Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes	Part A: Exploring place and the environment
60 minutes	Part B: Creating an artwork
30 minutes	Part C: Writing an artist statement
40 minutes	Part D: Hosting an exhibition
30 minutes	Reflection

This lesson could be delivered over several sessions.

Part A: Exploring Place and Environment

Step 1.

Start the lesson by activating students' prior learning about environmental issues. Invite students to form groups of 3-4. Distribute a recycled piece of A4 paper and some Connector Pens to each group. Write the statement "Our environment feels the impact of..." on the whiteboard, and invite one member of each group to copy it in the middle of their paper. Then, invite groups to write their ideas around the middle statement. Students may identify impacts such as deforestation, litter in waterways, marine debris and vehicle pollution.

Next, invite students to identify three places (such as the schoolyard, a local park, the local beach, a nearby creek or waterway) that are affected by each of the impacts they have written down. Invite students to add them to their mind-maps as offshoots.

Step 2.

Invite individual students to select one environmental issue and one associated place from their mind map. Inform students that they will be creating an artwork that uses contrasting images to show how an environmental issue can impact a place. Students will learn and use watercolour techniques to create a 'split page' contrasting view of their chosen place as it should be vs. how it would look if it were affected by an environmental issue.

For example:

A colourful underwater reef vs. bleached coral, all fish and sea life gone.
Lush green bushland with birds and other wildlife vs. an expanse of tree stumps, no animals in sight.
A clean looking city with people walking and cycling vs. a busy city with cluttered roads full of cars and fumes.

Students may need to conduct further (online) research to better understand environmental issues and their impact. They could start at the Cool Australia 'Sustainability' digital library.

Part B: Creating an Artwork

Step 1.

Distribute recycled paper and Goldfaber graphite pencils to each student and invite them to sketch a draft of their artwork. Write these questions on the whiteboard for students to think about while planning:

What will you include in your drawing to show that the two images are of the same place, but different situations?
What colours could you use to show the consequences of the environmental issue?
Could you use different watercolour techniques to illustrate the difference between the two images?

Remind students to start by dividing their page in half – they can make a choice about whether they do so vertically, horizontally, diagonally, or even in a zig-zag formation – as long as they have two equally-sized sections on their page. Point out that a logical approach would be to have the ‘before’ drawing on the left side (or top if divided horizontally) and the ‘after’ on the right (or bottom).

If required, use this image as an example of the approach students could take:

Encourage students to sketch the main features of their piece, such as trees, rivers, mountains and man-made objects such as houses, vehicles or play equipment. Next, invite students to add in smaller features such as insects, animals, small plants, people, litter, smog.

Remind students about scale during their planning time, and encourage students to review and make improvements to their own sketches.

If required, allow students to use a web-enabled device to search for and model their drawing on images of the features they will include in their artwork.

Step 2.

Invite students to practice watercolour techniques in preparation for their artwork. Distribute the Watercolour Techniques Handout and encourage students to complete each of the exercises using watercolour pencils and brushes with clean water. If required, use a projector to screen this short clip that demonstrates watercolour technique.

How to Draw a Colourful Sea Horse by Oistein Kristiansen and Faber-Castell (https://vimeo.com/231977621)

Step 3.

Once students have sketched their drafts and practised their watercolour technique, distribute A3 cartridge paper and the artists' tools that students will need, such as Goldfaber graphite pencils, watercolour pencils, rulers, PVC-free erasers and Grip sharpeners. Allow students enough time to create their artwork. Remind students to use the watercolour techniques they practised to portray the depth of colour, textures and other effects in their artwork.

Part C: Writing an Artist Statement

Step 1.

Inform students that artist statements are short written statements of the artist’s intention behind their work. In this part of the lesson, students will write an artist statement to accompany their artwork. Inform students that this is an opportunity to communicate with their audience to emphasise the environmental sustainability message in their artwork. The following prompts (also on the Student Worksheet) will guide students to write their artists statement:

What is the title of your artwork?
What materials did you use?
What is the message behind your work?
What do you want the audience to do differently after seeing your artwork? Describe one action that people can take to make sure that the place you have drawn stays healthy.

Step 2.

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.

Part D: Hosting an Exhibition

Step 1.

This is an important event that students will host after they carry out their Social Action art project. It provides students with an opportunity to display what they achieved throughout the project, reflect on their successes and failures, and exhibit evidence of their projects. The idea is that students will feel a sense of accountability and will feel pride in the work that they display publicly. More detail about this event can be found in the Social Action Project Exhibition Hint and Tips.

Step 2.

Ask students to make a list of the people from outside of their class that they would like to invite to attend an opening of an exhibition of their work. Guests might include parents, school leadership, representatives from local youth support organisations or local council representatives.

Step 3.

Agree on the details for the 'opening', such as date, time and place, then include those details in an invitation. Encourage students to reach out to their potential audience using an agreed-upon method. This could be an email, a hand-delivered written invitation or a phone call.

Reflection

Ask students to write an exhibition review, addressing the following points (also on the Student Worksheet):

What is the title of the exhibition?
Describe the topics addressed in the exhibition (what were the artworks about?)
Was there a stand-out artwork? What did you like about it?
How did the audience respond to the exhibition? Do you think it was successful?

Differentiated Learning

Extension

Students could approach the local council to ask if they could exhibit their artworks and artist statements in the municipal offices or at a local art gallery.

Provisions for Learning Support

The teacher may choose the topic for students using one of the examples listed in Part A, Step 2. Teachers may also reduce the amount of information required in the artist statement.

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 - Illustrating Social Action

Go to

Summary

Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

Additional Info

In this lesson