Giraffes Can’t Dance…. Or Can They?

Hello Families,

Division 14 has been learning that we are all working towards different learning goals.  There are things we all can’t do “yet”!  One of the ways we have been addressing this is through literature.  This story was about a giraffe named Gerald who believed he could not dance.  Others believed the same.  But a wise cricket helped Gerald to understand that he could dance once he found the music he loved and just tried his best.  Here are our artistic representations of this story.  First we learned how to do a directed drawing of our giraffe and made sure to show dancing movement in the arms and legs. We then used paint and learned how to blend white with blue a little at a time to make different shades. This created a moon that looked like it glowed. We also learned how to use the end of a paint brush to make our grass.

Big Idea: Inquiry through the arts creates opportunities for risk taking.

First Peoples Principles of Learning:

• Learning takes patience and time (especially on this project which was made up of many different lessons)

Curricular Competencies:

• Explore elements, processes, materials, movements, technologies, tools, and techniques of the arts
• Develop processes and technical skills in a variety of art forms to refine artistic abilities

Content:

• elements of design: line, shape, texture, colour, form
• principles of design: pattern, repetition, rhythm, colour and contrast

Core Competency: Creative Thinking

• Creative growth requires patience, readiness to take risks, and willingness to try new approaches

Learning involved:

• Students learned the significance of following step-by-step instructions, including drawing giraffe, creating the spots, and using a sharpie to outline it
• Students learned how to blend colours to create different tints and colours using white and blue
• Students learned how to create the glowing moon and layer paint to create the grass using the bottom end of the brush
• Students reflected on the creative process through self assessment following the lesson

The self-assessment asked the following:

• Did I create a giraffe that appears to have movement and is dancing?
• Did I create tints of blue around the moon?
• Did I use the scratching technique to make blades of grass?