, black, yellow and white paint.
Simple Crafts: Simple crafts involve using materials like paper, glue, scissors, and other items to create something new.
Paper: Paper is a versatile material that can be used for many different crafts. We can cut, fold, and glue paper to make different shapes and objects.
Glue: Glue is used to stick things together. Be careful not to use too much glue, or it will make a mess!
Example: Making a paper chain by cutting strips of paper, gluing the ends together to form circles, and linking the circles together.
Scissors: Scissors are used to cut paper and other materials. Always use scissors safely and with adult supervision.
Example: Cut out shapes from coloured paper and glue them onto a piece of white paper to create a collage. Imagine you are making a collage of animals found at the Kruger National Park. Why does this matter? Learning these creative skills is important because it helps you to: Express yourself. Explore your imagination. Develop fine motor skills (small movements in your hands). Problem-solve as you figure out how to create what you imagine. Appreciate the beauty and creativity around you, especially in South Africa's vibrant culture. Guided Practice (With Solutions)
Question 1: Draw a picture of the South African flag using only shapes. What shapes did you use?
Solution: The South African flag can be drawn using triangles, rectangles and the letter 'Y' which is made up of lines. The colours are red, blue, green, black, yellow and white.
Commentary: This encourages learners to observe and represent a familiar object using fundamental shapes.
Question 2: Paint a picture of your favourite animal. What colours did you use? Why did you choose those colours?
Solution: Answers will vary depending on the animal. For example, "I painted an elephant. I used grey for its body, white for its tusks, and brown for the ground. I chose grey because elephants are grey."
Commentary: This encourages learners to think about colour choices and their association with real-world objects.
Question 3: Make a simple paper flower using paper, scissors, and glue. Describe the steps you took.
Solution: Cut out a circle from a piece of coloured paper. Cut slits around the edge of the circle, going about halfway to the centre. Fold each section you cut towards the centre and glue it down. Glue the flower to a green straw or piece of paper to make the stem.
Commentary: This develops their fine motor skills, spatial reasoning and problem-solving ability. It helps them learn how to follow instructions to complete a task.
Question 4: Draw a picture of your house. What shapes and colours did you use?
Solution: Answers will vary.
Example: "I drew a square for the main part of the house, a triangle for the roof, and small squares for the windows. I used brown for the walls, red for the roof, and blue for the windows."
Commentary: This helps learners connect their art to their environment and use different colours and shapes to represent them. Independent Practice (Questions Only) Draw your favourite fruit or vegetable using crayons. Paint a picture of your favourite place in your community (e.g., park, school, shop). Make a paper chain using different colours of paper. Draw a picture of your family doing something together. Create a collage using cut-out shapes from magazines or newspapers. Make it about your favorite sports. Draw different types of lines (straight, curved, zigzag, dotted) and colour each line with a different colour. Make a simple paper mask of your favourite animal. Draw a picture showing how you feel today using different colours. Make a paper aeroplane and decorate it with different colours and patterns.