Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 2

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Name four basic shapes
• Draw different types of lines
• Mix primary colours to make new colours
• Create a simple artwork using lines, shapes, and colours
• Talk about our artwork

Lesson summary

Creative arts are a very important part of Life Skills because they help us express ourselves, understand the world around us, and develop our imagination! Visual art and basic design, in particular, allow us to create beautiful and meaningful things. In South Africa, art can tell stories about our history, our different cultures, and our dreams for the future. Understanding basic design also helps us appreciate the colours and shapes we see every day – from the patterns on our clothes to the designs in our homes and schools. This week, we will focus on exploring lines, shapes, and colours, the basic building blocks of all art. We'll learn how to use them to create our own artworks.

Lesson notes

Lines: A line is a mark made on a surface. Lines can be thick, thin, straight, curved, zig-zag, dotted, or dashed. Lines can show direction, create patterns, and even suggest movement. Think of the lines on a zebra, the lines of a road, or the curved lines of a river.

Shapes: A shape is an area enclosed by a line. Basic shapes include circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles. Shapes can be combined to create more complex forms. Think about the shape of a soccer ball (circle), a window (square or rectangle), or the roof of a house (triangle).

Colours: Colour is the element of art that is produced when light strikes an object and is reflected back to the eye. The primary colours are red, yellow, and blue. We can mix primary colours to create secondary colours: Red + Yellow = Orange Yellow + Blue = Green Blue + Red = Purple Understanding colour is very important. The South African flag, for instance, uses colours to represent different aspects of our country and people.

Worked example

Example 1: Drawing different lines.

Take a pencil and a piece of paper. Now, draw the following lines:

A long straight line across the page. Imagine it's a road.

A curved line that looks like a smiling mouth.

A zig-zag line that looks like mountains.

A dotted line that looks like raindrops.

Why this works: This helps you practice making different types of lines and controlling your pencil.

Example 2: Identifying Shapes.

Look around the classroom or your home.

Can you find:

Something that is a circle? (e.g., a plate, a clock)

Something that is a square? (e.g., a tile, a book cover)

Something that is a triangle? (e.g., a slice of watermelon)

Something that is a rectangle? (e.g., a door, a table)

Why this works: This helps you recognize shapes in everyday objects.

Example 3: Mixing Primary Colours.

Using paint or crayons, colour a small area red and another small area yellow. Now, colour a third area by overlapping the red and yellow. What colour do you get? (Orange!)

Repeat this process with yellow and blue (to get green) and blue and red (to get purple).

Why this works: This demonstrates how primary colours can be combined to create secondary colours.

Example 4: Creating a picture with shapes.

Let's create a simple picture of a house using shapes.

Draw a square for the body of the house.

Draw a triangle on top of the square for the roof.

Draw a rectangle for the door.

Draw smaller squares for the windows.