Cabbage Heart
Transcription
Cabbage Heart
Theatre Alibi With s pecial rt SuppA lemen t Cabbage Heart by Daniel Jamieson for 5 -11 year olds Teachers Resource Pack Written & compiled by Dorinda Hulton Art Supplement Written & compiled by Sandie Hicks Cabbage Heart Teachers Resource Pack This year’s teacher’s resource pack has been specially designed and developed to accompany Theatre Alibi’s performance of Cabbage Heart. It’s intended as a resource for teachers of children at Key Stages 1 and 2 and may be used either before, or after, the performance. Aspects of it are especially relevant to PSHE, Art, Literacy and History. This year we’ve also produced a special Art Supplement full of ideas to encourage your pupils to be creative. We’ve also included worksheets suitable for photocopying for classroom use. The worksheets are marked with borders so that you can spot them easily. DORINDA HULTON Contents Developing self-confidence ..............................3 PSHE (plus worksheet) Different kinds of friendship ............................5 PSHE (plus worksheet) Enjoying growing things....................................7 Art, Science Popular acts on the Music Hall Stage................8 Art, History Finding out more about Ancient Egypt ..............9 Art, History Thinking about the meaning of paintings ........10 Art, History Things we miss about people ..........................12 PSHE (plus worksheet) Telling stories through pictures......................14 Art, History (plus worksheet) Creating the shape of a sculpture with words ..16 Art, Literacy Finding out about a famous sculpture ............18 Art, Numeracy Responding to the performance......................21 ART SUPPLEMENT....................................22 Resources ......................................................41 The script and production photos can be downloaded from www.theatrealibi.co.uk from September 2 Developing self-confidence In Cabbage Heart, Jelly is a nine year old girl who loves drawing but thinks she’s rubbish at it. Perhaps her lack of self-confidence is because her Nan says she can’t draw for toffee. Or perhaps it’s because she’s frightened people might laugh at her. Or perhaps it’s because she hasn’t found a good teacher to help her. Or perhaps it’s a mixture of all those reasons. There can be all sorts of reasons why people can think they’re not very good at doing things. Ask the children, in pairs, to think of ways of developing their own self-confidence; and/or ways of helping each other to develop self-confidence. After some discussion in pairs, encourage the children to share their thoughts with each other in a big group. In the story, Jelly makes friends with Mags who is a world famous sculptor. Some time ago, when Mags was an art student, she was shy as a mouse. Like Jelly, she was terrified of what other people might think about her work - so for weeks on end she couldn’t make a thing. “Adults (as well as children) can sometimes think they’re no good at doing things” Ask the children if they think the statement above is ‘true’ or ‘false’. If they do think it’s true, can they give examples of things that adults might feel scared to even try? Can they think of ways they might overcome their fears? Some children, for example, may have seen the film The King’s Speech which tells the story of King George VI – and how a good teacher helped him overcome his stutter. It’s reassuring to be reminded that even a king can lack self-confidence sometimes. On the next page are a number of things people can do to help themselves develop their self-confidence and overcome their fears of trying to do things that seem difficult. Ask the children to work in pairs and answer the question at the top of the page. The list of helpful suggestions is jumbled up with other responses that may not be so helpful, so the children can sort out their answers into two categories: “Helpful” and “Not very helpful”. Perhaps, they could include a third category for some of the less obvious answers: “It depends”. Can the children explain the reasons for their answers? Ask the children to make up their own stories about someone who thinks they are rubbish at doing something, and how they manage to overcome their fears. Does the person try several different things one after the other until they find something that works, or do they find something that does the trick straight away? 3 Worksheet If you don’t feel very self-confident is it OK to: Experiment, and sometimes make mistakes? Practice a lot? Work at your own pace? Work quickly so that you can finish your work before anyone else does? Risk doing something in your own way even if it’s different to everyone else? Feel jealous if you think other people are better than you? Give up as soon as you start to find something difficult? Criticise yourself all the time? Ask a friend, or a teacher, to suggest how you can do something better? Enjoy what you’re doing while you’re doing it? Try to please everybody but yourself? Laugh at your own work before anyone else can? Keep going at what you’re doing without taking a break? Stop worrying about how things will turn out, and have fun? Read some books to help you learn a bit more? Find someone else to blame if things go wrong? 4 Different kinds of friendship Mags has a gardener called Peter, and by the end of the story, Jelly gets to know Mags and Peter well. It’s an unusual friendship because Jelly is nine years old, and Mags and Peter are adults, but Jelly feels comfortable and safe with them. Children might be surprised to realise that adults they know well can be good friends too – so long as they feel comfortable and safe with them. Ask the children in a big group to think about all the different adults they are friends with, or perhaps simply friendly with. Here are a few ideas to start them off: The lady in a shop round the corner, a grandparent, a teacher, a school friend’s Mum, a carer… There are lots of different kinds of friendship, from best friends to groups of friends. Ask the children to make a list in pairs of all the different kinds of friendship they can think of. Here are a few ideas to start them off: New friends, old friends, family friends, holiday friends, fair weather friends, imaginary friends, pets… Ask the children to talk about why friends are important. Perhaps they can each choose a sentence from the list on the next page and draw a picture to illustrate it, or, better still, make up their own sentences. All together, the class could make a “Friendship Book”. A painting of Chug by Anna Sky Hulton 5 Worksheet Why are friends important? I can trust my best friend to keep a secret. I can tell my close friends things I can’t tell other people. I have fun playing with my school friends. My kindest friend helps me if I get stuck with something difficult. My funniest friend laughs a lot. My most sympathetic friend listens to me when I feel cross. I trust my real friends not to say horrible things behind my back. My best friend thinks I’m OK even when I’m in a grumpy mood. My patient friend forgives me if I’m unkind and then say I’m sorry. I feel as if I matter to my oldest friend. I learn things from my adult friends. My friend doesn’t mind if I’m better at doing some things. I look forward to seeing all my friends! 6 Enjoying growing things There are lots of cabbages growing in Mags’s garden. Peter gave her a packet of seeds, and after she planted and watered them they seemed to shoot up. Mags says she finds it a relief to watch something grow instead of making it herself. If there is space in the classroom, children will enjoy the process of planting seeds in trays, watching them germinate, and looking at them grow into seedlings. A packet of seeds can be shared amongst the whole class, and autumn sown cabbages, for example, will show by 7-14 days. If there is space outside to transplant them, the cabbages should mature by 24-30 days. Budding photographers could record their progress in a series of images. Ask the children to share their experiences of different kinds of gardens, and growing things. Perhaps some of them have family members who enjoy growing things in their gardens or allotments. Older children may be interested to discuss the differences and similarities between the work of an artist and the work of a gardener. Many people think that the creators of gardens are artists as well. Perhaps the children can select ideas from different images of gardens and enjoy painting a picture of their own fantastical garden. You could also look for more suggestions for art activities in the Art Supplement at the end of this pack.Beautiful images of gardens may be found at: http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=gardens+around+the+world&hl=en&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1TS VEE_en___GB438&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=h_ewT8HhJpSa1AXd88 G2CQ&sqi=2&ved=0CI0BELAE&biw=1333&bih=570 7 Popular acts on the Music Hall Stage Peter was a painter before he worked in Mags’s garden. He went to the same art school that Mags went to, and when they were both students, he helped Mags to develop her self-confidence in rather an unusual way. His father was a stage hypnotist who used to dress up in a costume from Ancient Egypt for his stage hypnotism act. So Peter copied him – and managed to hypnotise Mags! Peter’s mumbo-jumbo hypnotic spell in the story is in the tradition of a comic Music Hall stage act. Magic and hypnotism were two popular acts on the music hall stage, and older children may be interested in the caricature (top right) of a comedy duo called Walton and Lester who performed at the Hippodrome, Stoke-on-Trent, during the week of 19 August 1907. They were billed as ‘The World’s http://collections.vam.ac.uk © Victoria & Albert Museum Worst Wizards’ or ‘The World’s Worst Hypnotists’ and it gave their act a new twist to be deliberately bad at both. Ask the children what they notice about caricatures that makes them different to realistic portraits. Perhaps the children can draw their own caricature of Peter doing his mumbo-jumbo spell in Cabbage Heart. Above right is another superb caricature also reproduced courtesy of the V&A, and also drawn by the artist George Cooke. It’s of the actor and comedian Harry Conlin who performed at the Grand Theatre of Varieties, Hanley, during the week of 5 December 1904. He is dressed in a pantomime Dame-style costume, complete with a muff featuring a loaf of Hovis bread http://collections.vam.ac.uk © Victoria & Albert Museum and a hat sporting potatoes on forks. Many children may have seen a pantomime at Christmas and older children may be interested to find out more about this form of entertainment, and its historical roots in Victorian circus and Music Hall. Here is a picture showing a man called Mr Sands walking upside down, wearing his special suction shoes. In this sensational image, Mr Sands has a safety net, but unfortunately, in 1861, the stunt ended in disaster when he was challenged to walk across the ceiling without a safety net. A section of the plaster he was ‘standing’ on collapsed, and he was killed by the fall. http://www.vam.ac.uk © Victoria & Albert Museum 8 Finding out more about Ancient Egypt In Cabbage Heart, Peter’s father used to dress up in a costume from Ancient Egypt for his stage act. Children will enjoy finding out more about Ancient Egypt. Do they know, for example, that the Ancient Egyptians wrote in pictures rather than letters and words? Below is a copy of The Hieroglyphic Alphabet. Can the children write their names? http://sataid.net/forum/showthread.php/22255-The-Hieroglyphic-Alphabet Here is a good website to find out about Ancient Egyptian art: http://artsmarts4kids.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/ancient-egyptian-art-part-1-painting.html 9 Thinking about the meaning of paintings Peter hasn’t painted anything apart from Mags’s garden gate for years - but long ago he painted a picture of his father inside an Ancient Egyptian mummy. Peter tells Jelly that his Dad didn’t really go in a mummy. He just painted him in one. When Jelly asks him ‘Why did you paint your Dad in a mummy?’ Peter explains the hidden meaning behind his painting: his father always sheltered him when things got difficult, so in the painting he wanted to shelter his father too – from all the rotten tomatoes the audience used to throw at him if his stage act wasn’t going very well. Older children may be interested to see a variety of images created by a contemporary Egyptian artist Mohamed Abla and to think about the meanings behind them. There are a number of striking images at www.ablamuseum.com For example, on the right is one of Abla’s paintings called ‘Father’. Ask the children to look at it and wonder about the hidden meaning behind the painting. What kind of man does the father in the painting look like? Does he look as if he needs protection like Peter’s father? Do the children look safe, or afraid? Abla’s body of work My Family, My People was created between 2006 and 2012 in acrylic on canvas, photography and oil on paper. “When I started painting the series” he says, “I felt nostalgic towards the family; I would draw a father, mother, maybe two children”. “But the family changes and people separate to establish their own families. I look at relatives, neighbours. Eventually I see more people and my big family: Egypt. I play with words and meanings and look at all the changes that are happening in the family, how it grew and how Egypt has been changing. After 25 January 2011, I started observing families at Tahrir Square: people gathering in circles, talking, walking in different directions. I examine how those events affect the meaning of the family. ‘Where are we going?’ I ask myself.” Image reproduced with the kind permission of the artist http://oasismag.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/myfamily-mypeople-solo-exhibition-by.html#!/2012/05/my-family-my-people-solo-exhibition-by.html 10 Ask older children to think about the ‘meaning’ in Abla’s picture on the right. It shows three men in Tahrir Square and strangely echoes an image at the end of Cabbage Heart in which Jelly, Mags and Peter are holding hands. But what does the picture ‘mean’? Are the three men in the picture friends? Who are the men looking at? Why are they wearing helmets? Why aren’t their helmets closed in the front to protect their faces? Who are all the shadowy people in the background? Are the men protecting them? Where does all the smoke come from? Reproduced with the kind permission of the artist http://www.majalla.com/eng/2012/05/article55231675 Encourage the children to accept that it’s fine if they all have different thoughts about the ‘meaning’ of a piece of art. There’s an interesting section called ‘Hidden Meanings’ in the National Gallery’s book Looking at Pictures. This book introduces children of ten and upwards to the basic chronology of European painting and a wide range of other topics. Also, a splendid book entitled What is Art? makes the point about the subjective nature of art appreciation: ‘What you see depends on who you are’. It illustrates the point with a simple drawing of the outline of a goat. When the drawing was shown to some children in Kenya, none of them said it was a goat. They all knew very well what a goat looked like, but all the goats in their village had tails that turned upwards, and the goat in the drawing had its tail turning downwards – so they knew it couldn’t possibly be a goat. Who you are, of course, is partly determined by what you know. Older children may be inspired by Abla’s painting to find out something about Egypt today and its recent history. Below are a couple of images from the Wikipedia site for Tahrir Square. What differences do the children notice between the two images? Tahrir Square in 2011 Photo: Jonathan Rashad Tahrir Square in 1958 11 Things we miss about people Peter is not very good at hypnotism and when he tries to demonstrate his technique, he accidentally hypnotises Jelly. Whilst she’s under a hypnotic spell Jelly draws a series of pictures that tell an autobiographical story of the day her Mum and Dad died. Everybody knows that living things die, but when someone you’re close to dies, it’s very sad and upsetting. Drawing the pictures helps Jelly to accept the sad truth of what actually happened that day. There are a number of sensible and sensitive books to help children understand their feelings when someone close to them dies. Some of these are listed on the Resources pages. Jelly’s Nan tells her that her parents are living in a cottage under the sea, but Jelly knows that they have died and wishes her Nan would tell her the truth. Adults often find it difficult to talk about death and dying. They may believe they’re making it easier for young people by fibbing to them. But sometimes not talking about difficult things can make them much harder to understand and accept. Ask the children if they agree with Jelly that because she’s nine years old, her Nan should tell her the truth. Jelly misses her Mum and Dad, especially the way they used to encourage her and tell her the things she did were amazing. Ask the children to think about all sorts of different reasons why we might miss people. Perhaps a parent has travelled abroad to work for a while, or is away on military service. Perhaps a good friend who used to live next door has moved to another part of the country. Perhaps there has been a change in the family, and the children only see one of their parents at the weekend or in the holidays. Perhaps some children may have experienced the death of someone close to them. Can the children think of other reasons why we might miss people? Ask the children in a big group to think about times when they’ve missed someone. What are the things about the person that they miss the most? If children are comfortable sharing their thoughts about the people they miss, and why they miss them, encourage the rest of the class to listen to them attentively. Missing people we care about is perfectly normal. Ask the children to think about things people can do to help themselves to feel better if they miss someone. On the next page are a few ideas to start them off. 12 Worksheet When I miss someone... I like looking at photos of the happy times we spent together. I like to visit a special place where I can leave flowers. I write letters. I hug the people who are with me and tell them I love them. I talk to a teacher and tell them about the person I miss. I have a memory box in which I collect things. I feel better if I share my feelings with people I trust. If I kick a ball around, somehow it helps me get rid of my angry feelings. I like spending more time with my friends rather than feeling lonely. I write stories about the person I miss. I like drawing pictures. I have a scrap book to remind me of all the special things they did. I planted a tree in memory of my friend. 13 Telling stories through pictures In Theatre Alibi’s story, Jelly tells an autobiographical story through pictures. Ask the children if they can explain the difference between a fictional story, an autobiographical story and a biographical story. Can they give examples? Children may be interested to look at a range of pictures that tell fictional stories. Perhaps each of them can choose an illustration from a fictional story book that they know well, and write about that moment in the story using their own words. Children can be invited to draw a series of pictures that tell an autobiographical story. They could choose to tell quite a humdrum story about an ordinary day in their lives, or they could tell the story of a special day, perhaps an exciting or happy one, or even a very sad day like Jelly’s. In pairs, the children could show each other their stories, and help each other to make up captions for each picture. Children may also find it exciting to create a series of pictures that tell a biographical story. They could, for example, tell the story of a day in the life of one of their friends, or a younger brother or sister and they could choose the medium to work in, either drawing or painting, or perhaps even photography. Here is a link to a slideshow of remarkable photos that tell a biographical story: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/4d5525f8-94b8-11e1-bb0d-00144feab49a.html#axzz1uZaKZXf5 The photos in the slideshow form a small part of one of many photo essays Stanley Kubrick shot in 1947 for Look magazine, before he became a famous filmmaker. They tell the story of a day in the life of a 12 year old ‘Shoe Shine Boy’ called Mickey. Ask the children to look at the photos and see if they can answer the following questions: Can the children guess where the photos were taken? (Perhaps the best clue can be found in the 10 cent charge Mickey is asking his customers for. It’s visible in some photos on the side of his shoe shine box). Can the children guess roughly when the photos were taken? (Perhaps the best clue lies in the style of clothes. Older children might be able to associate these with other images they have seen of everyday life after the Second World War). The photos are amongst a vast collection of 300,000 images of New York’s city streets, slums and bridges that the Museum of the City of New York is in the process of digitising for online publication. www.mcny.org Ask the children to look at each image in the slideshow in turn and to imagine the answers to the questions below. The whole class could discuss possible answers together, and then each of the children could rearrange the images into their own preferred order, and write their own version of the story. 14 Worksheet Can you imagine… In Photo 1, where might Mickey and his friend be going? What might they be looking at? In Photo 2, what might Mickey and the other boys in the picture be doing? Are they pretending to be something? Where are they? 1 2 3 4 5 6 In Photo 3, who might the lady be? Does the lady look pleased? What is she saying to Mickey? Whose doorway is she standing in front of? In Photo 4, what might Mickey be holding? Where is he? What might he be doing? Is he playing some sort of a game? Is he practising something? In Photo 5, what is Mickey doing? What might he be writing about? Who is with him? What story might he be reading? In Photo 6, what are Mickey and the other boy doing? Are they acting doing something, or really doing it? How can you tell? Where are they? Is it the same place as in photo 2? In Photo 7, who might the boy with Mickey be? Is it one of his brothers, or a school friend, or a neighbour? 7 15 Creating the shape of a sculpture with words Mags’s sculptures have unusual body shapes. Children may be interested in looking at the work of world famous sculptors like Henry Moore or Giacometti who made sculptures with unusual body shapes. Below is a series of steps to help young children create the unusual body shape of a sculpture with words. 1 Ask the children in pairs, to look carefully at the two sculptures and make a list of words that name all the different body parts they can see in each sculpture. Here are a few words to start them off: Eyes, knees, legs 2 Can the children help each other to make a list of words to describe how each body part looks? For example: Henry Moore: Die Liegende, 1961 Stuttgart, Neue Staatsgalerie, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stuttgarthenry-moore-liegende.jpg Spooky, skinny, smooth 3 Can the children find more words to describe the sculpture they have chosen? How do they think it might feel to touch? How heavy do they think it might be? How do they think the figure might move if it could come alive? For example: Cold and hard, thin and sad, big and heavy 4 Giacometti: Cat, 1954, Ask the children to connect their words together, so Metropolitan Museum of Art. that each of them makes a list of words and phrases http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%27Cat%27b y_Giacometti,_1954,_Metropolitan_Museum_ to describe one of the sculptures. For example: of_Art.jpg Sad spooky eyes, small heavy head, smooth legs 5 The children can then arrange all the words they’ve found on the page – using words instead of drawing to create the body shape of the sculpture they have chosen. 16 Below is a picture of a ‘literacy dog’ which will give children the idea. The shape of the dog has been cut out and the words are arranged around the edges of the cut out shape. Reproduced with the kind permission of the National Gallery Education http://www.takeonepicture.org/ac/literacy/literacy_ex8.html The ‘Literacy Dog’ may be found at the National Gallery’s Take One Picture website http://www.takeonepicture.org/ Take One Picture is the National Gallery's wonderful countrywide scheme for primary schools. Each year the Gallery focuses on one painting from the collection to inspire cross-curricular work in primary classrooms. During a one-day Continuing Professional Development course at the Gallery, teachers are given a print of one of the Gallery’s paintings. The challenge is then for schools to use the image imaginatively in the classroom, both as a stimulus for artwork, and for work in other curriculum areas such as literacy, PSHE and History. National Gallery Education then displays a selection of the work in the annual Take One Picture exhibition at the National Gallery, and on their website. Contact Details: National Gallery Education, The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN Telephone: 020 7747 2424, Fax: 020 7747 2431 Email: [email protected] 17 Finding out about a famous sculpture Mags is a world famous sculptor. On the following pages are three examples of public sculptures made by world famous contemporary British sculptors. Ask the children to choose one of the sculptures and to find out more about the sculptor, as well as other art works the artist has made. The children could make a ‘Did you know list…’ For example: Did you know... The Angel of the North is the UK's most recognised landmark. The Angel of the North is 20m (65 feet) high; the height of four double decker buses. The Angel of the North will last for more than 100 years. The fabricators worked for 22,000 hours - twenty men working full time for six months. The Angel of the North is seen by one person every second. The word 'angel' is derived from the Greek 'angelos' meaning 'messenger'. The Angel of the North weighs 200 tons. There were 3,153 pieces of steel used in the assembly of the Angel of the North and 10km of welding (6 miles) in fabrication. It is believed that the Angel of the North is the largest sculpture in the world. In 2008, the Angel of the North was voted one of Britain's top ten landmarks. The Angel of the North's wingspan is as big as that of a jumbo jet. The Angel of the North was designed by award-winning sculptor Antony Gormley. The Angel of the North will withstand winds of more than 100 miles per hour. The engineers, designers and draughtsmen worked for 2,500 hours on the Angel of the North. The Angel of the North contains enough steel to make four Chieftain tanks. The Angel's ankle cross section is the same width as an ordinary house door. There’s an excellent teachers pack for The Angel of the North sculpture at: http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Leisure%20and%20Culture/attractions/Angel/Angel%20Teachers %20Pack/My%20angel%20Teachers%20Pack.aspx 18 ‘Angel of the North’ by Anthony Gormley (Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, 1998) The ‘Angel of the North’ by Anthony Gormley is a 20 metre steel sculpture of an angel with a wing span of 54 metres. It overlooks the A1 motorway and the East Coast mainline railway and is built to withstand winds of up to 100 miles per hour. Here is a picture of the Angel in the snow. It’s as high as four double decker buses, and has a wingspan the same size as a jumbo jet’s! If there is enough space outside the school, the children may be interested to measure out its height and width on the ground. http://www.picturesofgateshead.co.uk/angel_of_the_north/photo25.jpg http://www.gateshead.gov.uk/Leisure%20and%20Culture/attractions/Angel/Home.aspx 19 ‘Orbit’ by Anish Kapoor (London 2012) ‘Orbit’ by Anish Kapoor is the UK’s highest public sculpture at 115 metres. Commissioned for London’s Olympic Park, it was completed in in time for the Olympic Games, but much to the disgust of Kapoor, visitors will be charged £15 to see the view from the top. Here is a picture of Anish Kapoor looking at a scale model of his sculpture. Its shape reminds some people of a helter skelter. Ask the children if it reminds them of anything, and why they think it might be called ‘Orbit’. If there is enough space outside the school, the children may be interested to measure out its height and width on the ground. Anish Kapoor's Orbit Tower (All London Media) ‘The White Horse’ by Mark Wallinger (Ebbsfleet, Kent, work in progress) ‘The White Horse’ by Mark Wallinger (Ebbsfleet, Kent) won the commission for an ‘Angel of the South’ landmark. Designed to be 50 metres high (33 times the size of a real horse) it was also scheduled for completion in time for the Olympics but construction has been delayed because of a lack of funding. Again, if there’s enough space outside the school, the children may be interested to measure out its height and width on the ground. A model of Mark Wallinger’s White Horse http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/7880889.stm Children may also be interested to find out more about other giant white horses such as the one in Berkshire which is 2000 years old. Cut out of the green turf of the hillside, the Berkshire horse exposes the chalky earth beneath, and is a massive 111 metres from ear to tail. The Celtic people who created it long ago could never have seen it all at one time – which is only possible from the air. So why did they make it? Ask the children to think about all the possible reasons. The Uffington Horse http://www.ancient.eu.com/uploads/images/357.jpg 20 Responding to the performance In a large group, encourage the children to discuss how different moments in the story of Cabbage Heart made them feel. Were there exciting moments? Or funny ones? Or sad ones? Were there moments when they all felt the same thing? Discuss the similarities and differences between their responses. Reassure them that it’s fine to have a different point of view. In pairs, or small groups, ask the children to choose their own most vivid memories of the performance. Were they linked to the acting, a prop, a costume, the music, a sound effect, or the set design? Or a mixture of them all? Between them they can make notes or draw pictures and use these to help them share their choices with the rest of the class. Together, make a list of ‘memorable moments’ from the performance, and discuss whether, or not, in the story, the children think this moment was a make believe moment or could happen in real life. Did they enjoy the make believe moments in the story more, or the realistic ones? Or both of them just as much? Can they think moments when the story seemed to be make believe, as well as realistic, both at the same time? In pairs, or small groups, ask the children to choose a moment from the performance that they think could have been done in a different way - not necessarily better. Encourage them to discuss other ways of telling that part of the story, perhaps by changing the acting, a prop, a sound effect or an aspect of the set design, costume or music. They can note down their own creative ideas and add drawings to help explain them. Then each small group can share them with the rest of the class. Ask the children to write a review of the performance and send it to Theatre Alibi. They can include their own creative ideas as well as tell the company what their favourite moments were, and why, and how each moment made them feel. 21 Art Supplement Warm-ups Having a blank sheet of paper in front of you can be a bit daunting… where do I start? What shall I draw? You can make some comparisons to P.E. Sometimes you need a bit of a warm up to get you started… Drawing with your left hand (or the hand you don’t use for writing) Drawing without looking at the paper Drawing without taking the pencil off the page These are good ‘warm up’ loosening-up activities, particularly for older children who lack confidence in their ability to draw. Mostly people find it awkward to draw with their left hand, or their right of course, if they are left handed. So everyone’s in the same boat and it takes the pressure off for children who daren’t ‘have a go’ for fear of ‘getting it wrong’, or think they have to produce a masterpiece. It’s also fun and can produce quite hilarious results that everyone can laugh at together. Ask the children to work in pairs and, facing each other, make a pencil portrait of their partner using the opposite hand they usually work with. Keep the activity fairly short and try to get the children to work quickly to produce a sketch. At the end of the activity, they can swap over their drawings. Encourage the children to talk about whether they found it easy or difficult and to talk about each other’s pictures…the `do I really look like that?’,`why is my eye square?’ kind of questions. Drawing without looking Children can work in pairs, or you may prefer to arrange the class into small groups around an object or groups of objects. Ideally this should be something that is familiar and interesting to the children - a classroom toy, for example, or an object from a display that ties in with a project theme. Children may find it easier not to look at the paper if they use an aid to help them. They could create their own ‘blinders’ by making a small hole in a square of cardboard, approximately 8-9 inches square. The pencil goes through the hole and makes it harder to see what the pencil is making. Start by getting the children to look at the object/s you’ve provided for them. Describe them, ask the class questions. Is it soft? Look at the outline. Has it got straight edges? Get them to look at details. You might tell them stories about the object/s to inspire them to look in a different way. Again, keep the activity fairly short. Get them to use their ‘blinder’ cards and pencils on paper that’s large enough so they don’t wander off the page and draw on the table. Get the children to 22 look hard at their subjects and draw what they see in front of them. At the end of the activity, encourage discussion. Are they surprised at the results? Did their drawing hand ‘magically’ take over from their eyes? When you can’t see what you’re drawing, what you think you’re drawing is often very different to what you actually end up with! Another warm-up activity is to draw without taking the pencil off the page. This is harder than you’d think… but no cheating! You could use the same set of objects, or introduce new ones. What about using the same objects but rearranged, turned upside down even, or ask the children to move so that their own viewpoint is different. At the end of the warm-ups, you could put the drawings around the classroom to create a gallery of the work the children have produced so that they can enjoy looking at what everyone’s made. I can draw BIG and I can draw SMALL Ask the children all together, to think of things that are BIG…elephants, houses, double-decker buses and so on. Then, things that are SMALL… a flea, an ant, a pencil sharpener, for example. When there’s a good list, ask each child to choose one big thing and one small one. Get them to close their eyes and imagine their choices. What do they look like? What kinds of shapes? You might like to have some images available for inspiration. On large sheets of paper (as big as possible, working on the floor or on paper pinned to the wall if this is practical) children can draw their BIG thing.Talk about what might be a good choice of media for drawing big. Encourage them to use all the space on their paper and ask them to notice what parts of their body they’re using when they’re drawing on a big scale… they’ll be using their elbow joints and maybe even their shoulder joints if they’re drawing really big. For drawing their SMALL things, provide a sheet of paper for each child, small enough so that children get the sense of contrast. Get them to consider what kind of drawing media might best be suited to drawing a very small thing. Making BIG things SMALL and SMALL things BIG Now get the children to do their drawings the other way around. See what happens when you draw a giant pencil sharpener or a huge ant (a bit scary!). Or if you draw a tiny whale or a house that you can pick up and put in your pocket. Finally, it might be fun to make an exhibition around the classroom of the BIG and SMALL things. Some discussion could take place about all the different styles and ideas that have been produced and how artists work in different ways in response to a theme. 23 I Spy Talk to children about LOOKING and DRAWING. How when you draw something, you look at it really hard and carefully and get to know the thing you’re drawing very well. To help children look carefully and ZOOM in on what they’re drawing, cut out a card spyglass window or a keyhole shape. Templates are over the page… but any window shape will work as a device to help the children select an area of whatever they are going to draw. In the play, Peter gives Jelly a cabbage to draw. You might provide your class with half cabbages or cabbage leaves or in fact anything you have available that provides an interesting subject to draw - pine cones, pineapples, driftwood, tree bark and so on. Use the `spyglass’ or keyhole to choose a section. Then you look very hard and draw what you can see in your ‘window.’ What’s in the window? What shapes can they see? What colours? They can draw what they see as big as they like - it doesn’t have to be the size it actually is. If the weather’s nice and it’s practical, children could take their spyglasses/keyholes outdoors and use them to select interesting sections of the playing field, walls or vegetation to draw. 24 25 26 ‘But I can’t draw….’ That’s what Jelly says to Mags in Cabbage Heart. Ask the class if anyone can remember what Mags said to her. Mags told Jelly that drawing is like talking or walking and that you don’t just pop into the world and you can do it, it takes practice. Discuss as a group how, when you’re learning something, you make mistakes… and that’s O.K because that’s how you learn. So maybe it’s a good idea to leave in the lines you get wrong… 27 Peter said when Jelly asked him for a rubber... Instead of a rubber, the children could try the 4 colour chances. Each child should have 4 different colours, yellow, green, blue and red. These could be pencils, chalk pastels, wax crayons - whatever’s best for what they’re drawing. It works like this… Start the drawing with the yellow. If they make a mistake, instead of rubbing it out, they just do the bit they’ve done wrong again over the top, only this time, using the next colour and so on until they’ve used up all their colour chances and the drawing has to be finished in red. The children should end up with a lively multi-coloured line drawing that shows how they arrived at their end result. 28 ...Rubbers are for wimps The Hypnotisers In Cabbage Heart, Peter’s father was a stage hypnotist. He dressed up in an Egyptian costume for his act and hypnotised people in the audience. Peter made a painting of his father on the stage. The children in your class could make a painting of their own idea of what Peter’s father looked like. They might be inspired by looking at pictures of ancient Egyptians and mummies… King Ra and King Tut… Needawah-Needawoo… Dearyme Dearyyou… Peter used these magic words to ‘hypnotise’ Mags so that she’d be able to make her sculptures when she thought she couldn’t do it. First he’d ‘ancient Egyptianise himself’ just like his father did for his stage act. He put a towel on his head and a gold hair band. The children might enjoy ‘Egyptianising’ themselves and making up their own ‘hypnomumbo-jumbo’ words. http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html http://www.kidskonnect.com/subject-index/16-history/253-ancient-egypt.html They could take it in turns to be ‘the hypnotisers’ and the drawers/painters/sculptors. The ‘hypnotiser’ group could use drums or available percussion instruments to get a beat going… oom chigga oom chigga etc Then using their own magic words they can hypnotise the ‘art’ group who may find that they are … drawing/painting/clay modelling away! http://www.totley.sheffield.sch.uk/news/ancient-egypt-comes-alive-for-y5 29 Consequences This drawing game mixes up different parts of the body to make a new and often quite strange picture. Children can make their own strange versions of the ‘Hypnotist’. If it’s practical, large or even life-size versions of this can be very dramatic. It’s helpful to pre-fold the paper first or make dotted lines to show where to draw up to. Children begin with the head, then fold it backwards and pass it on to the next person not forgetting to make some little marks on the next section so that the next artist will know where the neck joins the body. Do the same for the body, folding it again so the next person can’t see what’s been drawn and make marks to show where the tops of the legs will match. Lastly pass it on again for someone to draw the knees down to the feet. Pass it on again and this time the drawings can be unfolded. When the children have stopped laughing, you may want to point out how everyone had their own idea of what Peter’s father, `The Hypnotist’, looked like and how they’re all mixed up together to make new versions. You might ask the children to decide between them which of the consequence drawings makes the best ‘Hypnotist’. Below are some examples made by children at another school. 30 Seeing things differently Making sculpture from found objects When Jelly stepped into Mags’s garden, she found herself amongst strange objects… shop mannequins, plants fashioned from gloves and shoes and sculptures made from things that people no longer wanted. David Kemp Released Spirits Mags was a sculptor who saw things in a different way and gave them a new life. Ask children if they’ve ever seen a piece of driftwood on the beach that somehow reminded them of a strange animal, or an old shoe that looked like a puppy with its tongue hanging out. Show the class work by the Cornish sculptor, David Kemp who creates work from things he finds along the cliffs near his home. http://www.davidkemp.uk.com/ David Kemp Hounds of Geevor Here are some examples of work by other artists who have made sculptures using found objects Ask the children to guess what Picasso used to make the baboon’s head Left: Picasso Bull’s Head Right: Picasso Baboon with Young http://lib.haifa.ac.il/collections/art/modern_art/artists-p/images/picasso_bulls_head.gif http://artsconnected.org/resource/fullImage?id=2590&startat=0&position=undefined Metal Bird http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d 2/Metal_Bird.png 31 Recycled Junk Bulldog http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=recycled+j unk+art+by+children&start=196&um=1&hl=e n&sa=N&rlz=1W1GPEA_enGB311&biw=1280 &bih=617&tbm=isch&tbnid=B9oY7mXxWhMh 1M:&imgrefurl=http://www.designswan.com/ archives/recycled-art-toy-sculptures-via-discarded-plastic-item.html&docid=9pUoolnmVeLTMM&imgurl=http://img.designswan.co m/2010/03/toySculpture/9.jpg&w=520&h=785 &ei=Je7YT-r5DpPc8gO17-iYAw&zoom=1 Making the sculptures Ask the children to bring in their own found objects, things that no one wants any more. This might include old toys, plastic bottles and cartons, egg boxes, beachcombing finds, bicycle lamps and so on. You might invite contributions for the sculptures from other classes and staff members. Organise it so that each child can choose from the ‘store’ of objects. Encourage them to look and imagine. Think about seeing faces in the objects…eyes, noses and mouths. Also legs, tails or wings, for example. What creatures can they see? How are they going to make their creature sculptures? Encourage children to think about: how they will join the parts together how their sculpture will stand up Depending on the age group and making skills of the class, make available materials and equipment that they will need to put their sculpture together. Naming the creatures Arrange the sculptures around the classroom and as a group activity, invite the children to come up with names that suit their new creations. 32 Seeing things in different ways & making art in different styles Show the following images to the children. You might start by asking them what they think the pictures have in common. Explain that they are all still life compositions by a variety of artists. Cezanne Still Life Jar and Fruit http://www.awesome-art.biz/awesome/images/t_Cezanne%20%20Still%20Life,%20Jar%20and%20Fruit.jpg They are all pictures of arrangements of fruit 33 ... or flowers and jugs or vases Chardin Still Life http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbell1975/5316425541/ lightbox/ Jane O’ Malley White Spotted Jug http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&safe=off& biw=1280&bih=873&tbm=isch&tbnid=CxI7dWHxfmgu_M: &imgrefurl=http://www.yewtreegallery.com/past_07_sept _oct.htm&docid=32kFJyUbSCTUM&imgurl=http://www.ye wtreegallery.com/2007_Sept_Irish_connection/ Picasso Bowl of Fruit and Leaves http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=873&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=I7brVQwixmMDoM: &imgrefurl=http://bnr840.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/my-favoriteabstractartists/&docid=GD8SmNUtnVJD2M&imgurl=http://bnr840.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/picasso 1.jpg&w=1024&h=692&ei=S_m7T6f 34 ... on tablecloths Nico Klopp Still Life with Fruit http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&safe=off&sa=G&biw=1280&bih=873&tbm=isch&tbnid=Bwf 0KcbZibq9TM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Klopp_Still_Life_with_Fruit_1930.jpg& docid=WpmgQYBATx40hM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Klopp_S till_Life_with_Fruit_1930.jpg& ... on plates Tom Wesselmann Yellow Curtain http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&safe=off&sa=G&biw=1280&bih=873&tbm=isch&tbnid=NLXyMtLG esziM:&imgrefurl=http://rogallery.com/Wesselmann_Tom/w-421/wesselmannyellow_curtain.html&docid=Jzc 35 ... in very different styles by artists who see things in very different ways Patrick Caulfield Fruit and Bowl http://www.sleepisfortheweak.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2011/09/Patrick-Caulfield-Fr uit-and-Bowl.jpg Matisse Red Interior Still Life on a Blue Table http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_j9VUmBswTWg/TR uMkpgo6aI/AAAAAAAAASM/N_bWh_eRI58/s1 600/Art-Painting-Henri-Matisse-Red-InteriorStill-Life-on-a-Blue-Table.JPG 36 Bene Gez Still Life with Perspectives http://www.terminartors.com/files/artworks/3/1/1/31135/Bene_Geza-Still_Life_with_perspectives.jpg Arrange a still life composition in the centre of the classroom space so that all the children have a view. You might involve the children in the choice of objects, interesting ways to arrange them and backgrounds. The children can create their own still life painting. Encourage children to cover all the paper. They might like to sketch in a rough outline with a chalk pastel before they paint. Get them to notice pattern, shadows, shapes, what colours are next to each other, what is in the background. Remind children that their painting will be unique and original…there’s no right or wrong way as they’ll all have their own way of seeing and their own style of art. 37 Lines and Doodles ‘Drawing is like taking a line for a walk’…that’s what the artist Paul Klee said. Ask the children to think of all the different kinds of lines they can think of. For example: straight lines, curly lines, dotted lines, spiky lines,zigzag lines and so on What medium you use can change the kind of line you make. The children could try out a selection of drawing media to see this for themselves... You might like to get them to experiment by making lines with: different grades of pencil, biro, charcoal, different kinds of felt pens and markers, brush and ink or paint...whatever you have available. When they’ve practised a bit, they might like to take their own lines for a walk. If it’s practical, children could work on large sheets of paper pinned to the wall. This could work well as a whole group activity as well as individual pieces of art work. Using a selection of different line-making tools, get them to start at the top of the page and take their line for a walk to the bottom. Remind them about all the different kinds of lines they could make…not just straight ones. When they’ve finished, you could get the class to use words to describe their lines and say which ones they enjoyed doing most. You could end the activity here, or develop the artwork by suggesting ways that children could fill the spaces between their lines with pattern or colour or with collage. 38 Doodle to Music… A working together activity You may enjoy watching the attached You Tube clips yourself for inspiration before adapting the idea for your class... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kla32PzTHC4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AH-GWTX8XI&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jtzdxseO-gs Create a doodle wall or ‘gallery’ space. Cover the walls with paper or children could work on a large floor space. The idea of the ‘doodle’ is not to think too much about it. Music can be a good distraction as well as being relaxing. You could select a couple of different kinds of music - slow-paced, quiet and gentle and something livelier. Set the class to work on the doodle. Encourage them to listen to the music and just draw what comes into their heads…it doesn’t need to be anything, they can doodle shapes and patterns. At the end of the activity, it might be interesting to ask the class if they noticed any difference in what or how they were drawing depending on what the music was. You may want to develop the doodle art work further. What about setting the children off with their ‘window frames’ - a square or rectangular one might work better for this than a keyhole or spyglass - to select a favourite bit of their doodle wall. They could copy what’s inside their `window’ on to individual pieces of paper. The children can take away their ‘bits’ of the wall and add colour to it or extra doodles. Their completed individual pieces can then be put back together to create a new piece of art that has been made by the whole class working together. Or what about a drawing ‘factory’... Children might enjoy the idea of calling their classroom space a factory. There are various ways that this could happen. One idea might be to organise the class into groups and arrange children around bases or stations, where different activities take place. These could include the following: Monoprinting - where they can take prints from drawings on inked up surfaces( glass or Perspex or acetate), or by placing paper paper over an inked surface then drawing onto the back Drawing - where a range of drawing media is set up Collage - where a variety of materials are available for children to stick to the work Colour - where paint and other colour media are arranged Cutting, tearing and sticking Either the art work can be passed along from one base to another or the art work can stay where it is and the children move stations. This is another way to get the class working together and possibly giving up a sense of ‘ownership’ of a particular piece of work so that at the end of the activity, the whole group makes a decision together about what happens to the end ‘products’ of the factory. 39 Creating small worlds There are a number of scenes in Cabbage Heart that may inspire children to create small 3D worlds using a combination of painting, collage and model-making. Jelly enters a magical world of exotic plants and strange creatures when she finds herself in Mags’s garden. Children could make their own small garden, either as a 3D relief picture or as a diorama-like stage set inside a cardboard box, by painting an exotic, jungle-like background. You may find it useful to show the children some of Henri Rousseau’s work http://redtreetimes.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/rousseau-henri-jungle-sunset-2602332.jpg Or pictures from the tropical biome at the Eden Project in Cornwall http://www.flickr.com/photos/john_leverton/3589330944/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/john_leverton/3589337630/in/photostream/ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bird_of_Paradise_Flower_(%5E),_Humid_Tropics_Biome, _Eden_Project_-_geograph.org.uk_-_230953.jpg http://www.flickr.com/photos/larigan/1250384242/ They can then build up their picture or stage set with collaged leaves, strange sculptures, animals or birds and so on. If they’d like to add characters to a 3D picture, these could be created using pipe cleaners or card and fabric. Figures in a box stage setting could be made from plasticine or clay or older children might use wire and Mod Roc to make their characters. You may prefer to ask the children to design little shop windows like Mags’s mother. 40 Resources Note to teachers: Every effort has been made to ensure that the websites listed in the pack and/or below are suitable for children. However, it’s impossible to guarantee that the content of the sites will not be altered. We therefore recommend that internet access is supervised at all times. Art and Creativity The Big Draw: a national drawing event organised throughout October by the National Campaign for Drawing http://www.campaignfordrawing.org/bigdraw/ A is for Artist. Ella Doran & Silence. Published by Tate ISBN 01854375563 Tell me a Picture. Quentin Blake. Published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books ISBN 0 184 507 6877. Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered. Quentin Blake & John Cassidy. Published by Scholastic ISBN 1570 54 3208 The Art Book for Children. Gilda Williams Ruggi. Published by Phaidon ISBN 0714845116 The Art Book for Children Book 2. Amanda Renshaw. Phaidon ISBN 0714847054 The Boy Who Bit Picasso. Antony Penrose. Published by Thames & Hudson ISBN 0500238731 Arts and Entertainment. Adrian Gilbert. Published by Dorling Kindersley, 1993. ISBN 0 7513 5090 7 Looking at Creativity. Ian Fenton. Published by Coventure, 1977. ISBN 0 904576 40 X Looking at Pictures. Joy Richardson. Published by A&C Black in association with National Gallery Publications Ltd, 1997. ISBN 0 7136 4685 3 Painting. Elizabeth Waters & Annie Harris. Published by Merlion, 1991. ISBN 0 7513 5077 X Stories in Art. Helen Williams. Published by Dorling Kindersley, 1993. ISBN 1 85737 055 4 The Usborne First Book of Art. Rosemary Davidson. Published by Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN 019910042X What is Art. Rosie Dickens. Published by Usborne, 2007. ISBN 9780746088562 http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/art/art.htm There’s quite a good short presentation on ‘natural material sculptures’ via this link. It’s by Val Smith. www.art4net.com This website is an exciting resource for images and information about artists, movements and galleries. History Ancient Egypt. George Hart. Published by Dorling Kindersley, 1993. ISBN 0751600180 http://www.artyfactory.com/egyptian_art/egyptian_art_lessons.htm There is a hieroglyphic alphabet at this website. 41 PSHE Daddy will you Miss Me? Wendy McCormick & Jennifer Eachus. Published by Orchard Books, 1999. ISBN 1 86039 017 X Do I have a Daddy? Jeanne Warren Lindsay. Published by Morning Glory, 1991. ISBN 1885356633 Loneliness & Making Friends. Sarah Levete. Published by Franklin Watts, 1996. ISBN 0749636270 Making Friends. Sarah Levete. Published by Aladdin Books, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7496-7496-0 Relationships. Carol Ballard. Published by White-Thomson Ltd, 2004. ISBN O 7502 4340 6 Tough Topics: Divorce and Separation. Patricia J.Murphy. Published by Heinemann, 2008. ISBN 978 0 431 90784 0 Bereavement Books marked with an * have a spiritual dimension which some people may not think is appropriate to all children. Are You Sad, Little Bear? Rachel Rivett. Published by Lion, 2009. ISBN 978 0 7459 6137 8* Saying Goodbye to A Parent. Nicola Edwards. Published by Chrysalis Children’s Books, 2003. ISBN 184 138 8355 Saying Goodbye to A Pet. Nicola Edwards. Published by Chrysalis Children’s Books, 2003. ISBN 184138 837 8 Tough Topics: Death. Patricia J. Murphy. Published by Heinemann, 2008. ISBN 978 0 431 90783 3 What do you know about death and dying. Pete Sanders and Steve Myers. Published by Gloucester Press, 1995. ISBN 0 7496 2172 9 When Goodbye is For Ever. Lois Rock. Published by Lion, 2004. ISBN 0 7459 4879 0 When People Die. Sally Hewitt. Published by Franklin Watt, 1993. ISBN 978 0 7496 7090 0* Theatre Alibi · Emmanuel Hall · Emmanuel Road · Exeter EX4 1EJ tel + fax 01392 217315 · [email protected] www.theatrealibi.co.uk 42