Reviews

Kyffin Williams: Artpack My Views and Opinions – by Jen Cox, Machen Primary School, Caerphilly An enthusiastic response from the pupils This resource was used with a class of Year 4 pupils and a class of Year 6 pupils. We focused on the tonal qualities of Kyffin’s work and investigated his various styles of painting and drawing. The pupils were able to build upon previous experience and successfully extended their art vocabulary, skills and knowledge. They responded enthusiastically to this resource, although I feel certain refinements could ensure the Artpack meets the needs of a dynamic classroom more successfully. A flexible resource for the non-specialist teacher The Artpack thoroughly addresses the needs of the National Curriculum, especially AT1, Understanding. Pupils are given many opportunities and contexts within which to experiment with several different methods used by Kyffin Williams. Each skill is introduced in a progressive and cumulative manner which provides a solid framework for the non-specialist teacher. The comprehensive range of activities, skills and learning opportunities gives this resource flexibility. The Artpack can be used as a basis for a whole term’s scheme of work, or equally successfully for shorter periods where specific aspects of the artist’s work are investigated or perhaps contrasted with the techniques used by other artists. Contents of the pack The pack includes a Teacher’s Book, a Pupil Book, photocopiable activity sheets and Artcards. The Teacher’s Book contains ideas for teaching and learning The Teacher’s Book is extremely useful and has a wide range of stimulating and relevant teaching and learning ideas. These have a clear, step-by-step format with helpful prompts for the less confident teacher in this curriculum area. Resources are clearly listed for each task and contain tools and media usually found within the primary classroom. There is a well-balanced variety of investigative activities which introduce skills such as mark making, individual focused activities such as using thick paint and group activities such as working together on a large piece of paper. There is a selection of cross-curricular activities which could be used during literacy or other sessions and provide further valuable opportunities to make links within Kyffin Williams’s work. Several key skills can be developed by utilising aspects of the Artpack. The pupils enjoyed the direct quotes in the Pupil Book The Pupil Book contains plenty of examples of Kyffin’s work. The use of direct quotes stimulated the pupils, as they enjoyed hearing his own words and also found the section describing the wildlife both interesting and exciting. I feel, however, that the book would be more useful as a ‘big book’ or as an interactive whiteboard resource, thus enabling the class, or group of pupils, to read along and see the paintings in more detail. The Artcards are an useful tool The Artcards are a useful tool although perhaps there should either be more copies, or a class pack in postcard size. This would ensure that each pupil, or pair of pupils, could have one image to use with a viewfinder or use as a starting point for their own work. In addition, information about the painting and discussion prompts would be an useful teaching tool on the reverse of each A4 artcard. I supplemented this resource with my own prints of the artist’s work, postcards and images from leaflets I have collected over recent years. The pack led on to practical work Following reading the Pupil Book and investigating examples of Kyffin’s work, Year 4 pupils investigated tones of colour within his work and represented these in the form of their own collage. The Year 6 pupils enjoyed exploring the grey scale palette, using palette knives, mixing and applying their own thick paint in the style of the artist. We extended this activity onto pieces of corrugated card and they created their own landscapes. This contrasted with pencil and watercolour wash landscapes which fostered a different range of skills. The pupils’ discussions and questions reflected their interest in and enthusiasm about the artist and his work. They responded positively, expressively and creatively producing work of a good standard and were keen to do further research on the artist and his work. Differentiation was achieved by outcome and with targeted extra support. We also used interactive internet resources which provided alternative activities: www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/kyffin_williams/eng/Introduction www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/welsh_art_-_landscapes I would recommend that this resource is introduced at the lower end of Key Stage 2 although some aspects were certainly utilised successfully at the higher end of the key stage.
*Books Council of Wales*