Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes	Part A: What is a slogan?
20 minutes	Part B: Writing a slogan
40 minutes	Part C: Eye-catching poster design
15 minutes	Reflection

Part A: What is a Slogan?

Step 1.

Begin by asking students for their ideas on what a 'slogan' is. Invite volunteers to share their ideas with the class. Draw attention to the main characteristics of a slogan:

short in length
asks the reader to take action or change their behaviour
eye-catching (gets the reader/viewer's attention).

Step 2.

Facilitate a class discussion to explore any slogans students have seen on television, social media or on advertising posters.

Step 3.

Distribute a printed copy of the Student Worksheet and guide students to view and write a comment for each of the featured slogans. Facilitate a class discussion to allow students to share what they think each slogan is encouraging people to do.

Part B: Writing a Slogan

If students require extra support, this part of the lesson could be run as a whole-class activity.

Step 1.

Invite students to form groups of three. Inform students that they will work in their group to come up with a slogan that highlights an action people can take to live more sustainably.

Step 2.

Distribute a piece of A3 paper and some Connector Pens to each group. Guide groups to spend a few minutes sharing what they know about sustainability. Ask the group members to assign a scribe to note down ideas about sustainability on the paper.

For extra ideas, students could use a web-enabled device to explore this Digital Library collection of articles, images and videos about Sustainability.

Step 3.

Ask each group to choose one aspect of sustainability to focus on, for instance: recycling, food waste, litter, growing food, pollution, planting trees, and write it down in the space provided on the Student Worksheet.

The concept of sustainability is explored in more detail in the Year 5 & 6 Creative Sustainability – Tuning In lesson.

If required, remind students that sustainability can be defined as:

Some Definitions of Sustainability

- The ability for something to keep going at the same rate and in just as good condition as before.
- Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
- Living within the limits of what the environment can provide and understanding the many interconnections between the economy, society and the environment.

Step 4.

Guide students to use the questions below to help them decide on an idea for a slogan (also on the Student Worksheet):

What do you want people to know about and why is this an important issue?
What do you want people to stop doing?
What do you want people to start doing?

Once students have made a decision about the intention for their slogan, guide groups to work together to brainstorm ideas for a slogan that will influence people to act.

Step 5.

Invite students to choose their own favourite slogan to design into a poster. They can write it in the space provided on the Student Worksheet (students could choose the same slogan however will design their own poster).

Part C: Eye-Catching Slogan Design

Preparation:

Print enough Student Worksheets and Art Elements handouts for your class.

Step 1.

Using a projector, show students this video demonstrating lettering techniques using PITT Artist Brush Pens and Fineliners.

Pitt Artist Pen Brush + Soft Brush Handlettering. (https://vimeo.com/232423511)

After watching the video, draw students' attention to the following:

The PITT Pen can be used at various angles to create thick, thin and tapered lines.
Applying different levels of pressure changes the appearance of lines.
Emphasis can be created by using PITT Pens for thicker, broader linework, that stands out against the narrow fineliner work (as seen in the video when the artist writes ‘Quality...’).
Thick lines are created by pressing firmly on strokes that go in a downward direction, and thinner lines are created by releasing pressure when drawing lines in an upward direction.

Step 2.

Ask students to refer to the lettering and practice section at the end of the Student Worksheet and distribute the required artists' tools to the class. Allow enough time for the class to practice lettering techniques.

Step 3.

Encourage students to experiment with some of the other lettering techniques they saw in the video. They may also like to use a web-enabled device to search font websites (such as this one) to select a font to practice. Students can select a font, input their text to preview, then copy it freehand or download the font to print out and trace.

Step 4.

Distribute an Art Elements and Principles Factsheet to students, and highlight that they should consider the following in their poster design:

Emphasis (which areas need to be larger or bolder in order to stand out?)
Colour (select colours to help portray the message – e.g. dark, dull = sad, bright = happy/positive)
Space (ensure there is ‘breathing space’ and the placement of objects is not cluttered)

Step 5.

Distribute a piece of A3 paper to each class member and guide students to use a ruler and grey lead pencil to measure out the placement of the words and letters in their slogan on their poster.

Step 6.

Once students have planned their poster, invite them to apply colour and detail using artists' tools such as PITT Pens, Connector Pens, Colour Grip Pencils, Calligraphy pens and Penliners.

Step 7.

Create a classroom display with students' finished posters.

Reflection

Ask students to review the class display by responding to the prompts on the Student Worksheet.

Which slogans would make you change your behaviour? Why?
Describe some of the techniques your classmates have used to create their posters.
Which poster do you feel is the most eye-catching and why?
Describe your own poster and the design choices you made.
Would you do anything differently next time? Why/Why not?

Differentiated Learning

Extension

Students could include illustrations on their poster that add to the message of their slogan.

Provisions for Learning Support

Provide students with an idea for a slogan to create a poster for. Provide graph paper and planning support for students who require it.

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 - Posters that Pop

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