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Within this weeks 'experiencing arts integration' activity, in relation to the subjects of Geography and Visual Art, I have created an assemblage that reflects the environment around me.

In creating this piece I went for a walk in my backyard which leads into farming paddocks and bushland.  On this walk, whilst collecting the range of vegetation featured, I had come to notice how dry and dehydrated the land and life growing there was due to lack of rain and recent hot conditions.  These conditions are clearly reflected by the colour, texture and shape of the pieces within the assemblage.

Reflecting upon this piece and the environment that surrounds me, I have come to realise what outside features contribute to making where I live a home.  This place and vast space is important to me as it provides a calmness away from nearby towns, thus allowing for opportunities for quiet, to reset and to ultimately just relax.

Through partaking in this activity I can definitely see how something such as this would be a great tool to implement in the classroom with kids as it provides an opportunity for them to be outside, utilise found objects to create something more and special and to encourage deeper thinking about their environment and what it means to them.

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What?
For this weeks activity the focus subjects integrated were HaSS and Drama.  Our task was to explore a range of drama activities to then choose one that can be utilised when learning about a particular aspect/key event of the First Fleet.

So What?
For this task I chose to focus upon Week One's topic content which looked at what life was like in 18th Century Britain.  The Drama activity/strategy I chose to implement to explore this topic is role play.

Activity: Students will first be split up into small groups of about 4.  The activities students would first take part in, in order to understand this topic is conducting research (utilising ICT and library books) around what life was like during this time which they would collate in their books or an online journal of some sort. The lesson following this students would be provided with time to choose a person or group of people of their choice to then begin creating a short performance to depict this persons life during this time.  E.g. A wife of a factory worker would have domestic duties only (cooking, cleaning, looking after children), unable to work in a male dominated society and have no voting rights (suppressed).  Once students gain a good understanding of this time and their chosen individual they will present their short acts to the class so the knowledge of different people from this time can be shared.  Through these presentations students will develop a strong understanding of what life was like during 18th Century Britain as they have done extensive research into it and then embodied characters to depict this to their classmates.  During this students will enhance their knowledge of the elements of drama (facial expression, tension, space, time, movement)  through practical implementation of them.
Formative Assessment Strategies: Teacher will be making observations over the week of how the students work both independantly and within their group utilising a checklist.  Teacher will frequently check in with students and examine their Drama/HaSS journals that contains their research.  Teacher will check in with all groups throughout the week to provide feedback and listen to their ideas.
Summative Assessment: The summative assessment for this task is the role-play students will present at the end of this weekly topic focus.

Now What?
I believe an activity such as this would be great for a range of year levels when learning about and investigating HaSS topics as the elements of drama encourage students to embody the key people involved and explore the events, which has a long lasting impact on their learning and helps them to understand the content on a deeper level.

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Soundscape to 'Starry Night' by Vincent Van Gogh

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Soundscape to 'Starry Night' by Vincent Van Gogh

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What?
For this weeks activity the subjects integrated were Visual Art and Music.  The focus was to choose an artwork from the selection provided to then create a soundscape that reflected the emotions and meaning communicated within the piece.

So What?
The artwork I chose to respond to and create a soundscape for is 'Starry Night' by Vincent Van Gogh.  I chose this artwork because of the colours and the pattern created by the paint strokes within this piece.  The emotions I believe are evident within this artwork that are communicated through the colours and brush strokes, are sadness, loneliness and possibly confusion.
Therefore, within my soundscape I incorporated sounds from a piano, a string and utilised my voice to produce a whistling wind sound.

Now What?
If I were to implement an activity such as this within the classroom I would incorporate a 'health' aspect into it in regard to discussing emotions, mental health and how to positively express how we feel.
I think this activity would be great for upper primary students as it requires those high order thinking skills, explores the relationship between sounds and their visual representations and the elements of both art forms.

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What?
For this weeks task we continued to look at the theme of 'sustainability'.  We were to utilise our recycled art piece (Visual Art) from last week to create a short stop motion video (Media Arts) addressing the idea of sustainability and to communicate a message.

So What?
In developing an idea for the message regarding sustainability I thought about how birds are affected, what in particular affects them and what is the result of this, which is rubbish.  Rubbish is commonly left as litter in populated areas and the first thing I thought of was takeaway cups and straws.  Using this notion I did some research around birds and human pollution, in particular plastics and found that birds often mistake plastics as food.
Therefore for my stop motion video I incorporated the bird art piece situated within an outside environment backdrop.  I used small bits of straw that replicated a worm/grub that the bird would usually eat.  The bird flies over the bits of straw suspecting its food and then swallows some.  The result of this is death for the bird.
The overall end message that I would hope to come across in this video is that we have to be responsible for our own litter as it affects a community beyond our own.

Now What?
By participating in this activity and being able to make the connections between visual art and media arts, this has helped me to understand what kind of activities can connect the two and how the different elements of each can work together to create an end product that is creative and engaging. It was interesting that whilst integrating the two arts subjects it's possible to also successfully develop an understanding of a real world issue through them. I would love to implement an activity such as this in the classroom as it requires students to be creative and critical thinkers, introduces them to a range of art elements, discusses/addresses a real world issue and is engaging.

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What?
Within this weeks activity we looked at how to integrate Dance with Science.  The focus task was to develop a short dance/movement sequence that imitates the individual characteristics of an Australian Native Bird.  The bird I chose was the emu, as growing up on a farm in outback New South Wales I would regularly see them running along fence lines and at the dams.

So What?
In order to create and ensure my movement sequence was authentic and accurately represented the emu, I carried out some research to develop a fact file that would help me to understand more about the bird, in conjunction with my prior knowledge.  Some interesting and notable facts I found included: they can run unto a speed of 48 kilometres an hour, they sometimes have to swallow rocks/pebbles to help their stomachs grind up food and that they are omnivores.

Now What?
If I were to implement an activity such as this within the classroom I would structure it as a research based task where students could work in small groups or pairs to investigate their own chosen Australian Native animal.  To collate this research students would utilise a 'research journal' to write down their facts/findings, include images they find interesting etc..  Using their research students would be able to take on the persona of this animal, in which they would then create a short movement sequence that can be presented to the class.
I believe an activity such as this, that integrates Dance with Science, is a great way of helping students to understand the elements of Dance in a practical sense whilst developing a deeper understanding of their chosen animal - students will more likely remember this content as they are embodying that animal whilst learning.

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What?
The focus arts subjects for this weeks task was music and visual art in which we focused upon utilising the elements of art (line, shape and colour) to express and communicate an emotion/meaning whilst listening to the music, 'Carnival of Animals' (Tortoise).

So What?
Within this learning experience it was interesting and exciting to be able to make the clear connections between music and visual art as I had not thought about the relationship between the two previously.  In partaking in this activity I first listened to the music without drawing as I wanted to make clear distinctions between how many instruments may be evident, how the different sounds worked together and ultimately what emotions were generated.
The overall emotion I feel is communicated through this piece of music was happiness, curiosity and cheerfulness.
These emotions were created by two distinct sounds/instruments which is represented by the black smooth line and the blue dotted lines.  The black smooth line represented what I believe to be string music, the sound created was continuous and the pitch fluctuated.  The blue dotted line represented the sounds played by the piano, these were high in pitch, sounded short and sharp and changed as the strings changed.  The purple, thick, smooth line drawn above both of these represents the piece as a whole - both instruments working together to create an overall sound this is smooth, high and low and happy.

Now What?
Through partaking in this activity I have been able to hear, see and experience the evident relationship music has with art and human emotions.  This activity would be great to implement in the classroom as it requires students to think about the sounds, how this makes them feel, how they can represent this visually and why they represent each sound the way they do (curiosity).  I think this activity would be a good introductory activity as it abstract and invites so many interpretations to the one sound which can be shared.  An activity such as this makes clear links to the Personal and Social capability within the Australian Curriculum and areas of Health.

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What?
Within this weeks task the focus subject was Visual Art integrated alongside the theme of 'the importance of sustainability', in which we were required to utilise recycled/found household materials to then create an art piece that can be used to express this focus theme.  I utilised both recyclable materials (toilet roll, cardboard box, bit from a can) and materials that are not environmentally friendly/recyclable (plastic milk top, plastic spoon).

So What?
When I think about sustainable living in my environment and how being consciously aware of where my rubbish goes it made me think about the wildlife that also inhabit this area and how littering and human made rubbish affects their life and life style.  So, utilising the pictured materials I decided to create a model of a bird, as I have seen birds eating and utilising bits of rubbish to make their nests etc.
Creating this art piece encouraged me to think on a more deeper level about how I live/do not live sustainably, what I could do to be more sustainable, who's affected by unsustainable living etc.

Now What?
In participating in this activity, I can definitely see how something such as this would be great to utilise in the classroom as it generates big questions about our world/environment, encourages high order thinking skills, is a practical and engaging way to carry out learning whilst implementing arts integration strategies.