Students in Year 7 and Year 8 study Art History in a carousel with other subjects, and learn about a range of key art movements through research, analysis and practical responses. This work is completed in small A5 hand made concertina sketchbooks and other formats.
Students learn about the Impressionist art movement by researching the painting techniques and main artists, in addition to learning about the history and context behind this art movement. They present their research using a combination of images and annotations, and experiment with painting techniques before completing a small A6 painting of a North East castle, inspired by The Impressionists. Retrieval grids are used to check retention of skills and encourage further questions about the movement.
Students learn about the Surrealist art movement by annotating an anchor text and unpacking some of the key terms and words associated with the movement. They then explore the main artists and techniques associated with Surrealism and create a series of collages, using images from magazines.
The Pop Art movement is explored through a series of Chromebook research lessons on a choice of Pop Artists. Students present their research by designing and creating a set of 4 Top Trumps cards, featuring a combination of portrait drawings and information about the artists.
Students learn about the main artists involved in the Abstract Expressionist movement, followed by a series of expressive drawing activities which include 'Taking a line for a walk' and creating a series of drawings in response to music. They learn about the value and purpose of drawing to express feelings and emotions.
Students explore the Land Art movement through Chromebook research , then create their own Land poems inspired by walks around school, responding to the sounds, sights and smells of their surroundings. They use Chromebooks and Pixlr Editor to create digital versions of their poems, combining image and text.