Author: Meral KILIC English Teacher
School/Organization: 75 Yil Yesilpinar Primary School
This learning scenario was implemented in primary level to 8-9 aged students and aims to help young learners acquire the language with the help of art. The modern painter Victor Vasalery uses geometric shapes to create his artwork .We used Europeana platform by making observations of Victor Vasalery artworks and used some resources from the platform. The journey was awesome because I was so excited to see so many collections linked o each other in a very good harmony.
In our 2nd and 3rd grade curriculum we have the unit : Parts of the house and the shapes of the objects. So we worked on this the topic in this SOI . Students learn how to express the geometrical shapes and as they use the words repeatedly to create a pattern and finally it becomes natural to acquire the vocabulary and use it in a sentence. Within the scenario base lesson plan , our students developed their cooperation and communication skills in English .
his scenario was chosen because the language learning area was vocabulary acquisition and using the vocabulary repeatedly with real life context is a very easy way to teach. Students were expected to use geometrical shapes in a sentence at the end of the lesson and painting with the specific shapes help them repeat it many times to create a pattern.
Preparation : Parents were asked to cut the potatoes in the shape of geometrical shapes , provide students watercolor , brush and a water cup.
Teaching /Learning Process : The lesson was planned as 80 min. (long class with a recess) The vocabulary was taught with the help of flashcards and real life materials around them and Victor Vasalery was introduced, his paintings were displayed on the smart board. Meantime I talked about the op art (optical illusion art) and the painter was the initiator of the artistic movement. Teaching and introducing Vasalery’s art took 20 min.Vasalery’s art
Learning Activities: Doing activities ( asking the shapes of the objects around, putting the flashcards at the correct place on the board) took 10 min.
Discussion Part: The last 10 min. Of the first session was discussion about how to paint with the potatoes and create a pattern. We also discussed about which geometric shapes Victor Vassalery used in their different paintings.
After recess a ready to color Vasalery style sheet was handed out and the first ten minutes of the lesson they talked about the shapes they saw and once they said the shape correct they coloured it .
Reflection part : This session’s 30 was completely dedicated to students’ creations. They worked in groups of 4 or five. They were asked to tell which shape they were using to each other in the group and help one another if some of them had a difficulty to use the language.
I walked around the class to hear if they used the vocabulary correctly in the group and
guided the less abled students.
2. Outcomes (for you as an educator and for the students)
The main objective:
-Students will acquire the language on geometric shapes and express the shapes of the objects around them in a sentence.
Sub-objectives :
– Students will realize learning geometry can be fun.
-Students will use art ideas to learn the language.
Outcomes for the students:
-The main objective has been achieved and students could learn the shapes and express the shapes of the objects around the class.
– After seeing Vasalery’s art they thought using geometry to create paintings and optic illusion is fun. They grew positive attitude towards the future learning.
-They used the language to discuss their creations of art. It motivated them to use the language as a mean of communication. Using English became real for them because they had a real life situation .
Outcomes for the teacher:
-It was very easy to find the example of the shape which is being taught. It provided variety of visuals.
-Students found op art interesting and it was easy to take their attention to the lesson.
-Coloring pages and paintings provided a frequent tool of repetition so the language acquisition was so quick.
-The students were so happy and creative and they stayed focused until the end.
Link to the learning scenario implemented: Forms and colors – Victor Vasarely (LS-ME-564) – Teaching With Europeana (eun.org)
Do you want to discover more stories of implementation? Click here.
PDM 1.0: the featured image used to illustrate this article has been found on Europeana and has been provided by the Csorba Győző Library – Pécs.
