ART AND DESIGN

The Art and Design curriculum described in the following pages is a series of developmental experiences which will involve pupils in investigating materials and media; expressing feelings, ideas and solutions; and understanding, appreciating and sharing in the products of others. The main context for learning is pupils' involvement in their own world.

In developing an understanding of their world, pupils will observe and investigate with natural curiosity and invention. They will wonder at, respond to and translate at a personal level, when invited to look at, touch, consider, recall, imagine and experience objects, places, people and events in their lives.

In handling media and materials, pupils will generate new responses and expressions in drawing, painting, constructing, modelling and discovering solutions. Sharing these creative experiences will extend pupils' ability to appreciate the work of others and develop an awareness of the possibilities offered by Art and Design as a powerful and effective means of communicating and sharing ideas and feelings.

The teacher should plan pupils' experiences so that opportunities to explore the various elements of the Art and Design curriculum are related to pupils' previous experiences, interests and stages of development. The various elements, defined below, should not be presented or studied in isolation, but within appropriate contexts. As pupils develop their knowledge and understanding of the visual elements, they will learn to relate and combine them in association with appropriate concepts, to express feelings, thoughts and ideas in two-dimensional compositions and three-dimensional forms, conveying, for example, mood, atmosphere or distance.

The teacher should also ensure that pupils have time and opportunities to observe carefully and record accurately what they see. Through observing and recording in this way, pupils can learn to understand the use of the elements and their effects. As they gain knowledge and confidence, the teacher should encourage and support discussion of the elements, so that pupils can use their understanding when considering strategies for picture composition, fulfilling design briefs and evaluating their own and others' work.

Progression in Art and Design

Representing reality

At the early stages, young pupils often engage in what are sometimes called 'scribbling' activities. This term can be misleading in that it suggests ill-considered approaches on the pupil's part. On the contrary, the pupil is attempting to communicate by visual means and in so doing will discover the full range of various 'mark makers' and become familiar with the characteristics of various media such as paint, crayons and modelling and constructing materials. It is natural for pupils to want to explore these in order to produce images, which at first glance may seem meaningless. They are in fact, 'getting to know' experiences which play an important role in pupils' development.

Young pupils will come to invent a series of symbols to represent the world which they see and know, and hence this development stage is usually referred to as the 'symbolic' stage. This is the time when teachers should begin to encourage pupils to extend their 'visual vocabularies' beyond the range of stereotyped symbols: for example, the people, houses, trees, flowers that are seen so frequently at this point in their development.

As pupils progress they develop a 'scheme'. This is the invention of an image which is an explanation