After School Creativity

Overview

This 60-minute arts session for Year 5 students in New Zealand focuses on the theme 'After School Timetable'. The lesson encourages students to creatively reflect on their daily routines and explore time management through visual arts, aligning with the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum and focusing on relevant achievement objectives and competencies.

Curriculum Links

Learning Area: The Arts (Visual Arts Strand)

Year Level: 5 (Level 3 of The Arts in NZ Curriculum)
Achievement Objective:
Students will develop ideas by exploring visual language elements such as shape, space, time, and sequence to communicate meaning in their artworks.
Key Competencies:
- Thinking: Students develop ideas and explore creative solutions relating to their routines.
- Managing Self: Awareness and reflection of their own time management and daily activities.
- Using Language, Symbols, and Texts: Communicate ideas visually, making connections with their own schedules.

Relevant Curriculum References

The Arts achievement objective – Visual Arts, Level 3:
"Develop ideas in a range of forms drawing on personal and/or imagination and observation."
Values: Encourage Innovation, Creativity, and Personal Excellence through self-expression.
Key Competencies: Managing self (time management reflected in art), Thinking (planning and sequencing), Participating and contributing (sharing ideas) .

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to:

Represent their personal after-school activities in a creative visual timetable format.
Explore and arrange concepts of time and sequence using visual symbols in their artwork.
Reflect on their daily routines and discuss time management through their visual creations.
Use elements of visual language (colour, shape, composition) purposefully to convey meaning about their after-school time.

Resources Needed

Blank A3 paper per student
Coloured pencils, markers, crayons, and paint
Rulers and stencils for making shapes/clocks
Sample timetable templates or examples
Whiteboard and markers
Timer or clock for time management cues

Lesson Plan Breakdown

1. Introduction and Warm-up (10 minutes)

Activity:
Brief group discussion: "What do you do after school?" Gather ideas from students to build a mind map on the whiteboard (e.g., homework, sports, chores, hobbies).
Introduce the theme: Explain that they will be creating an artistic timetable that shows what they do after school using pictures and symbols rather than words.
Link to time: Discuss how we manage time and why timetables can help us organise our activities.

Curriculum focus: Encourage verbal expression, listening skills, and personal reflection to connect to the theme .

2. Exploration and Planning (15 minutes)

Activity:
Individually, students list or sketch their after-school activities on their own piece of paper.
Guide students to think about the order in which activities happen (sequencing) and the approximate time each activity takes.
Model how to use simple shapes (clock faces, blocks of time) as visual symbols. Introduce concepts of time blocks and sequencing with simple examples.
Ask students to think creatively how they can represent these visually – e.g., using colour coding, symbols, or drawings.

Curriculum focus: Developing ideas and planning art works with an understanding of time concepts and sequencing .

3. Creating Visual Timetables (25 minutes)

Activity:
Students create their visual after-school timetable on A3 paper.
Encourage variety: use of colour, shapes, drawings, and inclusion of clocks or time indicators to represent sequence and duration.
Teacher circulates supporting students with ideas, techniques, and encouraging storytelling through images.

Practical artistic skills: Use of line, colour, shape, and composition to communicate meaning.
Encourage thoughtfulness in the design to reflect time management and daily routine awareness.

4. Sharing and Reflection (10 minutes)

Students pair up or form small groups to share their timetables and explain their choices.
Discuss how their timetables help them plan time and organise activities after school.

Assessment Focus:

Ability to communicate ideas visually.
Understanding and application of sequence and time in their artwork.
Participation in group reflection and ability to explain their creative choices.

5. Wrap-up and Extension (if time allows)

Pose questions for students to think about how art can help people organise their lives and communicate routines visually (e.g., planners, calendars).
Suggest students take their timetables home to share with family, encouraging real-world application.

Assessment Methods

Assessment will be formative and ongoing, focusing on:

Creativity and originality in representing the after-school timetable.
Use of visual arts elements (colour, shape, space) and time-related symbols.
Student explanations during sharing, demonstrating understanding of sequencing and time management.
Engagement and participation throughout activities.

Teachers may use an observation checklist noting:

Evidence of planning and sequencing ideas.
Application of visual language to communicate message.
Engagement in peer discussions and critical thinking.

This aligns with The Arts achievement objectives at Level 3 and the NZ Curriculum key competencies .

Differentiation and Considerations

Provide scaffolding: stencil shapes, clocks, and templates for students needing extra support.
For extension learners: encourage combining visual art with written labels or digital tools to enhance the timetable.
Integrate te reo Māori where possible by introducing time-related vocabulary or symbols.
Emphasise respect for diverse after-school routines, encouraging inclusivity.

This lesson integrates creativity, practical art skills, and critical thinking about time and routines within the Year 5 level of the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum, fostering valued competencies for student growth in arts and life skills.

Teaching Instructions