Unit 1 PYP: Who we are (Relationships)
Our central idea: Understanding yourself is the foundation for building and nurturing strong relationships.
Grade 4 inquired into different types of relationships, explored how to understand different perspectives, different ways to develop a relationship, recognise personal traits in yourself and others and inquire into different relationships in society.
Our main concepts for this unit were
Perspective (What are the points of view?), Reflection (how do we know), Connection (How is it connected to other things? )
*Perspective:
Activity: Students were given a wide range of pictures which showed different kinds of perspective and were asked to sort the images into different a groups.
*Reflection:
Activity: Students sorted different pictures which showed literal reflection and as well as pictures which showed personal reflection.
*Connection:
Activity: Grade 4 students were asked to talk about and draw pictures which showed their connection to art.They were also asked to explore how art is connected in our school, in their homes and around the world.
Grade 4 students started off their year with a gallery walk where they were asked to look critically at a set of images which all depicted different relationships. Students used the Visual thinking strategy “I see, I think , I wonder” as way to record their ideas.
They also explored the idea that political messages can be delivered through art and that this relationship was very powerful.Students also explored the artist Frida Kahlo and looked at the ways in which she portrayed her own life experiences through her art.
Their Summative Assessment piece was to create a collage artwork which depicted a relationship that was important to them.
Media: painting, drawing/sketching, collage
Elements of Art: line, shape, colour, space
Unit 2 PYP: Sharing the Planet (Water)
Our central idea: Water is essential to life and is a limited resource.
Grade 4 inquired into different sources of water and how water is used, how the water cycle impacts water availability, distribution and availability of usable water and finally our responsibilities regarding water.
Our main concepts for this unit were
Function (How does it work?), Causation (Why is it like it is?) and Responsibility (What is our responsibility?)
*Function: (How does it work?)
Activity:
1.Tuning in: To start off our unit I set up a range of water related art activities to spark children’s interest.
*Mixing Paint:Students were asked to mix a variety of paints to create new colours.
*Watercolour Paint Experiment: Students experimented with watercolour paint and different papers to work on which paper does watercolour work best on?
3-Diamond Ranking
3. Sorting out:Students were given a range of artworks which showed water in some way and asked to pick 9 images and the rank the 9 images in order of the most powerful to the least powerful and to explain their reasoning to another group.
*Causation:(Why is it like it is?)
Activity:
2. Finding out- Students reflected on their initial investigations and were shown some thought provoking films aimed at encouraging them to come up with some questions/ ideas they wanted to investigate.
*Responsibility: (What is our responsibility?)
Activity:
3.Sorting Out/ 4. Going Further
5. Making Conclusions
6. Taking Action
Their Summative Assessment piece was to create a poster (using an Art APP or printmaking techniques) which inspired or educated people in our school community to save water.
Media: painting, drawing/sketching, collage using Art Apps, printmaking, photography
Elements of Art: line, shape, colour, space
Unit 3 PYP: How we express ourselves (Beauty)
Our central idea: The attraction to beauty is universal but it is perceived subjectively.
Grade 4 inquired into different definitions of beauty, how perspective influences our idea of beauty, what were the different ideas of beauty over time and how ideas of beauty impact us.
Our main concepts for this unit were
Perspective (What are the points of view?), Reflection (how do we know) and Form (What is it like)
*Perspective:
Activity:
*Reflection:
Activity:
*Form:
Activity:
Their Summative Assessment
Media: painting, drawing/sketching, collage using Art Apps, printmaking, photography
Elements of Art: space, value, texture
