Creative Sustainability: Colouring Our Environment - Visual Arts - Years 3 & 4

Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Students explore the different parts of our environment. They begin by looking at the different parts of our environment and why they are important. Students will then work independently or in pairs to identify a colour, a symbol and an art technique that would best suit each of these parts of our environment. They will then select the part of our environment they are most interested in and combine the elements they identified as best suited to this part to create a larger drawing. Students will share this drawing with the class for feedback.

Faber-Castell has long understood the importance of creativity to all people, especially to young people. It is also continuously searching for environmentally friendly processes and high-quality materials to enhance children’s creative experience throughout every development phase. For more information about Faber-Castell, click here.

Learning intentions:

Students will understand what is meant by the term ‘our environment’ and will know that there are many parts to ‘environment’.
Students will develop and practise art-making techniques.

21st century skills:

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions:

Year 3 & 4 Visual Arts

Use materials, techniques and processes to explore visual conventions when making artworks (ACAVAM111)

Year 4 HASS

The importance of environments, including natural vegetation, to animals and people (ACHASSK088)

Syllabus outcomes: VAS2.2, GE2-1, GE2-2, GE2-3.

General capabilities: Critical and creative thinking.

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.2.

Relevant parts of Year 3 & 4 Visual Arts achievement standards: Students plan and make artworks that communicate ideas.

Relevant parts of Year 4 HASS achievement standards: Students identify the interconnections between components of the environment and between people and the environment.

Topic: Sustainability.

Unit of work: Creative Sustainability – Year 3 & 4.

Time required: 60 mins.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate class discussion, oversee activities.

Resources required: Student Worksheets – one copy per student. Art materials. Colour-Symbol-Technique Worksheet. Pencil Colouring Techniques Handout.

Keywords: Environment, colour, symbol, technique.

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Teacher preparation

Learning intentions:

Students will understand what is meant by the term ‘our environment’ and will know that there are many parts to environment.
Students will develop and practise art-making techniques.

Success criteria:

Students can decsribe some of the different parts of our environment and why they are important.
Students can use a range of colour pencil techniques.
Students can create a symbol to represent an idea.

Teacher content information: Sustainability describes the ability to keep going at the same rate and in the same (or better) condition as before. In order for our world to be able to sustain us, as well as the generations to come, we need to change. It’s time to think differently – and more creatively – about sustainability and the future of our planet.

Creativity and approaching challenges in a creative way has traditionally been seen as a natural gift, but in fact it can be grown just like a muscle. Creativity is like any ot

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Student Worksheet

Thought starter: Where is your favourite place in nature?

Colour - Symbol - Technique

You now need to choose one part of the environment that you are most interested in. You need to combine the colour, symbol and technique to create one new, large image. In addition to creating this image, you should also answer the following questions:

1. What part of the environment have I chosen to focus on?

2. Why is this part of the environment important to me?

3. Why did I choose this colour for this part of our environment?

4. Why did I choose this symbol for this part of our environment?

5. Why did I choose this technique for this part of our environment?

6. It is important to look after this part of the environment because…

Reflection

Work independently to answer the following questions:

Question	Your answer
What was the most interesting or inspiring thing about this lesson and why?
What was most challenging for me in this lesson and why?

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Activity: Creative Sustainability: Colouring Our Environment – Visual Arts – Years 3 & 4