Teaching Sequence

15 minutes – Part A: Connecting to Your Memories
40 minutes – Part B: Creating Your Artwork
5 minutes – Reflection

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

Part A: Connecting to Your Memories

Step 1.

Begin by holding up your class Connector Pens, and invite students to raise their hands in response to the following question:

Do you know what these are?
When did you last use these?

Highlight the different memories that each student has. Extend their line of thought by informing them that their parents and teachers also likely have memories of using Connector Pens!

Step 2.

Students will now be watching two clips where people from around Australia share their Connector Pen memories. You could watch the clips as a class or students could work in groups to watch different clips.

Connector Pens - Playing for 25 Years (https://vimeo.com/264903765)

Connector Pens - Winning for 25 Years (https://vimeo.com/265312699)

After watching the clips, students need to consider the following questions for each (questions also available on the Student Worksheet):

What was this clip about?
What are the main messages the people in the clip are sharing?
Have you had any similar experiences to this person? When and how?
What does this clip make you think about?
What does this clip make you wonder?

If students have worked in groups to watch different clips, invite each group to share the answers to their questions with the class.

Step 3.

Now invite students to conduct a THINK PAIR SHARE activity around the following question:

What is your favourite Connector Pen memory?

Think Pair Share
Think pair share is a collaborative learning strategy in which students work together to solve a problem or answer a question.
Think - students independently think about an issue or question and record their thoughts.
Pair - students work in pairs to discuss their ideas and record new thoughts.
Share - students share their thoughts with the whole group or with other pairs to reach consensus.

Once each student has recorded and shared their answer, invite volunteers to share their ideas with the class.

Part B: Creating Your Artwork

Step 1.

Explain to students that they will now be planning and creating a drawing that tells the story of their own Connector Pens memory.

Distribute recycled paper and graphite pencils to each student and invite them to sketch a draft of their artwork (use this Contest Handout if you plan to enter student's work into the Connecting to Connector Pen Memories contest). Write these questions on the board for students to think about while planning:

How will you consider perspective in your drawing?
How will light and shadow affect the content of your drawing?
What techniques will you use in your drawing? How can these techniques help you convey the message of your drawing?
How will you consider scale in your drawing?

The following factsheets might be helpful to students:

Colouring Techniques handout
Colour Wheel factsheet
Art Elements and Principles factsheet
Texture rendering techniques factsheet

Encourage students to review and make improvements to their own sketches.

Step 2.

Once students have sketched their drafts and practised their techniques, distribute A3 paper and the artist tools that students may need, including Connector Pens, graphite pencils, rulers, PVC-free erasers and sharpeners. Allow students enough time to create their artwork. Remind students to use the techniques they practised to portray depth of colour, textures and other effects in their artwork, which will help to convey the message of their artwork.

Extend: If you have time, you could invite students to create an artist statement. Explain to students that an artist statement is a short written statement of the artist's intention behind their work. Creating an artist statement is an opportunity to communicate with the audience to emphasise the memory portrayed in the artwork. The following prompts will guide students to write their artist statements:

What is the title of your artwork?
What techniques did you use?
What is the message behind your work?

Invite students to draft, redraft and create a 'good copy' of their artist statement so that it can be displayed next to their artwork in an exhibition. They could use a computer to publish their final draft.

Step 3.

Once complete, you can work with students to create an exhibition of their work, including their artist statements (if completed). You could then create a gallery walk to provide feedback on student work:

Remind students to be kind, specific and helpful when providing feedback.

Reflection

Invite students to work independently to answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What was the best part about creating a picture of my memory and why?
What parts of my picture am I most proud of?
In what ways could I improve my picture?
What other memories would you like to create pictures of and why?

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Connecting to Connector Pen Memories

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