Teach-Primary-Issue-19.8

curved effect. Why did the illustrator choose the specific colours and imagery? How did the shading techniques create the circular effect? Share some of the ideas children had at the end of last lesson for the colour scheme. Ask them to talk to a partner about what they would expect to see when pencil colours are mixed. How will they create light, shade, and the circular form? Make some initial sketches of the rooms on the template provided at the link on the left ( slide 1 ), and encourage the children to try out a range of colours. Children have the choice to decide the order of the rooms they create and the base colour on which they will draw. You need to give them time at this stage to sketch then colour all of the rooms, which will then be glued onto the lighthouse building. Use an HB pencil to sketch each room lightly before adding the colours, working from light to dark. I encourage children to ‘over colour’ in order to match the vibrancy of the originals. To create the circular effect, darker tones could be used towards the edge of each illustration. Some children have chosen to outline the finished drawings in pen. Constantly refer back to Blackall’s work to check for colour-matching. Referring to Sophie’s lighthouse, cut out a rectangular piece of paper roughly two floors in height but narrower than the top of the lighthouse. Draw a line to split the piece into two. The bottom room is an office space, and the top room is the light room. Allow the children’s imagination to run free here to consider how a bright light could be created using any media. The completed rooms will be glued on to the background at a later stage. Assessment • Can children use colour mixing to match the colours used by an artist? • Can children create the effect of a circular room using shading techniques? WEEK 3 Learning objective l To create an atmospheric background This week we move away from the lighthouse, but don’t worry, we’ll return next week! The focus in week 3 is the sky and the waves. Explore the colours used by Sophie Blackall throughout the book to match colours with mood. Research sky colours created by other artists from a selection of picturebooks. What atmosphere were they trying to create and what colours did they choose? In the sketchbook (or using the template on slide 2 ), experiment with graduating colour to create a small-scale sky from its darkest tone at the top to white at the bottom (the horizon/sea line). This experimentation of mixing colour should recall knowledge from previous learning. Add lighter or darker colours to change the atmosphere. What happens when we add white? A primary colour? A secondary colour? Do certain colours signify a mood or feeling? What atmosphere do children want to create? Day or night? Peaceful or stormy? Early morning or early evening? Choose colours to match the mood, creating a vibrant sketchbook spread. Note: I ask children not to use black, but to instead try a combination of colours to darken the mood. Once pupils have experimented with colour, they can use a large piece of paper, which needs to be taller and wider than the lighthouse building, for the background. Draw a horizon line approximately a third from the bottom of the paper. This line is where the sea meets the sky. Paint the sky starting with the darkest shade at the top using horizontal brushstrokes. Lighten the shade gradually until reaching the white of the distant horizon line. Assessment • Can children use colour mixing to create a mood? • Can children graduate colour to create distance in a painting? WEEK 4 Learning objective l To use painting techniques to create waves There are so many painting techniques to create a seascape and waves. Explore how artists have painted waves through history, including photographic, impressionistic, and stylistic like Sophie Blackall. Look at the range of styles Sophie uses throughout the book to create the sea; her use of patterns and brush strokes is a wonderful playful inspiration that children may aim to replicate. Which medium did she use? Use the sketchbook again (or the template in slide 3 ) to experiment with wave styles and colours. When creating the sea, the colours could replicate the sky colours to show how the sky is reflected on the water. Explain that the only detailed waves will be the ones in the foreground and that the majority of the sea will be painted using the same horizontal painting style pupils used for the sky, but with a medium sized brush. Model a horizontal painting technique, leaving gaps F EATURE S P L ANN I NG www.teachwire.net | 27