Intercultural Capability: Year 8 term plan

Exploring cultures through printmaking

Intercultural Capability: Year 8 term plan

Authorised and published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment AuthorityLevel 7, 2 Lonsdale StreetMelbourne VIC 3000

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ContentsThe Intercultural Capability project................................................................................................1

About this term plan........................................................................................................................2

Overview...........................................................................................................................................3

Teaching and learning activities.....................................................................................................5Week 1: What is printmaking?........................................................................................................5

Weeks 2–4: Japanese woodblock printing.....................................................................................6Weeks 5–7: Early printmaking in European Cultures.....................................................................8

Weeks 7–9: Printmaking in Australian Culture.............................................................................10Week 10: Summative lesson........................................................................................................12

Appendix 1: Assessment framework...........................................................................................13

Appendix 2: The concept of the cultural iceberg........................................................................14

Appendix 3: Week 1 discussion prompt......................................................................................15

The Intercultural Capability projectThis unit plan is based on material developed with schools participating in the 2017 Intercultural Capability project. The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, in partnership with the International Education Division at the Department of Education and Training of Victoria, conducted an action-research project with nineteen schools from the Government, Catholic and Independent sectors.

This unit plan provides an example of how a school might plan for the explicit teaching of Intercultural Capability knowledge and skills. It is not an exemplar. Schools are advised to consider whether this plan meets the needs of their student cohort and is appropriate in the context of their whole-school teaching and learning plan. Additional support and advice on high-quality curriculum planning is available from the Curriculum Planning Resource.

Schools have flexibility in how they choose to use this resource, including as:

a model that they adapt to suit their own teaching and learning plans

a resource to help decide on their approach.

Print and web-based resources

Some of the print resources contained in this list may be out of print. They have been included because they may still be available from libraries, bookshops and private collections.

At the time of publication the URLs (website addresses) cited were checked for accuracy and appropriateness of content. However, due to the transient nature of material placed on the web, their continuing accuracy cannot be verified. Teachers are strongly advised to prepare their own

indexes of sites that are suitable and applicable to the courses they teach, and to check these addresses prior to allowing student access.

About this term planTerm plan Year Total teaching time

Exploring cultures through printmaking

8 10 weeks (one Term)Teachers are advised to select from the range of activities to design a learning plan that can be delivered in the time available at their school.

This is an integrated term plan that combines learning in the Visual Arts with Intercultural Capability.

Complementary learning links to History: Ancient and the Modern World, the Asia-Pacific World (China) and Middle Ages and early exploration, the Asia-Pacific World (Japan under the Shoguns) can be made.

This term plan is based on a unit developed and taught during the Intercultural Capability project. The original unit was an in-depth study of Japanese print making. The initial unit plan has been modified into a term plan to strengthen the focus on student’s ability to:

o understand printmaking practices from a range of historical and cultural contextso create art in response to these contextso learn about how art works and art-making practices can reflect other aspects of

culture.

Content descriptions

Cultural Practices

Analyse the dynamic nature of own and others cultural practices in a range of contexts (VCICCB013)

Examine how various cultural groups are represented, by whom they are represented, and comment on the purpose and effect of these representations (VCICCB014)

Achievement Standard (excerpt)

By the end of Level 8, students explain how cultural practices may change over time in a range of contexts. They understand how cultural groups can be represented, and comment on the effects of these representations.

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OverviewThis term plan explores the ways print making has developed as a cultural and artistic practice at different times and within different cultures. It asks the question: Do artistic and cultural practices embedded in printmaking talk to each other across different times and different cultures?

This term plan links to the following content descriptions in Visual Arts:

Visual Arts

Visual Arts PracticesExperiment with materials, techniques, technologies and processes in a range of art forms to express ideas, concepts and themes in artworks (VCAVAV035)

Respond and InterpretIdentify and connect specific features of visual artworks from different cultures, historical and contemporary times, including artworks by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (VCAVAR039)

Additional advice for Visual Arts teachers is available from the Learning in Visual Arts sections of the Victorian Curriculum F–10 website.

Teaching approach This term plan provides students with an overview of printmaking practices within three

different historical periods and cultures. Provide sufficient time-on-task for students to explore and research information about an

exponent or artwork from the culture and period and to create art works in response to this material.

Students are asked a series of questions to help guide their research and artistic exploration and to focus on the significant developments in the cultural and/or artistic practice that underpins the printmaking style.

Structure of term plan

Week 1 Weeks 2–4 Weeks 5–7 Weeks 8–10 Week 10

Introductory lessons Lessons focusing on Japanese woodblock printing

Lessons focusing on Early printmaking in European Cultures

Lessons focusing Printmaking in Australian Culture

Presenting a portfilio

Note: Schools may use this plan to develop similar themed teaching and learning plans for Visual Arts and Intercultural Capability. The following ideas are suggested:

History and culture of photography/film History and culture of ceramics History and culture of painting.

Creating a portfolio of learning Across the term, students create a process folio exploring the artwork(s) from each

culture and period. This allows students to develop and demonstrate their learning in Visual Art.

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Students also provide evidence of their learning in Intercultural Capability through a set of reflective questions.

A summative portfolio presentation activity completes the sequence of lessons.

Teachers may consult the glossary provided for Intercultural Capability.

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Teaching and learning activities

Week 1: What is printmaking?Set the scene

Exploring the idea that an artistic practice can have a cultural and historical legacy.Explain that students are creating a portfolio of work over the next term.Provide an introduction to the idea of culture – focus on the idea that art is an expression of culture.Provide students with a copy of the assessment framework (Appendix 1) to let them understand that you are looking at two aspects in this unit: Visual Arts and Intercultural Capability.Tip: Be explicit with students about the structure of the lessons.

Pre-test to understand what students currently know

Undertake a pre-test to see how much students know about printmaking and culture, for example: What might the term ‘culture’ mean? What printmaking examples can they identify in Australia today? What examples of printmaking do they know of from other cultures?

Students can provide both oral and visual examples of these expectations in an annotated exploration.Ask students to capture summative statements from class discussions in their portfolio. The teacher and the student can look back at these for the summative assessment task. This may include, for example, visual materials, new vocabulary, thumbnail sketches.

Introduce the concept of the cultural iceberg

Introduce the students to the cultural iceberg concept. Discuss the differences between ‘Visible culture’ and ‘Hidden culture’.

Create a class list of related vocabulary for talking about culture. This may be displayed in the room and added to as students’ progress through this sequence of lessons and complete their journal entries.

Watch Cultural Iceberg (FUSE ID: 79JTSZ) and provide students with a copy of the cultural iceberg hand out (Appendix 2). Note there are a range of other examples available online.

Discuss printmaking as a cultural practice

Guiding questions: Where does printmaking fit within the scheme of ‘visible/invisible’ culture? When we look at artworks, such as prints, can we identify cultural objects or things that tell us about the ‘invisible’ aspects of a culture (for example, religious iconography)?The cultural iceberg can be referred to throughout the activities in these lessons. It can be used to provide students with a framework for talking about culture and cultural aspects of the artworks they investigate. Provide a prompt, such as the image in Appendix 3, and ask students to look in detail at the artwork and to use the visible/invisible culture framework to delve deeper into the image.Ask students to identify objects in the artwork, which can then be discussed using the cultural iceberg concept. For example:

Musical instruments can be seen in this image. The instruments themselves are clearly ‘visual’ aspects of culture, but what about the music itself?

We can see blossom on the trees. Does this help us to identify where this image may be from? Why might we know this is a print from Japan?

We can see a number of tea pots in this image. What do we know about tea? Where does it

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come from? Do Australians drink tea? Does your family have any tea-drinking habits or rituals?

Weeks 2–4: Japanese woodblock printing Respond and Interpret

As an introduction, view the information and images on the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) website: Background information on Ukiyo-e style prints, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (FUSE ID: BTTBQ4).

Use the following questions to assist the students to complete an exploration on printmaking in Japanese culture. Students can complete this work in their visual diary.Ukiyo-e translates to ‘floating world’ and is used to identify a genre of Japanese art that flourished from the 17th to the 19th century.

Description1. Select one print as an example. Write the name of the artist, the date, size and the materials used

in the image.2. Describe what you can see in the print, for example, students can write a list of the things they can

see in the image. This is the subject matter of the artwork.3. Describe the art elements and art principles you can see in the artwork. You can write a list.4. Read the information about woodblock printing on the MMA webpage and then describe the

materials and techniques the artist has used to make the artwork. The list of art elements and principles will help you.

Analysis and InterpretationRead the description about Japanese woodblock printing and ask students to discuss the following questions using information from their research.5. What do you think the purpose of this print was? Is it telling a story? What can you see in the

image that suggests this?6. What are some examples of Japanese culture you can see in the print? You may want to think

about the composition of the artwork, the patterns and the depiction of nature and people.7. What examples of the printmaking style of the Ukiyo-e style can you see in this image? For

example: the clothing of the figures is flat with an outline and there is patterning that has been created by the woodblock printing process.

Explore and Express

Students view the website Impressionism (Japonism – FUSE ID GW4MZ5) and read how the Ukiyo-e print influenced French Impressionism. Look at the artworks on the webpage to answer the following questions:

1. How are the works of Degas and Monet influenced by Ukiyo-e prints in their subject matter?2. Write a list of the similarities in visual conventions in both artworks looking at examples such as

composition and the use of line and shape.3. What can you see in the images that shows the cultural context of the artworks? It may be the

depiction of people, nature, objects or the landscape.

Use the research the students have undertaken to develop a series of lino cuts based on woodblock printing techniques and subject matter. Students take a series of photographs or complete a series of sketches of the following:

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o Facial expressions or poses of class members.o Clothing details such as the prints on uniforms or students favourite clothing.o A view of the school or the student’s home through a window.The students should focus on the use of visual conventions unique to the Ukiyo-e style such as perspective, viewpoints, patterning and the use of line and shape.

Students collect a series of Ukiyo-e prints that link to their portfolio of photographs and sketches and focus on details such as patterning and composition of images.

Using the photographs and sketches, students draw some linear sketches as a basis for a lino print. They should focus on the use of line and shape in their research drawings.

Visual Arts Practice

Demonstrate to the students the techniques of carving and printing. Use an example of a print in the Ukiyo-e style to demonstrate the use of shape, line, colour and composition in the printmaking process.

Using their drawing, students block out the shapes in the design to form the basis for their lino cut. Students transfer the design on to a lino block and carve out the blocked out areas.

Students print a series of images and explore lino printing techniques. They write in their visual diaries a step-by-step description of the processes they have used. They can photograph or stick examples in their visual diary of the steps taken in the process.

Reflection and Evaluation

Students paste a final example of a print in their visual diary. They find an image of a Japanese woodblock print that has influenced their work. The example may be linked by visual conventions, composition or subject matter.

They complete a comparison of their work and the Japanese woodblock prints. The following questions can be used as a guideline.

1. Describe the subject matter of your artwork. What is evident in the woodblock image that is linked to your work?

2. Describe the techniques that you have used to make your work. How does your work relate to the Japanese woodblock print? What visual evidence can you find?

3. What ideas are you conveying in your work about your own culture or identity? How does this compare to the Japanese woodblock print?

Connecting Intercultural Capability to learning in Visual Art

Students use the following questions to think about cultural practice in their own community and other cultural contexts: How does art influence culture?Prompt students to think about the processes that artists use and the ideas that are expressed in their artworks in relation to culture: Can you identify other artistic practices that influence contemporary Japanese culture? How might cultural practices be maintained through artistic traditions?

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Weeks 5–7: Early printmaking in European CulturesRespond and Interpret

As an introduction, students view the information and images on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website: Background information on the printed image in the West: Woodcut, (FUSE ID: FLHRZ7).

DescriptionUsing the information and images, guide students to explore the following questions during their research:

1. Using one of the images on the website, write the name of the artist, the date, the materials used in the artwork.

2. Describe the artwork. What can you see? What story do you think is being told? Use what you can see as evidence to support your impression.

3. Read the information about woodblock printing and engraving. What techniques has the artist used to create the artwork? What evidence of it can you see in the artwork?

4. What art elements and art principles has the artist used? Do you think the woodblock or engraving techniques the artist has used is related to the art elements and principles? For example: the use of cross hatching to create texture and tone.

Analysis and Interpretation5. What is the purpose of the artwork?6. Is it used as an illustration for a book or to communicate a story? What can you see in the

artwork that suggests this?

Explore and Express

Read the information on the following webpage about book printing in Europe: The Invention of Book Printing, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (FUSE ID: P42RL5). The image illustrates a group of book makers printing a book. The teacher can draw students attention to the historical understanding that prints were used in book printing starting in the 14 th century in Europe.

Using the images the class has explored in woodcutting and engraving as inspiration, ask student to create a print that expresses a particular event or story in the student’s life. Students explore the prints by discussing the subject matter and techniques used in their research. They could focus on the story the artwork is communicating and how the artist has communicated the story.

Students look through a series of images on the Metropolitan Museum of Art website looking at ‘The Printed Image in the West’. They can explore aquatint, dry point, engraving, etching and mezzotint.

Students note the story communicated in the images and the techniques used by the artist. They will focus on one artwork as their inspiration.

Visual Arts Practice

Students write a list of stories or events that are significant in their lives. They complete a series of thumbnail sketches illustrating one of these events to plan for a print.

Students select one image to enlarge as their feature image. They produce an A4 line sketch of the image in their visual diaries.

Students are introduced to either etching or lino block printing processes. They discuss the differences in the techniques and the use of visual conventions. For example: Etching uses cross hatching to provide tone where block printing produces shapes of solid colour. Both processes use line differently.

Students can select to either use lino printing or etching on acrylic to produce their print. They experiment with either process to produce a range of prints using different coloured inks and hand

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colouring or drawing on the images. A range of prints can be placed in the student visual diary and the student can document the

processes used in their experimentations.

Extension activity

Challenge and extend students who are interesting in exploring ‘zine’ cultures or graphic novels. Encourage them to find examples of zines and write an analysis using the questions from the

‘Respond & Interpret’ section. Students then could work in groups to create a storyboard for a zine. Each student could create an image to illustrate the story. Each student can complete the reflection

and evaluation individually in their visual diary.

Reflection and Evaluation

Students write out a copy of the story or event to display with their selected final image. They can create a class display of the stories in an exhibition or scan the images and type the stories to present on a website.

Students write an evaluation of their work to compare it to the etching or block printing process they selected. They present a copy of the artwork and their own work side by side for the evaluation.1. What are the similarities between your work and the artworks that you researched for the

project? Consider the composition of the artwork, the use of techniques and the subject that you have expressed.

2. What does the work convey about your identity and culture? How does this compare to the work that influenced your own work? Are there any clear symbols or relationships in style between the two?

Connecting Intercultural Capability to learning in Visual Art

Students consider the following questions to think about the significance of printmaking in European and Japanese cultures:What are the similarities between printmaking in European and Japanese cultures? Consider the purposes of Japanese woodblock printing and European printmaking. How do the

purposes of the prints produced in both cultures differ? What influences does the purpose of the printmaking have on the style of the artworks?

What are the different techniques used in printmaking in both cultures? What differences do these techniques have on the style and visual conventions used in the images?

Extension activity

Challenge and extend student to research the Gutenberg press in European culture and to compare some early example of books made by the Gutenberg press to zines or graphic novels made today. What is the Gutenberg press? How does the Gutenberg press relate to printmaking in European culture? What is significant about the invention of the press for contemporary society? Consider the use of

printmaking and illustrations in contemporary books and the changes over time.

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Weeks 7–9: Printmaking in Australian CultureRespond and Interpret

Students will undertake an individual research project based on the knowledge and skills they have developed over previous lessons in this unit.Students explore the works of one of the following artists using the information provided in the following websites.

Kate Beynon John Brack Robert Jacks Bea Maddock

Margaret Preston Thea Proctor Jan Senbergs Fred Williams

Websites:National Gallery of Victoria – Australian Prints and DrawingNational Gallery of Australia – Margaret PrestonAustralian Print WorkshopNational Gallery of Australia – Australian Art - Prints, drawings and illustrated booksCentre for Australian Art – Australian Prints and Printmaking

Description, analysis and interpretationSelect at least two artworks by the artist to research. Use the following questions as a guideline: Write a short history of the background of the artist. Where did they live? What were some of the

ideas and influences on their work? What are the printmaking processes that the artist uses? Describe the use of these processes and

techniques in the artworks that you have selected. Is there an influence of the artist’s culture in the selection of the materials and techniques that they are using? Students may identify some of the processes that they have studied in previous components of the unit.

Describe the subject matter of the artist’s work. How does the artist’s choice of subject matter express ideas about culture or cultural identity?

Describe the artist’s use of visual conventions in their work. How does this contribute to the way they are expressing their subject matter? The artists’ use of visual conventions may be influenced by their use of materials and techniques.

Explore and Express

Students use the artworks of their selected printmaker to plan an artwork. They write a list of ideas for an artwork using a selected print for inspiration. The students use the techniques and style of the artist’s work to create their own artwork exploring aspects of ‘Australian identity’. For example:

o Portraitso Environments – city and rural landscapeso Still lifeo Animals

The students research their subject matter and find images to base sketches of the work on. For example, photographs of buildings and city streets or images of plants and animals as reference.Encourage students to annotate their artwork plan and the inspiration work in their visual diary using the following questions:

1. What characteristics of the artist’s work have you selected to apply in your artwork?

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2. What is the subject matter of your artwork? How does it express ideas about Australian identity?

3. What printmaking techniques and processes will you be using in your artwork? Why have you selected these processes?

Visual Arts Practices

Using their annotated plan students design the basis for their print as a line drawing. They complete a mock-up of the example in their visual diary using colour and line to indicate the use of the printmaking process.

Using their selected printmaking process (block printing, etching, screen printing/stencilling or mono printing), students experiment with their plan and the selected process. They complete some trials of the process and place these in their visual diary and annotate the development of their artwork.

Students print their final artworks and also explore additional techniques such as hand-colouring or painting or collaging of prints.

Extension activity

Challenge and extend students to use material from the Japanese and European printmaking activities and research in relation to the subject of Australian identity.For example: Students could create a similar artwork of a scene from their local environment that reflects the

printmaking style of Ukiyo-e. Students could create a book of etchings or lino prints documenting a story similar to the project

that was completed in the European printmaking component.

Reflection and Evaluation

Students complete a reflection on the printmaking project in their visual diary using the following questions,:

1. Describe the subject matter of your final artwork? How does the work reflect the work of the Australian printmaker that you researched?

2. Describe the techniques and processes you have used to make your work. How is it similar to the work of the printmaker you have selected?

3. How does your work express your ideas about Australian culture and identity? Consider the subject matter, the style of the work, visual conventions that you have used. How does the work compare to the work by the Australian printmaker that you have selected?

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Week 10: Presenting a portfolioPresent and Perform

This activity focuses on Intercultural Capability reflection.Students exhibit a range of artworks from this project along with artist statements from the student’s visual diary. Students may collaborate on the presentation of the artworks in relation to the selected culture and printmaking process they have researched. Students may include, for example, current advertising images and campaigns, such as Japan airlines, design work, contemporary art periods or photographic images from websites and other exhibitions to compare to their work.The following questions could be used to address the Intercultural Capability (IC) and the Visual Arts (VA) learning areas:1. What materials, techniques and processes have you selected to convey your ideas about a selected

printmaking process and culture? Why have you selected this particular printmaking process? (VA)2. What have you learnt about the process in relation to the cultural context you have studied? (IC)3. How has this developed your understanding of the influence of art in different cultures? You can use

specific examples from any of the components you have studied to respond to this question. (IC)4. Can you relate the processes and cultures you have studied to any visual imagery you see in the

world today? What characteristics of the culture and the printmaking process can you see in these examples? (VA and IC)

Post-test

Ask students to return to the pre-test questions explored in Week 1. They repeat the earlier activity by answering the following questions.

What might the term ‘culture’ mean? What printmaking examples can they identify in Australia today? What examples of printmaking do they know of from other cultures?

Extend and challenge them to reflect on their learning. Prompt them to make summative statements in relation to the following questions: How has your understanding of Printmaking Culture developed over these lessons? What other examples can you see in the world around you today? Is it possible to trace influences in these examples back to a particular culture or time?

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Appendix 1: Assessment frameworkComponent(Achievement standard expressed as an ‘I can’ statement)

Where are you now? Put a mark on the line belowStill developing Well developed

Student comments

Visual ArtI can make art works in response to exploration of techniques, technologies and processes used in the work of other artists.

Visual ArtI can use of materials, techniques, processes, visual conventions and technologies to express ideas and convey meaning.

Intercultural CapabilityI can explain how cultural practices may change over time in a range of contexts.

Intercultural CapabilityI can understand how cultural groups can be represented, and comment on the effects of these representations.

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Appendix 2: The concept of the cultural iceberg

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Appendix 3: Week 1 discussion prompt

Image source: iStock

You may wish to display this image on an interactive whiteboard.

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