Year 5/6: Poppy Project
The history topic for the Year 5s and 6s for this half-term is World War 2. In art, the children are planning and creating work based on poppies. One of the aims of this project is to give the pupils an opportunity to develop their own creativity and to create an independent piece of art within a broader theme.
We began by discussing the historical context of poppies as a symbol of remembrance in this, the centenary of the end of conflict in the First World War. The children worked in sketchbooks to draw poppies and then experimented with adding colour using different media.
They were encouraged to choose those materials which suited their own style and best captured the vibrancy and fragility of the petals.
The children made notes and were able to compare their own sketches with those in other books before planning their final piece:
Here are some of their initial sketches:
In the second lesson, we looked at scale and proportion in works of art and discussed what might make a successful composition. We compared paintings of poppies by various artists that we studied last term including Van Gogh, O'Keeffe and Monet. Some of the children were keen to incorporate words into their artwork.
Others experimented with painting over a printed background showing a battlefield or a war cemetery:
We also learned how to layer colours to produce a more vibrant tone:
We will continue with this project over the next two lessons and I am really looking forward to seeing what the children produce.
