Teach Primary Issue 18.5

Adele Darlington’s engaging sticky-note art activity is the perfect way to celebrate the highs of the year gone by T his fun, creative project recognises the joy of the whole primary school experience – not just the academic side – and encourages pupils to share the best bits of absolutely everything from the past year. Prompts encourage them to think about different aspects of school life, which they then respond to in visual form, while discussing, smiling and laughing with their friends. The result is a joyful classroom experience and a beautiful memory capture of the year. Do you know what makes this project that little bit extra special? It’s incredibly easy to resource, and requires very little preparation. You’ll just need the following materials: • a selection of drawing and colouring tools – felt tip pens or pencils will do • some sticky notes – the finished artwork will be made from nine of them • a background canvas – all the instructions you’ll need on how to make this are in the panel opposite. This activity can be adapted for every year group in school, giving children of all ages an opportunity to produce meaningful artwork to cherish. It’s a great activity for classroom staff to join in with, too. Memory bank To start, provide your class with a series of questions, headings, photographs or big ideas to talk about in pairs, groups or as a class. The prompts you choose will largely depend on your cohort, so have a think about what approach would best suit them. Will they react well to written prompts or might they need pictures, too? Each child will ultimately need to choose nine prompts to respond to, in order to create their artwork. The questions you provide should capture the interest of your pupils, and to encourage reflection. They could include: • What is your favourite memory of the year? • Who have you enjoyed spending your time with at school? • What has been your favourite school lunch? • Who has been your teacher this year? • How have you travelled to and from school? • What has been your favourite subject? • What book you have you enjoyed reading? • What did you do most often at playtime? • What did your classroom look like this year? • What is the funniest thing that has happened in class? Allow plenty of time for talk and reminiscing. If it’s a mild summer’s day, take your class outside for this talk time and give them the opportunity to relax, chat and reflect fondly on the year gone by. Some pupils will need this chance to hear from others to have their memories jogged – September seems a long way back in the past when it’s June or July. So much happens during one academic year that it’s very easy for the children to forget some experiences. You’ll hear lots of “Oh, yeah!”s in response to “Do you remember when...?” Remind pupils of school trips, special assemblies, visitors, theme days, topics, sports days and any other significant events from the year. Sharing photographs can enhance this Thanks for the MEMORIES “The novelty of working on a smaller scale really adds to the charm of this activity” 48 | www.teachwire.net