Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes	Part A: Making your mark
30 minutes	Part B: Imagining a brighter future
60+ minutes	Part C: Create your artwork
10+ minutes	Part D: Share your artwork
10 minutes	Reflection

Part A: Making your mark

For details about the Create Your Mark for a Brighter Future Creative Competition, refer to the teacher content information.

Step 1.

Begin by explaining to students that they will be planning and creating an artwork that will be submitted to the Create Your Mark for a Brighter Future Creative Competition. Give students some of the details of this competition.

Step 2.

Explain to students that the first step in creating this artwork will be to understand what is meant by ‘create your mark’.

Explain that ‘create your mark’ references the idiom, ‘make your mark’, which means to do something important, meaningful and/or memorable. Ask students:

Why do you think the organisers changed the word ‘make’ to ‘create’? What does that say about their thinking?

Allow students to suggest ideas. Clarify any questions they might have about the idiom ‘make your mark’. If students don’t arrive there on their own, guide them to the idea that ‘create’ (even though it could mean the same thing as ‘make’) is linked to the word ‘creative’, so it could be that the organisers really want these artworks to show creative thinking, creativity and/or hand made creations.

Step 3.

The next step is in thinking about the words ‘brighter future’. Invite students to share what they think this means.

Step 4.

Explain to students that we can sometimes dismiss our imaginings as being unrealistic or just daydreams. But only by imagining something can it become possible. Nothing has ever been created by humans that wasn’t imagined first (unless it was a pure accident - like penicillin).

Imagining a brighter future can give us something to work towards - we can start making plans about how we could reach that vision of the future.

Step 5.

Our vision of a brighter future can be funny, realistic or totally wild. The kids in this clip are coming up with all sorts of ideas for the future:

Kids Describe the Future to an Illustrator | Kids Describe | HiHo Kids (youtu.be/A-58OeQXjfI)

Once complete, take a moment to discuss this clip with your students and explain that in the rest of this activity, students will have the chance to explore what they imagine for the future and to turn these ideas into an artwork.

Optional: You could share some of the following quotes with students, explaining that these quotes help to explain why imagining how you can create a brighter future is so important. Take some time to discuss these quotes and define unknown words. Then invite students to try and rewrite them using their own words:

x“If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.” - Maya Angelou, poet, civil rights activist

“A bright future beckons. The onus is on us, through hard work, honesty and integrity, to reach for the stars.” - Nelson Mandela, revolutionary

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” - Alan Kay, computer scientist

Part B: Imagining a brighter future

Step 1.

Explain to students that they are now going to work collaboratively to respond to the following statement:

When I imagine a brighter future, I see…

They will in particular be thinking about how they could make the future brighter for people and the planet.

Break the class into four groups (or a number of groups divisible by four) assign each group one of the following topics:

food
buildings
transport
technology.

Give each student a copy of the table and have them highlight the group topic they have been assigned.

Step 2.

Explain to students that they are now going to watch a clip and record as many words and terms that they can think of when they envision the future this way:

IPCC - Solarpunk Example (vimeo.com/668443736)

Record these words on the board, and invite students to list these words in Column B of the table, for example:

hovering
solar-powered
wind-powered
waste-generated
airborne
supersonic
micro/nano
jet-powered
biodegradable

Step 3.

Each group can then spend some time matching up words from Column A with words from Column B and seeing what they come up with. They should record their ideas in Column C. Each group should try to come up with three ideas. Encourage students to be as creative as they like: the words that have been provided in Columns A and B are really just there to kick-start the ideas! The key to brainstorming is to remember that no idea is too big, silly or wild - all ideas are valuable and can be considered.

For example:

Column A - Topics	Column B - Futuristic describing words	Column C - New ideas for the future!
Food: Field Restaurant Supermarket Lunch box Kitchen Edible garden Urban farm	Floating Solar-powered Wind-powered Waste-generated Airborne Supersonic Micro/nano Jet-powered Biodegradable	Edible + Floating = Apartment blocks will have floating gardens above them that shade the building and provide all residents with food. Shop + Jet-powered = Shops will be mobile and jet-powered and could hover outside apartment blocks and people could buy the food they need through their window. Bus + Supersonic = School buses would run on clean energy and would be supersonic so that kids could sleep until the last second before having to get up and catch the bus. Phone + Biodegradable = Phones would be made of biodegradable materials so they could be composted in the garden or green bin when no longer needed.
Buildings: House Office building Shop School Hospital Community centre Athletics centre
Transport: Car Plane Bus Truck Rocketship Train Scooter
Technology: Phone Computer Robot Gadget Artificial intelligence Drone Bionic body part

Step 4.

The next task is to take a look at the ideas that students have come up with and recorded in Column C. They can now work together to think about how this idea could be added to or refined in a way that might create a brighter future for people and the planet. Students can then write these ideas out in full sentences in their workbooks or on another piece of paper.

Once the brainstorming time is complete, students could take a few minutes to discuss the ideas they have come up with. Each student should take note of the ideas that most interest or excite them.

Each student can then share some of the ideas that stood out for them the most with the class.

Step 5 (optional).

Invite students to put their heads on their desks or lay on the floor. Play the song below and ask them to focus on listening to the lyrics at the start. They can then let their imaginations run wild while they listen - picturing their ideas for a brighter future.

A Million Dreams Reprise (The Greatest Showman Soundtrack) (youtu.be/akdkEh-fzes)

Part C: Create your artwork

Step 1.

Explain that they are now going to create an artwork about the idea that they have selected. In this artwork, they should show how this idea creates a brighter future for people or the planet. Students can show themselves in the artwork if they want.

Step 2.

Explain the details of the competition (find these in the teacher content information section, or on the Create Your Mark for a Brighter Future Creative Competition website).

Note: You will need to submit completed student artworks to the Create Your Mark for a Brighter Future Creative Competition using this link: https://createyourmark.com.au/

Step 3.

Students are encouraged to create a rough draft of their artworks before they create the version they will submit to the competition. This rough draft can be as simple as a few rough sketch lines or as complicated as a portfolio including the colours and materials they wish to use.

Remind students that this artwork isn’t about creating something perfect - what is important here is sharing their creative ideas. It doesn’t matter if it doesn't work out exactly how you want it to; all the best artists, designers and inventors are always experimenting, trying things out, making mistakes and doing the best they can. However, creating a draft of the artwork you want to produce can help you address some of the visual or structural challenges in the artwork, ensure that your idea is being well communicated and means you can get some feedback from your peers before you submit your artwork to the competition. In addition to improving the quality of your final artwork, this might also increase your chances of winning!

Step 4.

Allow students the time to create a rough draft of their artwork.

Once complete, invite them to share their draft artwork with a classmate. Students should provide feedback on each other's artworks, remembering to be kind, helpful and specific when providing feedback:

• Be kind - it can be hard sharing your ideas with other people, so make sure you remain kind and supportive.
• Be specific - be clear about what you think and why. Rather than saying “I like your message”, say something like “I like the way you used this technique to emphasise your point”.
• Be helpful - try not to just say what is strong or weak, but also make suggestions about how things could be improved.

Students could use the following prompts to guide their feedback:

One thing I like about your artwork is…
One thing I’m unsure about is…
One thing I think might improve your artwork is…

Step 5.

Now provide students time to create the final version of their artwork, incorporating feedback where appropriate.

Step 6.

Once students have completed their artwork, they can work independently to write a description of their artwork. Again, these can be shared with a peer for feedback (including spelling and grammar).

Try to keep these short and definitely below 150 words.

Step 7.

Artworks and statements can then be photographed or scanned and uploaded in preparation for submission.

Part D: Share your artwork

Step 1.

An important part of real-world learning is providing opportunities for students to share their work with a wider audience and to receive feedback.

You could work with students to create a gallery of their artworks to share with parents and other students and teachers at your school. You might consider providing note paper/sticky notes and pencils next to each artwork for visitors to leave feedback, sharing what they like about the artworks and what inspires them about the artworks.

Reflection

It is also important for students to reflect on their successes and failures in conceiving and creating their artworks. Depending on the age and ability of students you could invite students to have a discussion in groups around the following questions or to work independently to answer the following questions in writing:

What did you enjoy most about creating your artwork?
If you were to do it again, what might you do differently?
What do you like about imagining a brighter future?
Can you see yourself creating a positive mark on the future one day? How?

Differentiated learning

Extension

Some students may wish to write a full artist statement or tell a story about their artwork. You could extend this further by allowing them to make a speech or presentation or write a longer creative piece about their artwork.

Provisions for learning support

Some students may find it hard to manage thin pencils, markers and brushes. You might encourage them to use larger drawing tools such as thick paint brushes, markers and crayons.
Some students may struggle to create a written description of their artwork. Encourage these children to use their voices to describe their artworks where possible or else make this component optional.

Teacher reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching practice today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

Create Your Mark Creative Competition (Years 3 & 4)

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