Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 2

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Welcome, Grade 2 artists! This week, we're diving into the exciting world of Visual Art and Basic Design! Art isn't just about pretty pictures; it's about expressing ourselves, telling stories, and making the world around us more beautiful. Think about the colourful murals you see in your neighbourhood, the patterns on your clothes, or even the way your mom arranges the fruit in a bowl – all of these involve visual art and design. Learning about these concepts helps us understand and appreciate the creativity all around us, and allows us to be creative ourselves! In South Africa, art plays a big role in our culture, from the vibrant Ndebele patterns to the intricate beadwork of the Zulu people. This week, we'll explore the basic elements that make up all kinds of art.
• By the end of this week, you will be able to:
• Objective 1: Identify and name at least three basic shapes (circle, square, triangle) in everyday objects. (CAPS: Creative Arts - Visual Arts - Elements of Visual Arts)
• Objective 2: Create a simple picture using different lines (straight, curved, zig-zag). (CAPS: Creative Arts - Visual Arts - Skills and Techniques)
• Objective 3: Use at least two different colours to create a simple artwork. (CAPS: Creative Arts - Visual Arts - Elements of Visual Arts)

Lesson summary

Welcome, Grade 2 artists! This week, we're diving into the exciting world of Visual Art and Basic Design! Art isn't just about pretty pictures; it's about expressing ourselves, telling stories, and making the world around us more beautiful. Think about the colourful murals you see in your neighbourhood, the patterns on your clothes, or even the way your mom arranges the fruit in a bowl – all of these involve visual art and design. Learning about these concepts helps us understand and appreciate the creativity all around us, and allows us to be creative ourselves!

Lesson notes

What is Visual Art? Visual art is any kind of art we can see! It includes things like drawings, paintings, sculptures, and even the way we arrange things to look nice. It's a way of communicating ideas and feelings without using words. Basic Design Elements Think of these as the building blocks of art!

We will focus on: Shapes: These are the outlines of objects. The most common shapes are circles, squares, triangles, rectangles, and ovals. Look around you. Can you spot these shapes in the classroom? The clock is a circle! The door is a rectangle! Shapes can be organic (like a leaf) or geometric (like a building).

Lines: Lines are paths. They can be straight, curved, zig-zag, thick, thin, long, or short. Lines can show movement or create different feelings. A straight line can feel strong, while a curved line can feel gentle. Think about how you draw a road (straight line) versus a wave (curved line).

Colours: Colours make our world vibrant! We have primary colours (red, yellow, blue) which can be mixed to make other colours. Red and yellow make orange! Yellow and blue make green! Blue and red make purple! Colours can make us feel different emotions. Red can feel exciting, blue can feel calm.

Textures: Texture is how something feels (or looks like it feels). It can be rough, smooth, bumpy, soft, or hard. Imagine touching sandpaper (rough) versus touching a feather (soft). We can show texture in art by using different materials or techniques. We might stick sand to a picture to show a sandy beach! Why are these elements important? Understanding these elements helps us create better art and appreciate the art around us. They are like the ingredients in a recipe. By combining them in different ways, we can create amazing things!

Worked example

Example 1: Shapes in a House

Draw a house. What shapes did you use? You probably used a square or rectangle for the body of the house, a triangle for the roof, and circles or squares for the windows. See how shapes are everywhere!

Example 2: Lines for a Landscape

Imagine you're drawing a landscape (a picture of nature). Use straight lines to show the tall trees. Use curved lines to show the rolling hills. Use zig-zag lines to show mountains. See how different lines can create different effects?

Example 3: Colouring a Flower

Draw a flower. What colour will the petals be? What colour will the leaves be? Maybe you'll choose red petals and green leaves. Or maybe you'll get creative and use purple petals and yellow leaves! Experiment with different colour combinations.

Example 4: Texture with Collage

Find some old magazines or newspapers. Cut out different shapes and sizes of paper. Glue them onto a piece of paper to create a collage. Overlap the paper pieces to create a sense of depth and texture. You can add pieces of fabric or string for additional texture.

Guided Practice (With Solutions)

Question 1:

Identify the shapes used in this drawing of a car: (A simple drawing of a car is described).

Solution:

The car uses rectangles for the body and windows, circles for the wheels. There might be small squares or rectangles for lights. The commentary is that recognizing shapes within real-world objects is the fundamental step in visual literacy.

Question 2:

Draw a picture using only straight lines and curved lines. What does your picture show?

Solution:

(Student draws a picture.

Example: Straight lines for a fence, curved lines for clouds and a smiling sun).

The picture shows a sunny day with a fence.

Commentary: Students learn that different line combinations allow for representation of various concepts.

Question 3:

Choose two colours and draw a picture of a tree. Use one colour for the trunk and the other colour for the leaves.

Solution:

(Student draws a tree with a brown trunk and green leaves, for instance).

The trunk is brown and the leaves are green.

Commentary: Students begin to associate specific colors with real world representations. They can experiment with non-conventional color schemes too.