Lesson Plan: Star bright

Song bank link

Twinkle, twinkle, little star (Traditional)

Subject links

• Art and Design QCA Unit 3B: investigating Pattern

• Music QCA Unit 1: Ongoing Skills

Duration

45 mins - 1 hour

Learning objectives

• To create a piece of class artwork to complement singing work on Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

• To explore using the visual and tactile qualities of materials to match the purpose of a piece of work.

• To explore ways of creating and making patterns.

Introduction

• Share the Learning objectives with the children at the start of the session.

• Talk about galaxies and the stars. What is a star? Do they know the names of any stars, star constellations or galaxies? What qualities do they think stars have? How could they represent these qualities in their artwork?

Resources

• Plasticine

• Cotton buds

• Cocktail sticks

• Coloured plastic straws

• Coloured matchsticks

• Scissors

Main activity

Make your own class galaxy.

1. Break off a piece of plasticine the size of a walnut.

2. Play with it and knead it to soften.

3. Place it on a table top and squash flat with a fist so that it makes a disc about 7mm thick.

4. Cut your cotton buds/straws roughly in half — they don’t need to be even lengths.

5. Prod them into your disc at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock to make bright rays of light.

6. Now add in some more sticks of different lengths in between.

7. Finally, stick all the stars onto a window to make your own galaxy. They should stay fixed for a long time.

Differentiation

Support

• Group the children in mixed ability groups/pairs to work.

• Offer prompts of support to less able children.

Extension

• Encourage the children to evaluate and improve their work as they go along. Can they identify what factors make the best stars?

Plenary

• Look at the galaxy together as a class. What do the children think of the patterns they have created? Which stars do they like best and why?

• Sing Twinkle, twinkle, little star together using the class galaxy as a starting point. Does a visual stimulus change the way they sing the song?

Assessment for Learning

• Peer talk

• Self evaluation

• Success criteria

• Questioning

Differentiated success criteria

All children will:

• Work in small groups to contribute to a piece of class artwork.

Some children will:

• Explore different ways of using pattern and colour to match the purpose of the project.

• Evaluate and improve upon their own work as they progress.

A few children will:

• Identify ways of improving the class artwork in group discussion.

• Understand how a piece of visual art might affect how they sing and how they feel.