How To:

Year Level 5 & 6

Storytelling:  The aim of this project in the literary sense has been to have the students become engaged in the whole process of storytelling. This is a journey that we all take as readers, illustrators, authors and passive listeners. There has been a specific focus on words and the art of illustration and the ability of these elements of storytelling to develop our imagination, to inspire feelings and emotions, to take us on a journey both spiritual and actual. A journey into the unknown and the known through imagined worlds and real worlds through autobiographies. The literary journey’s we take often offer moral strength through examples. They stimulate our brain through the development of imagined characters and their creative make up and they raise many emotions.

An example of this would be the story of Tenzing Norgay who travelled with Sir Edmund Hilary on his many conquests of Mount Everest. Our Year five and six students studied the story of Tigers in the Snow in their library sessions. They discussed the book and developed an understanding of the related moral issues of the story, the emotions involved in this journey and also gained an insight into how this amazing story was told through the words and images used. 

In their library sessions they discussed how the type of medium used for the illustrations successfully supported the text. These are some of their statements.

·        Eve – I think that the background colours made the mountain look hazy

·        Alfonso – The colours reflected how Norgay was feeling

·        James – The deep blue represents the “Coldness” of the mountains

·        Anika – The texture of the chalk is used for the icy mountains to make it look 3D

·        Isaac – The pastel colours made the feelings come to life

·        Charlie – The illustrations were a calm and soft way to present the story

·        Christian – When it was windy it gave you a sense of determination and also a sense of calm in the picture with just the mountains

·        Tess – In most of the pictures you feel as if you were there climbing with him and the snow really shows what he was going through.

·        Elisha – The pastels and the colour support the story in an emotional way

·        Brittany – He uses the texture of the chalk to make the mountains stand out and look so real.

The above comments by the students take them to another level of understanding about how authors and illustrators blend their talents to create a picture for us. It assists students to become discerning critics of the stories that they read and to understand how the use of words and artistic mediums can engage and inspire us.

They begin to understand the importance of both the choice of words by the author combined with the choice of medium by the illustrator creates a powerful impression for us as the reader.  

Students went on to create their own individual interpretations of the landscape of the story in their art sessions. These works utilised the same medium used in the illustrations. We then photographed all of the images and transferred these into a 3D experience through the use of modern technology.

From the words and illustrations in a book we have engaged the students in yet another translation of the feelings and emotions that come from storytelling. The moving image takes us on a journey through the students work and creates a real experience for the viewer. Linking in the words associated with the student’s feelings about this story and its illustrations. 

These software programs allow us to tap into a medium that is familiar to the student’s. If we can engage them in Literature through using IT programs then we are a long way to using a language that they not only understand but are interested in.

Copyright 2008 Zart Art & Zart Education Service