WW2 Art

 

Anderson Shelter Models

 

As part of the curriculum my year 5 and 6 art group have been studying WW2. As part of their learning I though it would be good to come up with a project that would last a large chunk of the term. I came up with the idea for the children to create models of Anderson Shelters.

 

I didn't introduce the project until half way through the term because I wanted the children to of gained knowledge of their topic through their other subject lessons. By the time we started they had gained a lot from lessons plus a trip to the STEAM Museum in Swindon.

 

 

I specifically gave them a very broad scope to be creative and individual. I put out a full range of water based paints and brush sizes, a selection of tissue paper and card, glue, felt tip pens, tinfoil and provided each child with the same size cardboard base. They were free to take from a large roll of corrugated card which I got for a very reasonable price from the schools resource suppliers.

 

The only other aid I gave the children was a paper template for the two ends of the shelter. The use of this was optional. I gave no modelling or specifications on how to construct their models and this yielded surprising results. I did show a power point of other models made by children which they could gain inspiration from. I found that giving them this freedom really allowed me to watch their techniques and gain knowledge of their understanding of basic techniques. As basic as brush control and understanding of properties of paints and materials. As a teacher, this was a really useful process of assessing gaps in their knowledge that we can cover in future sessions.

 



One tip I will give is that standing by with a glue gun for fixing issues was a great help. If your brave enough, you could allow the children to use the glue gun themselves. I remember being allowed in primary school to use a glue gun to fix wood together but I was unsure how health and safety regulations play into this now. So, I would recommend checking out risk assessments etc if your allowing the children to use the gun.