Links to Curriculum Outcomes

Ani-mania

Developed By Willie Reid Suggested Length Five 30 minute+ lessons Suggested Grade Level(s) Primary, 1 Subject Areas Social studies, visual arts, language arts, Music, math

Overview Young children have deep connections with animals and dwell in that magical world where animals possess human characteristics and language. These lessons will allow students to interact in wonderful ways with the animals in Robert Harris’ paintings, sketches, and photographs and to stretch beyond the world of ordinary pets into a land of animal fantasy.

Links to Curriculum Outcomes Students will (be expected to)  describe some of the natural and constructed characteristics of their community (social studies)  recognize and describe the interdependent nature of relationships (social studies)  use a range of materials and processes in art making (visual art)  make personal connections to text and describe, share, and discuss their emotions (language arts)  experiment with sound sources to communicate moods and feelings (music)  explore and experiment with geometrical shapes and relationships (math)

Links to Telling Stories: Themes / Key Words  animals  subjective view of environment  fantasy

Art Works  Mount Edward Road near Charlottetown, Robert Harris, CAG H-178  Catacombs of St Calixtus, Robert Harris, CAG H-2193  Study for Burnside group of Young Girl, Robert Harris, CAG H-241 b  Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-1800  Spot Sketch of Charlottetown 1868 with Government House in the Background, Robert Harris, CAG H-169x  Mill Dam in PEI, Robert Harris, CAG H-103  In White’s Pasture, North River, Robert Harris, CAG H-7994-8  Ned – White’s North Point, Robert Harris, CAG H-7994-15

Context These lessons provide enriching activities to accompany curricular units on animals. They also encourage young children to ponder the bigger issues of the unique place of animals in our lives and imaginations.

Lesson #1: Ee-i-ee-i-oo!

Objective Students will examine Harris’ farm landscape, discuss aspects of a farming community, and create an animal farm mural in wood.

Related Art Work(s)  Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-178

Materials Ask community folks and children to help you collect:  a large piece of ply board  a variety of flat wooden off cuts (usually available for free at home building places) in different shapes and sizes  popsicle and match sticks  wooden buttons or wheels from old toys  sticks and cones  pieces of fallen bark, leaves  strong, safe glue  nails

Activities 1. As students examine the Harris image, invite them to imagine what other farm animals, besides the cows and horse in the foreground, might live at the farm up the road. Students who have personal farm experiences will be able to share their expertise.

2. From their perusal of books and magazines, they might recall the different basic shapes that artists use to depict animal images. Classroom shape sets (or attribute blocks) could be used to practice making animals.

3. After they have decided what things they want to include in a farm mural, invite students to select wooden pieces and arrange them in shapes that will appear on the picture such as fences, buildings, people and, of course, animals.

4. This is a good opportunity to teach children about perspective by placing the farm buildings and gardens in a central part of the board with fields and trees behind. Depending on the sizes of the finished pieces, students may be invited to place their larger items in the foreground and the smaller ones behind.

5. Pieces can be glued or nailed in place. (The actual building of the mural will, most likely, stretch into another class period.)

Possible Extensions Students might compose a song beginning with “(classroom teacher’s name) had a farm, ee-i-ee-i-o, and on that farm, there were some……”, etc.

Lesson #2: Our Pets – Real and Imagined

Objective Students will, through an examination of Harris’ images, express opinions, share personal experiences, and prepare their own books on the subject of pets

Related Art Work(s)  Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-2193  Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-241 b

Materials  magazines, newspapers, and photographs that might depict people’s pets – ordinary, exotic, or mythical  scissors  glue  pencils or markers  individual scrapbooks made from recycled paper

Activities 1. Students will notice in the first sketch that a boy is interacting with a dog. They might imagine the dialogue between the boy and the dog and the conversation that takes place between the other children. They might consider issues such as:  whose animal is this?  who are the children?  where do they live?  what happened before the image was captured?  what is happening now?  what will happen next?

2. In the painting, a girl is sitting alone. Invite students to imagine that she is dreaming about a special pet that she would like to have. Explore reasons for their guesses.

3. Students may wish to share their wishes before beginning work on a special dream pet book of their own. They might choose a picture of an animal from the class collection or draw their own version of a creature they want to own. Imaginations can run wild. Pets will, most likely, range from earthworms to dinosaurs.

4. Students can use different sections of their books to record such things as descriptions of their charges, sketches, measurements, further explorations, found pictures, conversations, care of their pets, or misadventures. Harbouring a brontosaurus in your bedroom, for example, could lead to issues of mythical proportion!

Lesson #3: Listen to the Animals

Objective Students will imagine the myriad of issues that exist in the animal world and stage a special procession to honour or protest one of these issues.

Related Art Work(s)  Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-1800

Materials  space for students to move freely  animal masks (and found costumes if desired)  simple musical instruments or found sound makers

Activities 1. Students could be invited to examine the sketch, discuss who the human figure might be, and consider what seems strange about these particular animals. It would appear that the group is making some kind of journey. Students might think about where the group is going, why, and what conversations are taking place as they proceed.

2. This sets the stage for a special class animal procession. Students can decide upon:  animals to be included (real or imagined)  the reason for the procession (perhaps a protest against something that annoys them such as having to sleep in a barn or pollution in their flying spaces, or a celebration of a special animal event such as the aardvark’s birthday)  where the animals will be going  the animal that will lead the procession and why  each creature’s task  dialogue, singing, or dancing that will take place

3. The parade might include:  a “spokesanimal” who will address an assembled group when the procession arrives at its destination  assigned instruments for appropriate animal sounds and parade accompaniment  simple face masks, make up, or costumes for the participants

4. Some children may have the confidence to sing their messages while those who are less comfortable might carry a small drum or shaker.

Ideas for Extension This activity begs to be shared on parents’ day, in an all-school gathering, or in the community on a warm day.

Lesson #4: Who Lives Here?

Objective Students will discuss animal habitats and decide what kinds of creatures might live in each section of the Harris land and seascapes.

Related Art Work(s)  Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-169  Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-103

Materials  class collection of cut out or commercial images (posters, postcards, calendars) of animals (real and imagined)  3-D animal figures Activities 1. Using a selection of animal pictures from the class collections superimposed on Harris’ images, you might play a game called Who Lives Here? For example, you could hold up a picture of a tiger and place it on the bridge, or choose a cow and have it stand in the ocean. Students can respond to your placements by signaling “yes” with, for example, a peeping sound, or “no” with a roar. Students can take turns matching pictures to elicit responses from their classmates.

2. Students could then examine the Harris pictures and determine what creatures might be present in the seascape (e.g., different species of fish, sea birds, mammals, pets on the boats) and in the rural setting (e.g., pond life, field animals, tree creatures, and birds of many varieties). They might then collect as many images as they can of these creatures and play further games such as:  classification of animals according to their habitats in the pictures  Who Am I? (imitation of an animal sound or movement, having others guess who)  matching letter, shape, or colour (using letter tiles, shapes, and colour strips from paint shops) to animals in their collections

Ideas for Assessment and Extension Match toy animals or images with various classroom books, posters, or art work. This can extend into a further discussion of animal habitats, needs, dangers present, simple food webs, and the importance of animals in our environment.

Lesson #5: Line Up, Down, and All Around

Objective Students will examine the elements of line and shape in the animals in Harris’ sketchbook and experiment with soft wire art prior to capturing images in their own sketchbooks.

Related Art Work(s)  Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-7994-8  Untitled, Robert Harris, CAG H-7994-15

Materials  bendable wire (available free from telephone companies)  off cut wood blocks and nails  pencils  sketchbooks fashioned from recycled paper Activities 1. While viewing the various sketches of Harris’ dog and cows, students might examine aspects of the lines (thin, thick, zigzagging, curved, short, long, broken, pattern, direction, repetition) the artist uses to depict shapes and textures of animals. They can be invited to create different kinds of lines with their fingers in the air or to mimic such things as the flight of a bird, a bus on a winding highway, or a lawnmower in a small backyard either with their fingers or whole bodies.

2. Invite students to recreate different kinds of lines (as above) on their desks using pieces of wire. They might also make two dimensional shapes, joining and twisting ends of the wire to form such things as circles and triangles. This is a good activity for exercising fine motor muscles but some children might need assistance in manipulating the wire.

3. This activity can lead to the creation of animal shapes first in 2 and then, for the adventurous, in 3 dimensions. (For those who want to build sculptures, several nails hammered on a wooden base will hold wire in place for legs, tails, etc.)

4. Once students have fashioned animal shapes, they can move to pencil and paper and practice drawing those shapes. Encourage all efforts as beginning steps in the process.

Suggested Resources  a variety of children’s books on animals such as: Chester’s Barn, Lindy Climo, 1983 Where the Wild things Are, Maurice Sendak, 1982 The Bremmentown Musicians, Grimm Brothers, 1819 Animalia, Graeham Base, 1986  Canadian National Geographic videos or magazines of animals and their habitats  songs and poetry that deal with animals in real and imagined worlds

Possible Extensions  classroom visits from a local veterinarian, farmer, or animal owner / lover  creation of a mural or sculpture from found materials to honour local farmers, animal hospitals, or wildlife parks  painted portraits of animals as well as sculptures, paper masks, role playing, and puppet shows  sketchbooks and pencils in book bags for field trips to wildlife parks, etc.