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Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre

Field of Mars Environmental Education Centre

Experience Engage Enable

Telephone02 9816 1298

Emailfieldofmar-e.school@det.nsw.edu.au

Invertebrate art program

Teacher checklist

Location

Your school

Cost

DoE $27 per student - GST free

Non-gov school $37 per student - GST free, minimum charge $700

Term 1 - Catholic school Weeks 3 to 7 cost = DoE cost - GST free, minimum charge $700

Risk assessment

Risk management plan

COVID-19 safety plan

School preparation

Please provide one extra large learning space, with a smart board, for all participating classes for the duration of the day. The space needs to accommodate multiple classes.

Set up tables in groups.

Bring

Students wear reusable name tag and sports uniform. 

Please bring paint smocks, mask (if required).

Supporting resources

Invertebrate Explorer - available free from Apple Books

Fact sheets

Medical or special needs

Notify Field of Mars staff prior to excursion. 

Students, staff and visitors must not attend if unwell, even with mild symptoms. 

Extreme or wet weather

Days predicted to be above 35ºC, high winds, extreme bush fire danger and dust storms may result in the excursion being modified, postponed or cancelled. 

Cancellations

Cancellations with less than four school weeks' notice will incur a $500 administration fee. This does not apply to cancellations due to weather or fire danger.


Suggested timetable

 
The suggested timetable is suitable for up to two classses.

Time

Activity

9.30 - 11.00

Invertebrate investigation and background of canvas painted

11.30 - 1.00

Second background coat on canvas and ink drawings

1.30 - 3.00

Canvas invertebrate painting


Learning activities 

Students will conduct a first-hand investigation by collecting invertebrates in the school gardens and then observing the features of the invertebrates. They will then create an eye-catching painted canvas of an inverterate to take home. 

Inquiry questions

  • What types of invertetebrates are found in the leaf litter and shrubs and what are their structural features?
  • How can we represent the details of living things in artworks?

Invertebrate investigation

The focus of this session is for students to work cooperatively to conduct an investigation, using simple equipment, to explore and discover invertebrates living in the leaf litter and shrubs and observe their features. Students will work in small groups to search for and collect leaf litter invertebrates in the gardens around their school. Collected specimens will then be examined using magnifiers.

Invertebrate art

Students will examine the features of one or two chosen invertebrates using a range of magnifying equipment, paying particular attention to detail including numbers of legs, sections of the body, colour, shape, structure, texture and patterns. 

After careful observation of their invertebrate students will create an artwork on canvas. This will involve the use of a variety of media including rollers, pencil, brushes and paint. Upon completion the canvases will be displayed for a short exhibition in the afternoon allowing students to appreciate and evaluate their work.



Syllabus outcomes and content

Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus (2006)

Outcomes

VAS3.1 Investigates subject matter in an attempt to represent likenesses of things in the world.

  • closely observes details of things in the world and seeks to make artworks about these using various techniques such as proportion, perspective, composition, foreshortening 

Other syllabus links

Learning experiences willsupport but not explicitly teach the following outcomes and content.

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus (2017)

Outcomes

A student:

  • examines how the environment affects the growth, survival and adaptation of living things ST3-4LW-S

Content

Students:

  • descrbe the structural and/or behavioural features of some Australian animals and plants and why they are considered to be adaptations

Creative Arts K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2006

Science and Technology K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2017