Learning outcomes: Ancient Art - BBC

1 1 ,NorthernIreland,ScotlandandWales:Englan dActivityHistoryAllActivitiesEnglish-Spe aking,WritingandListeningAncientArt,Acti vity1,2and3 English(Drama)AncientArt,Activity1 ArtandDesignAllActivitiesDesignandTechno logyBuildaStoneCircleGeographyAncientArt ,Activity1andBuildaStoneCircleCitizenshi pAllActivitiesPersonal,SocialandHealthEd ucationAllActivitiesScienceAncientArt,Ac tivity1andBuildaStoneCircleNorthernIrela ndTheWorldAroundUs HistoryAllActivitiesTheWorldAroundUs ScienceandTechnologyAncientArt,Activity1 andBuildaStoneCircleTheWorldAroundUs GeographyAncientArt,Activity1andBuildaSt oneCircleLanguageandLiteracyAncientArt,A ctivity1,2and3 TheArts Drama.

2 ArtanddesignAllActivitiesPersonalDevelop mentandMutualUnderstandingAllActivitiesS cotlandSocialStudiesAllActivitiesLanguag es:LiteracyandEnglishand/orLiteracyandGa idhligAllActivitiesSciencesAncientArt,Ac tivity1andBuildaStoneCircleExpressiveArt sAllActivitiesTechnologies ICTandComputingScience,Engineering,Desig nandGraphicsAllActivitiesHealthandWellBe ing PlanningforChoicesandChangesandMental,Em otional,SocialandPhysicalWellBeingAllAct ivitiesWalesHistoryAncientArt,Activity1a ndBuildaStoneCircleEnglishand/orWelshAnc ientArt,Activity1,2and3 ArtAncientArt,Activity1,2and3 DesignandTechnologyBuildastonecircleGeog raphyAncientArt,Activity1andBuildaStoneC irclePersonalandSocialEducationAllActivi tiesUsetheseancient-themedworkshopswithg roupsofkids.

3 EnglishHeritagePhotoLibraryForGroupsandS choolsSupportedby2- Te ll a stor y withoutwor ds (10 minutes)You wi ll need: A larg e piec e of paperon th e wall OR a black/whiteboard Pe nsYou ca n pl ay this qu ic k an d simplegame to he lp your parti ci pa nts get into the min d of th eiran cie nt an cesto rs an d thi nk abou t what life must hav e be en li ke be fo re writtenlan guagede velop plain to the gro up th at the y are now ente ring the anci ent wo rld. It is 120 00 BC and Bri tain isbeg innin g to warm after th e Ice Age. The y live a hunter-gatherer life , huntingmam mals suc h asre indee r and Arct ic oose one memberof th e grou p an d give them a mess age to share with th e rest of the grou pwith out using spee ch.

4 You ca n mak e up your own anci ent me ss age , or us e one of ou rs: I ha ve ha d a su ccessful hun t todayand kill ed a deer. There are man y fish in th e riv er over the big hil l. I ha ve fo und a new cave th at we couldshelterin to keep dry . Has an yon e see n my cu ttin g sto ne?The mes sen ge r has to drawtheir messageonto th e paperorblac k/w hit ebo ar d for the grou p to ve th e group th ree minu tes to work out wha t the mes sage isby call ing ou t their sug gestions ba sed on the you hav e a ver y stron g gro up, they may work out the me ssa ge co mp le tel t don t worry if th ey don t,explainthat the po int of the gameis to showju st ho w tric ky it mu st hav e been to com muni cate and sha re stori es witho utwrit ten language.

5 Th is may be wh y someancie nt peopl e be ga n to usear t to describe th e worldaroun d the . , tor y(45 mi nu tes )You will need: Model li ng cl ay (a piecethe size of a fist for each car ver) Rol ling pi ns Opt iona l - Tools for carvi ngExp la in to th e gro up that an cient peoplecar ved the an imal s and bir ds that theysaw aro und th em into the wallsof often st arted with a natur al fe atu rein the roc k face and car ved aroundit, usingthe shap es they saw to inspir e th gro up can get in spirationfor th eir cave art by loo king at the ca rvi ngs fou ndat Cre ssw ell Crag s in Derbyshire th e ol dest art in Br itai n!

6 Make your cave wall1. Giv e each participant a pieceof clay and ask them to ro ll it out to cre ate a smooth,flat surf ace aro un d 1cm th ic k. This is thei r cave Ask the gro up to swapsh eet s of clay with some one els Us ing mode lling tool s or their hands,ask eac h partic ipant to cr ea te a roug h surfaceon th e pi ece of ins pired1. Now ask the grou p to han d ba ck the shee ts of cl ay and tak e a lo ok at th eran dom sha pes th at hav e now appeare As k the gro up to im aginethey are a Ston e Ag e personlooking at theirow n cave wal l fo r ins pi rati on.

7 (T his is a bit li ke seeingsh apes in th ecl oud s!) Wh at sha pes do they see? They mightjust use a line or acou pl e of bu mp s on th e clay as insp irat Her e are someideas to get started: A hunt ing sce ne, with men follo wing a de er The nigh t sk y with the moo n an d stars shi ni ng bri ghtl y A bird by a lake or riv erGet Carv ing1. Ask the parti cipan ts to beg in to shap e the cl ay usingthe ir ha nd They ca n also use modelling too ls, or if yo u hav e outs id e spa ce , as k thegrou p to go ou tside to find tw ig s an d stonesto use as anc ie nt to Leav e th e cl ay to dr can di spla y all the cav e art tog etherto createone pi ec e of ancie nt art.

8 ,butremembertheparticipantswon tor y(45 minute s)You will need: Col ouredpa int (red, blac k, wh ite, yellowand brown) Pape r/card PVA glue Glu e spat ulas or ol d pai nt bru shes San d in a la rge trayExp la in to th e gr oup that al thoughno ancientcav e pai nt ings have beenfo un d in Br ita in (yet!),they are foundth rou ghoutEuropean d are an imp or ta nt reco rd for hi sto ri ansle arn ing abou t pre his tori c li e your ca ve wa ll1. Gi ve ea ch gr oup mem ber a pi ece of A4 or A3 paperor card(car d wor ks bet ter as it is les s likely to wri nk le under the gl ue).

9 2. As k ea ch par ticip an t to paint thei r car d with PVA glu Invi te the gro up to comeup one at a time to the sand tray and to caref ull ydu st san d ont o the ir pap er/cardto cr eate a roug h su rf ac d your tool s1. Wh il e the cav e wall pap er is drying , take the group out side into a communa l are Ex pl ai n tha t the ancientscoul dn t po p downto the craf t shop for a pain tb ru sh,so the gro up wil l need to paint us ing th ei r fing ers an d natur al objectsthey find .3. As k th e gro up to look for twi gs, stones,feathersan d leav es to use as paint in g too ls.

10 Get cr ea tiv e1. Now th e pa pe r is dry, shake off the excesssan d back into the tray and ha nd ou t th e pap er/c ard .2. As k th e par tic ip an ts to th ink of the scene th ey d li ke to po rtray . Her e are a few idea s: Anc ien t anim al s like deer, cattlean d horses An an cie nt me ss age li ke thos e incl uded in th e in tr oduc tory activit y A mo der n cav e painti ng us in g in spiration from nat ure right outsidethe windo ws A simple pat ter n us ing lines , dots an d zigzags3. Re mi nd th e gr oup that pai nts were madefrom natur al roc ks and miner al sso the y can on ly us e col ours such as red, black,wh it e, yellowand br e the grouphas fini sh ed , dis pl ay al l the cav e art togetherto cr eat e one piece of ancie nt ar t.