Lesson Plan: Grade R Life Skills – Art activity

  1. Lesson Plan Title: Grade R Life Skills: Discovering Art through Cultural Collage Creation

  2. Materials Needed:

    • Colourful construction paper
    • Variety of child-safe materials (e.g., fabric pieces, string, feathers, leaves)
    • Non-toxic adhesive
    • Child-friendly scissors
    • A large sheet of cardstock or cardboard for each learner
  3. Learning Objectives:
    • Learners will identify and sort various materials based on their texture and appearance.
    • Learners will demonstrate proper handling of small items, scissors, and adhesive.
    • Learners will devise a collage reflecting their personal perception or narrating a story.
  4. Vocabulary:
    • Collage: An artwork created by adhering diverse materials to a surface.
    • Texture: The sensation experienced when touching something.
    • Materials: Substances required for construction.
    • Adhesive: A substance utilized to join things together.
    • Scissors: A tool to cut paper.
  5. Previous Learning:
    • Identifying basic shapes and colours
    • Participating in storytelling activities
  6. Anticipated Challenges and Solutions:
    • Struggling with scissors: Monitor and assist learners with their fine motor skills.
    • Misapplication of adhesive: Demonstrate the suitable quantity of adhesive to apply and oversee usage.
  7. Beginning Activities (4 minutes):
    • The teacher will display collage examples and introduce the concept of a collage.
    • Initiate a brief discussion concerning textures and tangible materials in the classroom.
  8. Middle Activities (32 minutes):
    • Directed Instruction (8 minutes): Teacher will guide learners on the correct use of scissors and adhesive.
    • Guided Exercise (16 minutes): Learners will begin arranging their collages, choosing their materials and cutting shapes as required.
    • Independent Practice (8 minutes): Learners are given autonomy to finish their collages, focusing on their creativity, colour selection, and choice of materials.
  9. Ending Activities (4 minutes): Every learner will showcase and explain their collage, illustrating the story or idea it symbolises.

  10. Assessment and Understanding Checks: Evaluation will be based on the effective use of scissors and adhesive, creation of a thematic collage, and articulation of their artistic piece.

  11. Differentiation Strategies: Learners struggling can be allotted fewer collage items to focus more on mastering fine motor skills. Advanced learners can be encouraged to design a collage portraying a complex narrative or incorporating concepts learned in other subjects.

  12. Teaching Notes: Pre-cut shapes or tearing techniques could be applied if the use of scissors is a concern. Stress on the significance of sharing resources and taking turns. Regularly encourage learners for their innovative efforts. This activity can form cross-curricular links with the theme of the week or connect with stories covered in class.

Cultural Relevance: Aim to supply an assortment of textures and materials that resonate with South African culture and environment, such as traditional print fabrics and natural resources like dry grass or pebbles. This promotes children’s appreciation and inclusion of their heritage in their artwork.

  1. Practical Considerations: Ensure the safe use of scissors and adhesive throughout the lesson. Consider group sizes and conduct controlled resource sharing for efficiency.

  2. Indigenous Knowledge Integration: Possible link with local storytelling traditions where kids can create collages based on South African folktales.

  3. Technology Integration: If feasible, photograph each collage for a virtual class gallery on the online learning platform.

  4. Overall Enhancement: Suggest using music in the background during the activity to create a conducive creative environment.