In our first enrichment week of the year, the children will be learning about the amazing Americas. In this unit about the Amazing Americas, children will first find out about the continents of North and South America, and the countries that form them. They will also look in more detail at some of the contrasting regions of the Americas, finding out about the landscape, climate and locations of each area. There is the opportunity to carry out a detailed fieldwork study of the children’s local area to help them to identify the similarities and differences between a region of the Americas and where they live. Children will also develop their map and atlas skills and practise reading and writing coordinates. They will learn about the ancient and new wonders of the world, specifically those of the Americas, and they will research a natural wonder of the Americas and create their own presentations to teach others what they learn.
Art - Frida Kahlo
Children begin the topic by studying and analysing Kahlo’s artwork. This gives them the opportunity to discover who she was and the kind of artwork she is famous for creating. They are challenged to look closely at her art and answer questions about what they see and feel about them, encouraging them to express their own opinions.
We move on to study Frida Kahlo’s famous self portraits and how she created them. They explore the proportions of the face and how the features are drawn into a portrait or self portrait in relation to one another. They then use this learning to sketch a proportional self portrait.
Finally, we learn about Kahlo’s background of Mexican art and the influences it had on her paintings. They think about cultural identity and how Kahlo expressed hers in her paintings and clothing. Using this to inspire them the children reflect on their own identity and express this in their own self portraits.
We move on to study Frida Kahlo’s famous self portraits and how she created them. They explore the proportions of the face and how the features are drawn into a portrait or self portrait in relation to one another. They then use this learning to sketch a proportional self portrait.
Finally, we learn about Kahlo’s background of Mexican art and the influences it had on her paintings. They think about cultural identity and how Kahlo expressed hers in her paintings and clothing. Using this to inspire them the children reflect on their own identity and express this in their own self portraits.
