Showcase

The Big Draw October 2009

The Big Draw is a national event organised each October by the Campaign for Drawing to promote enjoyment in drawing and participation in the Arts; also to elevate the profile of drawing a tool of creative thought and social engagement. The event at our school took place at the end of September and its central theme was the idea of "Our Community"

Each year group was set a challenge to explore aspects of this theme by trying to draw in different ways, with the help and participation of their teachers, parents and carers.

Here are some of the super outcomes

The challenges set to each year group were:

Reception

Can you draw each other in materials other than paint or pencil?

Year 1

Can you draw other children and staff in our school in paint but without using a paintbrush?

The children took photos of members of staff using digital cameras and then painted using their fingers. Can you recognise any of these people?

Year 2

Can you draw with light and shadow?

The children explored how colour could be used to represent shadow and express feelings.

Year 3

Can you collage Coventry?

The  theme for children’s learning this term is "Who do you think you are?" and as part of this they have been finding out about the history of Coventry and its people. They used the knowledge and resources they had gathered to make large collages using mixed media.

Year 4

Can you draw with science?

The children explored our local area and focussed on a graffiti wall near the rugby ground. The children explored how these images could be "blown up" or "shrunk down" and created their own graffiti using ICT.

Year 5

Can you draw with cameras?

The children created photo mosaics of images of Coventry places and people, which they manipulated using ICT software.

Year 6

Eco Coventry- What are the issues in our community that we need to concern ourselves with? How can you represent these in 3D?

The children created a 3D landscape divided by a wall, one side represented a good healthy town and the other side showed a town that wasn't quite so appealing! This was linked to their Big Idea of from “Destruction to Healing.”

More About The Big Draw

We made a collage about old and new Coventry, we stuck on the collage a picture of the old Cathedral and we made Cofa’s tree out of pipe cleaners. We put some ribbons on (blue of course for Coventry football team sky blue army) and pictures of bicycles and watches because they were first made in Coventry. Callum’s mum came to help us too! It was really good fun because we all got to work together and we enjoyed doing art.
Candice and Callum Year 3

On September 29th we went to the graffiti wall at Broomfield Park. We drew a piece of graffiti there were some rude words and we ignored them. Some people got their photo taken by their favourite piece of graffiti. The next day we went on Graffiti Writer on the computer and chose some styles to make our names look like graffiti.
Katie Year 4

The Big Draw was fun. We had to make a 3d model. Some classes did posters. We included good stuff and bad stuff that was happening in the world.
Philip Year 6

We made a 3D model about what the world is like one side with flowers and green houses and the other with rubbish and dirt.
Josh Year 6

Fleece bags

First we got some white and coloured fleece and layered it onto a piece of plastic. Then we put another piece of plastic over the layered fleece then, before we did that we poured fairy liquid and hot water on top of the fleece. Then we massaged it with are hands for about 15 minutes, then we rinsed it and then left it to dry.    

When it was dry we decorated it, I wanted mine to look like a cat.

Sorrel S
Year 4T

Firstly we pulled little pits of the fleece and layered it different ways.

Then we added colour to it. I added purple and red. After we got water and washing up liquid and poured it over the fleece and swished it all together for a long time. Then we removed the bag and dried it off. Finally we could stitch it together and decorated and make them in to bags.  

Lilly W

Year 4 made some felt bags.

You will need:

Fleece
Washing up liquid
Warm water
And a plastic bag! 

You start of with plain white fleece and then you would add colour to it. Then you would put the other half of the bag over it after you have poured water and washing- up liquid over it.  Then you rub it for about 15 minutes, leave it to dry and then you have felt to make your bag!

Lily B
4T

A few weeks a go my class made bags out of felt which we made ourselves .After they dried we decorated them with bows  and then we sewed them up I also made a handle for my bag.

Grace M
4T

The Precinct

These are some photos of designs done by the children in Year 3. They were entries for a competition to design what Coventry Precinct would look like in 50 years time. Two of our children received first and second prizes and were presented with them in assembly by Mark Dixon, who is the manager of the Lower Precinct in Coventry.

The competition tied in with our curriculum topic "Who do you think you are?” We found out how the precinct used to look using old images that we found on the internet. Then we went on a visit and made sketches of some of the interesting things we saw. We then used these to help us to imagine what it might look like in the future.

Children at work collecting ideas for their designs

Faye and Isabelle, 1st and 2nd prize winners with their entries

The Big Draw event was held in Year 3 in October 2008.

A whole new way of looking at pictures we had seen many times before. Families and carers were invited to join us in trying to solve the artistic challenges that had been set!

See some of the displays from around school: