How do you engage with the national anthem in a creative way?
This project was a creative reimagining of the national anthem involving all students of the school regardless of age or SNI status. The project culminated with an exhibition of the children’s artworks at a local cultural house
Quick facts about the project:
| Target group |
Children 7-16 years old, all of the primary school classes from 1st to 8th grade. |
| Facilitator |
Art teacher |
| Time scale |
The project was longer and ran on and off over a period of 2 months |
| Location |
classroom |
| Goal |
Training imagination, crafting skills and abillity to transform reflections upon a topic into a concrete artistic output. Practicing motor skills. |
| Materials |
Acrylic paint, oil pastels, different magazines and papers for collaging, watercolours. |
How to approach the project theme in the different grades:
- 1st grade: speaking about places and events, where you can usually hear the national anthem – national holidays, sport games, etc. Teach them a new artistic technique: 1. use oil pastels on a piece of paper 1. paint over the paper with black acrylic paint and wait for it to dry. 3. then scrape away the black by drawing on it with the other end of a pencil or something simliar. This will reveal the oil pastels underneath. You can see an example of the technique here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVm3ewuMuDI.The specific theme in this class was fireworks.
- 2nd and 3rd grade: dive into the special places which are mentioned in the lyrics of the national anthem. New technique: acrylic paint on canvas. Talking about the lyrics but only in the students’ language and according to their age. Look at a lot of pictures to invoke memories. Collect family photos to use as a reference for their artworks.
- 4th and 5th grade: reflect upon famous and important places in Hungary that remind us of the national anthem. Recall memories about the places, look at a lot of pictures & movies and discuss the lyrics (as they’ve learned it by now).
- 7th and 8th grade: analyze national painters and national painting in the 19th century in Hungary. Do it through art history lessons, picture transformations (montage, collage and a bit of roleplay) and through having them make their own art collection of their favorite paintings. Presentation technique: acrylic paint on canvas, watercolours and collages.
Advice about inclusion in relation to the project:
Follow the recommendations of the Methodology of autism-specific integration in art classes
Impact of the project:
The children experienced the freedom of creative action working with a well-known work of art of national value while using their own imagination and creating the artwork according to their own thoughts and reflections. All children, including SNI children, were involved. The SEN children produced the most interesting art works and were extremely proud to exhibit them for the public.
Every student of the school presented an artwork at the exhibition which was set up at the local cultural school. They learned new techniques and they loved, that they explored the national anthem in another way.
Learnings – What could have been done different?
It was a long and complex project and maybe it was a bit too long of a process for the 1st and 2nd grade students, but the exhibition came together well and hundreds of people came by to experience it. What we would elaborate on for the next project is the artistic techniques when using colours as well as add scuplturing and modelling to the techniques used.
I will try this too, thanks!
Creative idea!
I like it so much i am sure i will try this with our class.
Yet another skillful way to teach the national anthem
What was notable about the art produced by SEN children?
How do you believe showcasing the children’s artwork to the public contributes to promoting inclusivity and diversity in artistic expression? Greeting : Industri Kreatif