Sketchbooks in Schools
Using sketchbooks to build creativity and ownership
Sketchbooks: an active way to display!
Ways to display sketchbooks which encourage pupils, parents and teachers to share
Starters for 10 – Using Sketchbooks in the morning
Using sketchbooks in the morning for a positive start to the day
Children's Sketchbooks
Kate
Kate was one of the nominated “Meet my sketchbook” pupils. “My sketchbook is unique and personal to me. I like working in my sketchbook as it is a place for me to express my deepest feelings and I can let my imagination run wild. I most enjoy working in my sketchbook if I am in a creative mood and my imagination is full of ideas – I need to put it down on paper in some form. My sketchbook becomes a place where I can ‘loose’ myself, perhaps if I have had a bad day. Through my artwork, I can release my feelings and express my thoughts. My sketchbook is my place to also explore... [Read the full story]
Icebreakers
Making a Washing Line Sketchbook
Making a washing line sketchbook is a great class icebreaker exercise which gets children to actively experience some useful sketchbook skills. Getting older children to work with younger children, and involving teachers too, can really help the energy of the workshop. The flash module below has been designed to use directly with your children to introduce them to the ideas. The transcript of the flash workshop is included below. Read More →
Drawing
Drawing and composition
This activity was suggested by Yumi Okuda and explores the sketchbook page as a space, and encourages experimentation with composition and scale. Lay out some objects on the table – leave some space between each object Open your sketchbook to a full spread double page (i.e. use both pages) Start by drawing one object on the page Turn the sketchbook around to it’s side and draw another object on the same page Look at your work so far – look at the white space of the page, and lines of the objects you have drawn. You can reorder the objects (i.e. don’t draw them in the... [Read the full story]
Making Sketchbooks
Simple stapled book
See Also: Making a Simple Stapled Book about your School SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Simple stapled book", url: "http://www.accessart.org.uk/sketchbook/?p=2089" });
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Making Sketchbooks – an Introduction
Simple Approaches Simple folded Making your own sketchbooks is a great way to get started on this project. Buying sketchbooks is fine, but they can be anonymous and expensive. Making your own sketchbooks is a great opportunity, and there is nothing like action to get the creative juices flowing. There are many...
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Shared sketchbook inspired by words
Shared Sketchbook This activity can be used to enable pupils to work independently to create pages which are then tied together to create a shared sketchbook. Collect various types of paper (tracing, cartridge, brown paper etc), and tear or cut into the size of sketchbook pages. Punch holes with a hole punch. The...
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Making sketchbooks – Simple folded
This is just about the most simple sketchbook you could make! It takes about one minute to make, and is great fun to use – the folded pages mean it can be refolded in several different ways to change the way images meet. You can make a new booklet for each sketchbook exercise, and keep them all together in a...
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Making sketchbooks – Elastic band sketchbook
These books are really easy for all ages to make, and can be personalised in terms of their covers and the paper types inside them. They are also non-permanent in that they can be taken apart, and new pages added. They can also become nice and fat with added elements – just wrap another elastic band around the...
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Making sketchbooks – Hole punch sketchbooks
These sketchbooks are quick and easy to make, and are an excellent way of using up old papers. The covers are made in the same way as the pages, and all kinds of materials can be used to personalise the sketchbooks. Many thanks to Jan Barrett from Frederick Gent School in Derbyshire for sending the images below,...
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Making sketchbooks – Sewn sketchbooks
These sketchbooks are slightly more complicated and take longer to make, but the result is a sketchbook which is solid yet, (if the cover is cloth) flexible – perfect for carrying around. It may not be practical to make these with a whole class (young children will certainly not be able to sew the pages) but...
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Making sketchbooks – Thinking laterally
The short video below explores how there is a great opportunity for us to get children to practice those creative and lateral thinking skills we are trying to enable, in the actual making of the sketchbook itself. If you have images of books made in this way, or suggestions for development, pls email us here. SHARETHIS.addEntry({...
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Thinking around
The variety of names that schools have given (or considered giving) their sketchbooks,...
Sketchbooks should be made accessible to as wide a range of skills as possible, and...
9 questions to deepen and widen understanding
This module is about helping pupils to widen and deepen their understanding of their...
Starters for 10 – Using Sketchbooks in the morning
Once you have made or personalised your sketchbooks, to start getting pupils into...
Sketchbooks for Design or Thinking
SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Sketchbooks for Design or Thinking", url: "http://www.accessart.org.uk/sketchbook/?p=1543"...
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Introducing the project to your pupils
So… What’s so great about sketchbooks?
So… What’s so great about Sketchbooks? has been designed as a quick reminder...
This module is aimed at introducing the idea of “sketchbook” to children. We...
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Sketchbooks in Schools aims to promote, inspire and enable the creative use of sketchbooks in primary schools. Sketchbooks can be a vital tool to encourage creative and critical thought and action across the whole school, and beyond the art curriculum. Read more
This is one of the only on line sites that is really useful and connects all practitioners. As always it takes time to embed etc but I think it is a great resource. Thank you.
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