Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

How are you today? I hope you're having a good day.

It's lovely to meet you.

My name is Esther, some people call me Miss Esther, and I'm an artist and art teacher.

Today we'll be doing a lesson together.

The lesson is Paint a walking line, and it's part of our unit, My world, art and nature.

Let's get started.

By the end of our lesson today, we'll be able to trace walking lines to show land paths in paint.

We'll find out some more together.

We have some keywords for our lesson today.

I'll say them first.

You repeat them after me.

We have walking path.

And our second keyword is walking line.

And our third keyword is memory.

A walking path is a special track that Aboriginal Peoples follow, which shows the journeys of their ancestors.

A walking line shows the journey of Ancestral Beings during the Dreaming.

Memory is the way we remember people, places, and things from the past.

During our lesson, we'll be finding out some more about these keywords together.

Exciting.

It's time to find out what we'll do in our lesson today.

Our lesson outline for the day is one, Trace outdoor pathways.

We will be going outside.

Two, Draw and paint your very own walking line.

And three, Share a memory for your walking line, a memory that's special to you.

We'll get started tracing an outdoor pathway.

Have a look at the screen.

Where have you seen maps before? I can see on this map a red dot and it says Kingsbury Green Primary School.

Some maps show a journey.

It could be a map on a piece of paper or a map on a screen, like the one we we're looking at today.

Sometimes artists make different maps, maps that are not like the ones that we see on phones, but pictures of journeys, memories, and stories.

One example of an artist who uses maps in their art is American artist Jasper Johns.

Jasper Johns was an artist who liked to paint things that we see every day, like numbers, flags, and maps.

Have a look at the screen.

Where does your eye go to first? Are there any colors and patterns that you notice? Talk to a partner about what you see.

Pause the video and restart when you've had a look and a think.

Well done for looking and thinking.

Great work.

We've got some more things to learn about the artist that we're looking at, Jasper Johns.

In his painting called "Map," he used bright colors and bold brush strokes, so I imagine that he moved his brush, his paintbrush, with big strokes if they were bold brush strokes, to turn a map of the United States into a piece of art.

Instead of showing roads or places, Jasper John's "Map" is messy, colorful, and full of texture, showing us that even ordinary things can become exciting when we look at them in a new way.

Take a minute to look at the picture on the screen.

Can you see movement in the picture? How do you think that movement has been made? Great looking and thinking.

We have a question to do together here.

It's a true or false question.

All maps have to look like the ones on phones or paper.

Is this true or is it false? Have a talk to someone nearby about your ideas.

Decide together whether it's true or false.

Pause the video and restart when you've had your conversations.

How did you do? Did you get false? The answer is that it is false.

Well done for sharing your ideas.

We will find out why it's false.

Some artists make maps with pattern, colors, and memories.

Before we start the next part of our lesson, we have some very important people to thank and to acknowledge.

An Acknowledgement of Country is a way of saying thank you to the First Peoples who looked after this land, and still care for it today.

We acknowledge.

We show respect to the Traditional Owners of the land where we learn today.

We thank their Elders, past and present, and their Ancestors who have cared for Country for thousands of years.

We have another amazing artist to learn about in our lesson today.

Dorothy Napangardi was a Warlpiri artist.

She painted stories about her land, family, and culture.

She used dots and patterns to show the desert, sandhills, and Dreaming tracks.

Her paintings are like maps that tell special stories from her family and ancestors.

What have we here? What can you see? Pause the video and name some of the things that you can see on the screen.

Restart the video when you have named at least two things that you can see.

Great, well done for looking and thinking about what's on the screen.

Dorothy Napangardi used a dotting tool to make her art.

Dorothy Napangardi often used just a few colors, like black, white, and sometimes yellow.

Dorothy Napangardi told the stories from her ancestors.

She made patterns that showed the land.

What colors can you see? Pause the video and talk to a partner about the colors that you can see.

How many colors did you spot? I wonder if you notice anything else about this artwork.

We have another true or false question here.

These are just shapes and dots.

They do not mean anything.

Looking at this picture, do you think this is true, shapes and dots don't mean anything, or false? Pause the video and talk to your group about what you all think.

Restart the video when you've decided what's true and what's false.

Did your group get that it was false? We'll find out why together.

These shapes and dots share special stories.

Some Aboriginal Peoples, artists, use them to show places, paths, and memories.

What a blue sky and a beautiful red rock.

Do you have a favorite journey or walk? A walking path is a special track that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples follow, showing the journeys of their ancestors, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples can walk these paths to visit family, find food, and follow the stories of the land.

Oh, (laughs) I think I can see something that can help.

The paths are very important because they're part of the Dreaming.

This is the story of how the land, animals, and people were made.

I wonder if you know what this animal is called.

As people walked, they sang songs to remember the places stories, land, water, sky, animals and people.

Hi, Lucas.

Hi, Sofia.

Lucas and Sofia are recording walking paths.

Can see that they're looking at some quite exciting things.

Sofia says, "We can use different materials to record our walking path, such as string or natural materials." They might think about the types of lines their walking path might follow.

Sofia says, "We might follow straight lines or curved lines on our walking path." We are ready for task A, Trace outdoor pathways.

Think of a story while you are walking, then follow your path back and remember the story.

You might use these materials to record your walking path.

We have string, chalk, and natural found objects.

There's some leaves and twigs I can see there.

Pause the video and decide what you might use to make your walking path.

Enjoy thinking of a story and walking.

Restart the video when you finished task A.

Wow.

Look at all the amazing pathways you have made.

You've been exploring, just like artists do.

When you made your outdoor pathway, you might have remembered a special journey for your walking path, made a walking path with natural materials or string like the wiggly shape of this one, used straight or curved lines in your walking path.

Great, we are now ready to draw and paint our walking lines.

What journey do you think these dots describe? Have a look at the screen.

Imagine you're walking along those dots.

What kind of journey is it? For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, a walking line, or songline, shows journeys of Ancestral Beings in the Dreaming.

That makes it very special.

People remember these lines through songs, dancing, and paintings.

A walking line can go across the land, but it also lives in people's memory, songs, and art.

We have a true or false.

(laughs) Check for understanding here.

Let's see.

Walking lines only trace a journey that goes across the land.

Pause the video and have a conversation with a partner about what you think a walking line shows.

Well done for sharing your ideas together.

Did you get false? The answer is that this is false.

Why is it false? We'll find out some more.

Walking lines can go across the land, but they also live in people's memory, songs, and art.

Lucas is now making his walking line in pencil on black paper.

Hi, Lucas.

Lucas says, "I am remembering a special journey with my dad." That sounds really interesting.

Each stroke of pencil records the memory of a movement.

Lucas says, "I'm remembering the turns we took and the roads we walked down." So maybe he walked up and across and down again.

Lucas dots paint along the pencil walking line.

He says, "I can use a dotting tool to make white dots on black paper." I think the white dots really stand out.

We'll have a check for understanding here.

And think about what we already know.

This is the start of a sentence.

"Each stroke of a pencil records the memory of a.

." We've got three choices, the memory of a second, the memory of a pencil, the memory of a movement.

So A is second, B is pencil, C is movement.

Pause the video and talk as a group about what you think the word is that ends the sentence, "Each stroke of a pencil records the memory of a.

." Restart the video when you've decided on your choice.

Great.

You had so many ideas about how this sentence could end.

The answer was C, movement.

"Each stroke of a pencil recalls the memory of a movement." To remember your journey outside and the movements that you made, let's close our eyes together and just think about that journey.

Good thinking.

This means we are ready for task B, Create a walking line based upon a memory.

Here's Lucas.

Lucas gives us some advice.

Lucas says, "Think of a special memory of a journey." Gather your paper, paint, and your dotting tools.

We have some top tips for creating our walking line based upon a memory.

First, draw your journey on black paper using a pencil.

Second, use a dotting tool to trace over your pencil lines.

You'll be making lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of dots.

Enjoy making your memory walking lines.

Pause the video and restart when you've done task B.

Happy dotting.

Great work, everyone.

You've made your own story with dots and lines.

Wonderful.

Well done.

When you did your painting, you might have used a memory, a special memory, you could have started by drawing your walking line with a pencil, and made dots using a tool like this artist.

We are now ready for our last part of our lesson together, Share a memory for my walking line.

So we're going to think about what memories walking lines are sharing.

Some artists create art that shows what they remember, not just what they see.

We're going to have a close-up look at one part of this beautiful walking line.

We've got a small square to look at.

Oh, and here's our small square a bit bigger.

What do you think this part of the walking line might show? Lucas is here to share some of his ideas with us.

Hi, Lucas.

Lucas says, "This part of my walking line shows where I saw a gray squirrel running up a tree." That's a great memory, Lucas.

Let's look closely at Lucas's line, his dotted line.

Lucas has used curved lines to show the squirrel in his memory.

We have a check here for understanding.

Is it true or false that an artwork must show something that you see in front of you? Pause the video and talk to a partner about whether this is true or false.

Does an artwork have to show something that you can see in front of you? Fantastic sharing of all your ideas.

Did you get that it was false? It is false.

Let's find out why together.

Some artists create art that shows what they remember, not just what they see.

Well done, everyone, for sharing your ideas.

Okay, we have another close-up square of the walking line.

What do you think this part of the walking line might show? Here's Lucas again, ready to share some ideas.

Lucas says, "This part shows a story my dad was telling me as we walked along together." I wonder if that's because there are lots of dots here that gently curve.

We're going to do I do, you do.

So I tell my friend about a memory in my walking line.

"We stopped to look at a swan in the park.

She was looking for bread that a toddler was throwing to her." Now, it's time to think about you do.

You tell your friend about a memory in your walking line.

You could start by telling your friend, "I saw," "I heard," "I smelled," "We stopped at." Pause the video and tell your friend about a memory in your walking line.

Great work.

You might have got some answers, such as, "I saw a flock of birds." "We stopped at the shop to buy something for lunch." Well done for sharing your thoughts.

We're ready to do task C, Share a memory for my walking line.

Tell your partner the memories your walking line shows.

We'll have a look at our top tips.

You might want to use these sentence stems, the beginnings for your sentences.

"I remember walking with.

." "The path we took went past.

." "I saw, I heard, I smelled.

." "We stopped at.

." Pause the video and have a great time sharing your memory from your walking line and your artwork today.

Restart when you've done task C.

Well done.

You've shown real pride in your own stories that you created.

When you talked about your memory from the walking line, you might have said, "Now when I go there, I think about my dad and how he told me the names of the trees and held my hand before we played tag together." I really love playing tag.

You might have said, "I heard a car horn and people shouting as it made them jump.

My dad and I laughed." You could have said, "I remember walking with my brother.

He shared his sweets as we walked." That sounds like such a good walk to me.

Or, "We stopped at the house I used to live in." Fantastic thoughts.

We've worked incredibly hard this lesson.

You've been true artists creating and thinking about your memories, making dot patterns.

We'll summarize all that we've learned together.

We learn about First Nation artists who draw paths from stories, dreams, and memory, not just maps.

A walking path is a special track that Aboriginal Peoples used to walk across the land.

And remember, we went outside and did our own walking and created our own thoughts while we were walking.

A walking line can help an artist to share what they remember, not just what they see.

It's been a really wonderful lesson with you today.

I hope to see you again very soon in another one of our art lessons.

Bye for now.