Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 3

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Identify man-made and natural art materials.
• Use tearing, cutting, and pasting skills.
• Understand and use overlapping.
• Create a collage of a South African animal.
• Explain the difference between smooth and rough textures.

Lesson summary

This lesson introduces Grade 3 learners to the exciting world of collage, a 2D art form that uses a variety of materials. The focus is on moving beyond just drawing and painting to explore texture, shape, and composition through the techniques of tearing, cutting, and pasting. In South Africa, a country rich with diverse cultures and a strong tradition of resourcefulness, this lesson is particularly relevant. It connects to the real-life practices of local artists who use recycled and natural materials to create powerful artworks. It also teaches learners to see the artistic potential in everyday objects, fostering creativity, problem-solving, and an appreciation for their environment.

Lesson notes

This section explains the core ideas we will be using to become amazing artists. What is a Collage? A collage is a piece of art made by sticking different materials like paper, fabric, or photographs onto a piece of paper or cardboard. The word comes from a French word, coller, which means “to glue.” Instead of drawing a lion, you can build a lion using pieces of yellow paper, brown wool for its mane, and green paper for the grass around it.

Key Materials: Man-Made vs. Natural We can use almost anything to make a collage!

We can group our materials into two types: Man-Made Materials: These are things made by people. They are often found around the house or at school.

Examples: Old magazines and newspapers, wrapping paper, fabric scraps (like colourful Shweshwe), wool or string, old buttons, bottle tops, tin foil.

Natural Materials: These are things we find outside in nature. Remember to only collect things that have already fallen on the ground!

Examples: Dried leaves, small twigs, sand, small pebbles, seeds, grass. Exploring Texture Texture is how something feels when you touch it. In art, we can use different textures to make our pictures more interesting and realistic.

Rough Texture: Feels bumpy and uneven, like sandpaper or the bark of a tree. You could use sand for the ground or a crinkly leaf for an elephant's skin.

Smooth Texture: Feels flat and even, like the page of a book or a smooth stone from the river. Shiny paper from a magazine is very smooth and could be used for a bird's beak or a fish's scales.

Example: Imagine we are making a collage of a tortoise. We could use a smooth, green piece of paper for its head, but for its shell, we could glue down small, flat seeds or torn-up pieces of cardboard to give it a rough, bumpy texture. Important Techniques How we prepare our materials is just as important as the materials themselves.

Tearing: What it is: Using your fingers to rip paper. Why use it? Tearing creates a soft, feathery, or fuzzy edge. It’s not a straight line. This is perfect for making things that are soft in real life.

Example: Tearing brown and yellow paper into thin strips is a great way to make a fluffy lion’s mane or a bird's nest.

Cutting: What it is: Using scissors to cut paper or fabric. Why use it? Cutting creates a clean, sharp, straight, or curved edge. This is perfect for making things that have a definite shape.

Example: Cutting a sharp triangle for a shark's fin or a neat circle for the sun.

Overlapping: What it is: Gluing one piece of paper or material so that it is partly on top of another piece. Why use it? Overlapping is a clever trick to make a flat picture look like it has depth (like it's 3D). It shows that one thing is in front of another.

Example: Let's make a simple landscape. First, you glue down a big piece of blue paper for the sky. Then, you glue a green piece for the grass at the bottom, overlapping the blue sky. Now it looks like the grass is in front of the sky. If you add a tree overlapping the grass, the tree now looks like it is in front of the grass. Simple and effective! Guided Practice (With Solutions) Let's practice these new skills together.

Question 1: Texture Match The teacher holds up a piece of scrunched-up tin foil and a piece of smooth, blue paper. "If we are making a collage of a fish swimming in the sea, which material would be better for the shiny scales of the fish, and which would be better for the smooth water? Why?" Solution 1:

Commentary: This question checks if learners understand how to choose materials based on their texture to represent real-world objects.

Answer: The scrunched-up tin foil would be best for the fish's scales. The foil is bumpy and shiny, just like real scales would look when they catch the light. The smooth, blue paper would be perfect for the water because water often looks smooth and flat.

Question 2: Tear or Cut? "I want to make a cloud for the sky in my picture. Clouds are soft and fluffy. Should I tear the white paper or cut it with scissors to make my cloud? Show me with your hands." Solution 2:

Commentary: This question assesses the learner's understanding of how the techniques of tearing and cutting create different visual effects.

Answer: You should tear the paper. Tearing creates a soft, fuzzy edge that looks much more like a real, fluffy cloud than a sharp, cut edge would.

Question 3: Simple Overlapping "Let's practice overlapping. Take a yellow circle for the sun and an orange strip for the land. Glue the orange strip at the bottom of your page. Now, where should you glue the sun to make it look like it is setting behind the land?" Solution 3:

Commentary: This is a practical check on their understanding of overlapping to create depth.

Answer: You should glue the yellow circle so that the bottom part of it is tucked behind the orange strip of land. This makes it look like the sun is far away and disappearing behind the land.