Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes – Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge
15 minutes – Part B: Observing Animals
25 minutes – Part C: Creating a Cartoon
05 minutes – Reflection

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Preparation:

Print and cut out enough Animal Names so that each student has one name.

Step 1.

Begin by breaking the class into groups of five or six. Explain to students that they will be working in groups to play a ‘who am I?’ guessing game, trying to guess the animal they have been assigned. Ask each group of students to line up and use some masking tape or sticky tape to attach one name to each student, either on their forehead or back, ensuring that they can’t see the animal they have been assigned.

Students should then work in their groups, taking turns to ask questions about the animal they have been assigned. Questions should only be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Students should use their knowledge of animals to guide their questioning, for example: “Do I have fur?” or “Do I fly?” or “Do I lay eggs?”

Step 2.

Once all students have had the chance to guess their animal, engage students in a class discussion around the animals. Consider the following questions in your discussion:

What do you already know about these animals?
Have you ever seen this animal?
Why do we need animals? Why are they important?

Through your discussion, guide students to the idea that animals have an important part to play in keeping our environment healthy. Humans also value animals for food and materials like wool and leather.

Part B: Observing Animals

Step 1.

Explain to students that they will now be going outside to observe animals in the schoolyard. Give each student a blank piece of paper and a graphite pencil.

Before heading outdoors, remind students of your outdoor learning guidelines:

Step 2.

They will need to carefully observe one animal (this can be a bird or an insect) and watch what it is doing and where it is going. Explain to students that later in this lesson they will be creating a cartoon around this animal, so they should also make a sketch of this animal to record things like:

Body shape
Number of legs
Colour
Main body parts (head, abdomen, thorax, antenna, etc.)
What it is doing
Any other interesting features or behaviours

Students should spend five minutes observing their animal and recording details about this animal.

Part C: Creating a Cartoon

Step 1.

Take students back inside and explain to them that they will now be creating their cartoon. The following videos can provide students with some guidance around how to create a cartoon:

How to Draw a Creative Koala by Oistein Kristiansen and Faber-Castell (https://youtu.be/rvEv7Ce1ZLk)

Once complete, engage students in a class discussion around the clip, including:

What was interesting or surprising about this clip?
What questions does this clip leave you with?

Extend: If students are interested or if time permits, you could also share these clips with them:

How to Draw a Spiny Echidna by Oistein Kristiansen and Faber-Castell – https://youtu.be/HQEJeFCPSjs
How to Draw a Frilled Neck Lizard by Oistein Kristiansen and Faber-Castell – https://youtu.be/Wafb6l8E_s
How to Draw a Speedy Emu by Oistein Kristiansen and Faber-Castell – https://youtu.be/OzckaY6vStY
How to Draw a Clown Fish by Oistein Kristiansen and Faber-Castell – https://youtu.be/E7i3dYICrAk

Step 2.

Now talk through the stages that the artist (Oistein Kristiansen) goes through in creating his cartoon:

Creating the main shapes of the animal’s body with a pencil
Drawing facial expressions
Adding more details, still using pencil
Start adding background details
Start inking in the lines with a pen, making sure the line you are creating suits the animal you are drawing (e.g. holding the pen loosely creates a softer line, while holding the pen more firmly creates a stronger, harder line)
Start thinking about light and shade and make some allowances for shading with your pen
Start adding in texture and detail (e.g. fur of body), leaving some areas lighter where you want more expression or other detail
Start colouring in the cartoon with colour pencils, thinking again about light and shadow
Adding your signature!

You can also talk through the Colouring Techniques Handout to help guide students in points such as:

Pattern
Texture
Shading

Step 3.

Give students drawing paper and graphite pencils and invite them to begin planning their cartoon. Write the following questions on the board (also available here to print or project) and explain to students that before they start drawing they need to answer these questions:

Leave these questions in a place where students can see them while they are planning and creating their cartoons.

Step 4.

Invite students to begin drawing their cartoons. The teacher should move around the room, guiding students in their drawings and reminding them of the stages the artist followed.

Step 5.

Work with students to create a display of cartoons in the classroom.

Reflection

Engage students in a class discussion around the following questions, or invite them to work independently to answer the following questions (also available on the Student Worksheet):

What was the most interesting thing about this lesson?
What did you like best about creating your cartoon and why?
If you were going to create your cartoon again, what would you do differently?

Differentiated Learning

Extension

Students can create a series of drawings of their animal in order to produce a comic strip that tells a story about what their animal is doing.
Students can create an artist statement to accompany their cartoon, to share the choices they made in terms of the creation of their cartoon (students could answers to the questions projected on the board in their artist statement).

Provisions for Learning Support – Students can use this outline of an ant as a basis for their cartoon.

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?

Creative Sustainability - Animal Cartoons

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