Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 1

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• This lesson introduces Grade 1 learners to the foundational elements of visual arts: primary colours, colour mixing, and basic painting techniques. In South Africa, art is a powerful form of expression, seen everywhere from vibrant Ndebele house paintings to the intricate beadwork of Zulu and Xhosa cultures. By engaging with these concepts, learners not only develop essential fine motor skills necessary for writing and other tasks, but they also gain a medium to express their feelings, ideas, and stories about their world. This could be a story about their family, their trip to the spaza shop, or the animals they see near their homes. This topic empowers them to become creators and communicators, building their confidence and understanding of the beautiful, diverse world around them.
• Learning Objectives:
• By the end of this lesson, learners will be able to:
• Identify the three primary colours: red, yellow, and blue.
• Demonstrate how to mix two primary colours to create a secondary colour (orange, green, or purple).

Lesson summary

This lesson introduces Grade 1 learners to the foundational elements of visual arts: primary colours, colour mixing, and basic painting techniques. In South Africa, art is a powerful form of expression, seen everywhere from vibrant Ndebele house paintings to the intricate beadwork of Zulu and Xhosa cultures. By engaging with these concepts, learners not only develop essential fine motor skills necessary for writing and other tasks, but they also gain a medium to express their feelings, ideas, and stories about their world. This could be a story about their family, their trip to the spaza shop, or the animals they see near their homes.

Lesson notes

This section explains the magical world of colours and how we can use them to create art.

A. The Parent Colours: Primary Colours Primary colours are the three most important colours in art. Think of them as the 'parent' or 'hero' colours because all other colours are made from them. You cannot mix any other colours to make a primary colour. They are special!

The three primary colours are: Red: The colour of a ripe tomato, a stop sign, or the beautiful flowers of the Coral Tree.

Yellow: The colour of the hot African sun, sweet mielies (corn), or a sunflower.

Blue: The colour of the big sky over the Karoo, the deep ocean at Muizenberg, or the blue in our South African flag.

B. The Baby Colours: Secondary Colours When we mix two primary 'parent' colours together, we create a brand new colour! These new colours are called secondary colours. It's like magic!

Here are the magic recipes: Red + Yellow = Orange How: Take a little bit of red paint and a little bit of yellow paint. Mix them together with your brush.

Why: The red and yellow combine to make a warm, bright colour.

Example: You have made the colour of a juicy orange or a naartjie! Yellow + Blue = Green How: Take a little bit of yellow paint and a little bit of blue paint. Mix them together.

Why: The bright yellow and the cool blue mix to create the colour of nature.

Example: You have made the colour of the lush grass after it rains or the leaves on a tree in the park. Blue + Red = Purple How: Take a little bit of blue paint and a little bit of red paint. Mix them together.

Why: The cool blue and the warm red combine to make a royal, rich colour.

Example: You have made the colour of the beautiful Jacaranda flowers in Pretoria or a tasty grape.

C. Making Your Paintbrush Dance: Basic Techniques A paintbrush is a tool that helps us put our ideas on paper. We need to hold it properly, just like we are learning to hold a pencil. Hold it gently but firmly between your thumb and pointer finger. Here are some 'dance moves' for your brush: Thin Lines: Gently use just the very tip of your brush. It's like the brush is whispering on the paper. Use this to draw hair, a snake, or the stem of a flower.

Thick Lines: Press the brush down a little more so more bristles touch the paper. It's like the brush is talking loudly. Use this to draw the trunk of a tree or the outline of a house.

Dabs and Dots: Gently tap the tip of the brush on the paper. Tap, tap, tap. Use this to make leopard spots, raindrops, or the centre of a flower. Guided Practice (With Solutions)

Activity 1: The Magic Mixing Puddle Question: The teacher will give you a piece of paper with three puddles drawn on it. In the first puddle, mix a little red and a little yellow paint. What colour does it become? In the second, mix yellow and blue. What do you see? In the third, mix blue and red. What is the final magic colour? Solution &

Commentary: When you mix red and yellow, you will see it turn orange. This is because you have combined two primary colours to make a secondary colour. When you mix yellow and blue, you will see it turn green. You have made the colour of leaves! When you mix blue and red, you will see it turn purple. This rich colour is made from a warm and a cool primary colour. This activity gives learners hands-on experience and instant visual feedback on the concept of colour mixing.

Activity 2: A Paintbrush Safari Question: On your paper, use brown paint to make a thick line for a tree trunk. Now, using green paint, make many dabs and dots at the top to create the leaves of the tree. What have you created? Solution &

Commentary: You have created a simple picture of a tree. You practiced making a thick line by pressing the brush down for the trunk, which makes it look strong. You practiced making dabs and dots by tapping the brush for the leaves, which gives it a leafy texture. This helps learners understand how different brush strokes create different effects.

Activity 3: Paper Plate Animal Friend Question: Let's make a lion!

Step 1: Paint the middle of a paper plate yellow.

Step 2: While it dries, use a brush to make short, thick orange and brown lines all around the edge of the plate. What do these lines look like? Solution &

Commentary: You have made the face of a lion! The yellow centre is the lion's face, and the short, thick orange and brown lines you painted around the edge are its big, bushy mane. This activity combines painting with a simple craft, reinforcing brush control and colour recognition (yellow, orange) while following two simple steps. Independent Practice (Questions Only) Draw a big circle and paint it with your favourite primary colour. Mix red and blue paint. What colour do you get? Paint a picture of a fruit that is this colour. Use only a paintbrush and green paint to create a picture of a field of grass. Tear small pieces of blue, red, and yellow paper from a magazine or scrap paper. Glue them onto a page to create a mosaic picture of our South African flag.