Here are some ideas and resources specifically for primary teachers.
Art Express is a complete programme to support art in primary schools. It includes programmes of study and CDs full of supplementary resources. read more…
For a variety of online links, ideas and resources for primary teachers of art click here.
For a presentation about the principles of colour mixing using the double primary system and managing painting click here . The accompanying handout can be downloaded here. This shows art co-ordinators what colours, palettes and pots to order to support painting and how they should be used. Using these principles and kit will make a difference to the quality of painting.
Here are three papers about drawing. They are all quite short PDFs. Click here for a paper which shows the early stages of children’s drawing when it is essentially symbolic play. Click here for a paper (by Maurice Barrett) which describes later stages of drawing as children (9 to 14 yr olds approximately) struggle to find strategies that enable them to draw their environment which has depth and scale. Click here for notes about teaching drawing, materials resources and pedagogy.
For an online talk about how we can help children look at, and talk about, works of art click here.
For an example of a primary project using digital art click here. It shows what children can achieve and gives ideas about how simple image manipulation software can be used.
There was a time when the primary art co-ordinator’s role involved ordering stock and taking responsibility for display (at that time a way of decorating classrooms). Those days may be over but click here for a PowerPoint about display anyway. It explores the basic conventions of display and the use of grids. These simple rules will make display better, or rather more effective as part of the learning environment..