CHANGING SEASONS – Radial Balance, Fabric Art

Students will be able to:

• create a radial design that represents the four seasons;
• use contrasting colours to create emphasis;
• use repetition of line and shape to create balance;
• demonstrate technical accomplishment and creativity;
• support their ideas with evidence found in the artworks.

Have students:

• gather pictures of examples of radial symmetry in nature;
• compare them with man made designs;
• create collages that include both natural and man made examples of radial symmetry, e.g.
  - combine a picture of a bicycle wheel with a sunflower to make something new and still have a radial pattern
• write poems to go along with their collages;
• create a digital class book of the poems and pictures;
• share their work with another class. 

1. Gather required art materials.
2. Gather and make available books about the seasons, for example, the series by Heidi Pross Gray, Autumn is Here!; Spring is Here!; Winter is Here!; Summer is Here!;  Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter, by Kenard Pak; Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring, by Kenard Pak; Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, by Julia Rawlinson, and Tiphanie Beeke; Awesome Autumn: All Kinds of Fall Facts and Fun, by Bruce Goldstone; and Winter Sleep: A Hibernation Story, by Sean Taylor, Alex Morss, and Cinyee Chiu.
3. Download and display the Colour, Balance and Repetition Posters available on this website.
4. Teach or review contrasting colours.
5. Teach or review radial symmetry.
6. Teach or review characteristics of the four seasons.
7. Download examples of radial designs from the Internet, for example,
   Notre Dame
   Mallorca 
   Cactus
   Coconut Tree
   Wheel
   Cats
8. Download images of different seasons from the Internet, for example,
   Grant Wood Fall
   Fall Trees Ottawa
   Winter Edmonton
   Spring Vancouver
   Summer Saskatchewan
9. Cut fabric into pieces about 27 cm x 27 cm (11" x 11") – one per student.
10. Cut white Bristol board into pieces 30 cm x 30 cm (12" x 12") – one per student.
11. Cut out circle tracers, or gather paper plates for students to use to draw their circles. (Downloads - CircleTracers.pdf)

1. View and discuss the images and illustrations of each season focussing on things that make the scenes effective in the illustrations. 
2. Have students recall what they have experienced during the various seasons. 
3. List characteristics of each season on a chart paper. 
4. View and discuss the use of shape and colour in the images of different radial patterns. 
5. Introduce the challenge. 

1. Place students into small groups. 
2. Ask them to: 
   - Compare their work and describe to each other what they did to get certain effects.
   - Discuss the things that are especially effective and why.
   - Talk about what they found difficult and what they found easy to do.
3. Share ideas with the whole class. 
4. Ask them to tell how they felt about doing this project.

1. Observe students as they work – thoughtful focus, discriminating, seeking more information, elaborating, experimenting.
2. Observe students as they discuss their artworks – speaks with a clear voice, looks at audience while speaking, holds hanging to the side, provides accurate information, answers questions from the audience effectively.
3. Observe students as they listen – looks at presenter, asks effective questions, supports ideas with evidence found in the artwork.
4. Use a checklist to track progress. (Downloads - Seasons_tracking.pdf)
5. Have students use the self-assessment form to evaluate their work. (Downloads - Seasons_self-assessment.pdf)