Art in the Primary School: (Subjects in the Primary School)

Art has always been an important part of the primary school experience. It is now one of the foundation subjects in the National Curriculum. In this book, John Lancaster helps teachers rise to the challenge of art for young children. He encourages thought about the purpose of art teaching, and at the same time provides a wealth of project ideas and helpful advice on how to organize art, craft and design in the primary classroom. The book, fully illustrated with charts and black and white plates, gives practical advice on how to: define suitable objectives and plan lessons so as to achieve them make the best use of natural and man-made resources within and outside the classroom present children's work effectively by display throughout the school encourage aesthetic awareness and art knowledge by a study of the historical and cultural aspects Organise and benefit from visits to local art galleries approach assessment of children's art and craft activities This is a basic philosophical and practical guide which will give confidence to new teachers and fresh ideas to their more experienced colleagues.

Table of Contents:
1 Art in the primary school, What do we mean by art, craft, design and appreciation? The role of art in developing children’s creativity and Aestheticism, The purpose of art in primary education, Basic art teaching aims 2 The framework for planning art activities, The planning of suitable art activities in the primary school context, The kinds of materials which may be used, What art experiences do children need to have? Problem-solving activities, Stimulus from the world around us, 3 Planning what to teach, The balance between 2D and 3D work, Planning for schemes and lessons, Drawing—a key element in art, Historical and cultural inspirations, 4 Organizing art within the primary curriculum, Separate art: the value of pure art experience, Linking art: topic and interest work across subjects, The case for an art co-ordinator, The value of collections of resource materials 5 Art in school, Art in the classroom environment, Using classroom space, Equipment, materials and storage, Displaying work, Assessment 6 Art outside the classroom, Exhibitions around the school, Encouraging work at home, Art and design in the everyday world, Using art galleries, Artists in residence 7 Some ideas, A painting scheme for top juniors, Using ‘the school’ as a starting point for work in art and/or as an integrated project idea, A school newspaper (an integrated project), Simple print-making, Four starting points 8 Project work based upon heraldry, Some ideas for projects on heraldry 9 Two case studies

About the Author :
John Lancaster is an experienced teacher and educator of teachers. He was, until recently, head of art teacher training at Bristol Polytechnic, and is still a practising artist, lecturer and consultant. He is a fellow of the National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) and has written or edited eleven books on art.