Art in the Primary School

John Lancaster is an experienced teacher and educator of teachers. He was, until recently, head of art teacher training at Bristol Polytechnic, and is still a practising artist, lecturer and consultant. He is a fellow of the National Society for Education in Art and Design (NSEAD) and has written or edited eleven books on art.

• 1 Art in the primary school, What do we mean by art, craft, design and appreciation? The role of art in developing children’s creativity and Aestheticism, The purpose of art in primary education, Basic art teaching aims 2 The framework for planning art activities, The planning of suitable art activities in the primary school context, The kinds of materials which may be used, What art experiences do children need to have? Problem-solving activities, Stimulus from the world around us, 3 Planning what to teach, The balance between 2D and 3D work, Planning for schemes and lessons, Drawing—a key element in art, Historical and cultural inspirations, 4 Organizing art within the primary curriculum, Separate art: the value of pure art experience, Linking art: topic and interest work across subjects, The case for an art co-ordinator, The value of collections of resource materials 5 Art in school, Art in the classroom environment, Using classroom space, Equipment, materials and storage, Displaying work, Assessment 6 Art outside the classroom, Exhibitions around the school, Encouraging work at home, Art and design in the everyday world, Using art galleries, Artists in residence 7 Some ideas, A painting scheme for top juniors, Using ‘the school’ as a starting point for work in art and/or as an integrated project idea, A school newspaper (an integrated project), Simple print-making, Four starting points 8 Project work based upon heraldry, Some ideas for projects on heraldry 9 Two case studies