But first! Free 5 Day Creativity in Languages Masterclass
In April PLN celebrate our 10th Birthday!
To celebrate this we want to host a free masterclass for all to join in teaching primary languages creatively.
From 1st-5th April.
There will be daily video demos and ideas shared by Janet and some of the team. And the opportunity to interact and engage with the team via ‘live’ sessions
Bring a famous piece of Art to life. One of my favorite lessons of all time.An opportunity to combine language learning, observation and imagination skills, Art and Drama.
Potential pieces of Art to focus upon:
The Boating Party- Renoir.
Day in the Park- Seurat
The Corner Shop- Lowry
Sewing the sail - Joaquin Sorolla
Learning Skills explored:
Speaking , memory, recall (language learning)
Observation,imagination and creativity
Physical communication and performance
Working as a group
Language exploration and a “Brain Bank”.
Select your picture and then consider types of target language the children may already know that you can brainstorm with them e.g. greetings, feelings, emotions, requests, questions and answers, exclamations.
Create a “brain bank” of these target language phrases on board or flip-chart with the children.This will be a reference point for the children .Ask them to work in pairs and explore how you say these phrases.Challenge the children by asking them to say the phrases and express certain emotions (happiness, tiredness, fear, joy etc).
Explore the painting.Take a “walk talk”.
Show the selected painting on a big class screen. (The painting will be the backdrop to the drama too so needs to have space in front for the class volunteers to stand etc).
Opportunity here to share cultural information and facts about the artist of the painting. Give the children a few minutes with a partner in English to discuss thew painting and familiarize themselves with the characters and action.
Take a walk talk around the painting,.with beginner learners in English and with more advanced learners, you could use target language at the correct comprehension level.
Observations
Ask the children to read the phrases in the “brain bank” and observe the characters in the painting.Which phrases do they think the characters might be saying.How is each character feeling? What does the voice of the character sound like ?
Ask the children to share these observations with a partner and to say the phrases in the target language and convey the way the character is feeling.
Class demonstration
Volunteers,one by one to come and stand in front to the painting, select a character and take the “pose” of the character, exactly as the character is painted in the picture.This can be challenging for some younger children as they need to have their back to the painting and understand the exact position of the character.
Each volunteer takes it in turns to say the phrase he/she thinks best fits the character, in the voice,emotion and style of the character. Each volunteer must add an action that fits in with the character and it’s really great if you can offer a selection of props too (hats,scarves, cups, glasses, books etc).
Ask the volunteers to freeze frame in their chosen poses with ;props etc.
Teacher as artist.
Explain to the class that you are now the famous artist. i like to have an art brush in hand and even an art palette. When I point toward a volunteer with the brush, the volunteer speaks,does action and when i wave my brush at a volunteer, the volunteer goes back into freeze frame.
One by one, you bring the characters to life and then freeze frame the characters.
Now it’s time to bring the whole painting to life. Again one by one point toward a volunteer with the paint brush, but this time they must continuously say and do their action over and again until you wave your brush toward the volunteer.You are like an orchestra conductor bringing in more and more characters,voices and actions and then one by one freeze framing the characters. You have as a class brought the painting to life.
Group performances.
Divide your class into groups and ask the groups to create their own group 3D Art performances of the painting.
Make sure the group has a range of different confidence and ability learners across both languages and drama and performance.
Nominate one member of the group as artist and this person needs an art brush and palette.
Keep a record
Takeaway resource
Film the group performances and using APPs produce a class series of performances of the painting brought to life.
Take photos of the children in the poses with props and create a class montage display of the painting brought to life with target language speech bubbles of the language the children selected from the brain bank.
