Canvas Me
Class: Year 7
Teacher: Deborah Lean
School: St Margaret's College
Category: Materials Technology
At St Margaret's College Year 7 is an intake year, with one Year 6 class becoming two Year 7 classes. The first week of the term is devoted to orientating new students to the school and providing opportunities for students to build relationships within and between the two Year 7 classes. Year 7 classes are timetabled into the specialist Technology rooms for two periods per week and do two units of work throughout the year, the first of which is entitled 'Canvas Me'.
Canvas Me aims to enable students to become familiar with the physical environment of the dedicated Technology spaces at the school and to be introduced to Technology practice as it occurs at St Margaret's College. Consequently the teaching and learning focus is on Technological Practice and Technological Modelling.
All students are taught a general set of skills including basic and embroidery stitching using a sewing machine, button sewing, printing onto fabric using an ink jet printer. These are peer assessed. Individual or groups of students learn other skills as the need arises throughout the project.
In Canvas Me, students design and make a collage on a small canvas block that reflects an aspect or aspects of their personality, interests, or things that are important to them. The collage is a series of four or six rectangles that combine to make a cohesive whole. The idea of a colour palette as a tool to give an overall look is introduced at this stage.
After producing a spider diagram to organise ideas, students develop and write their own initial brief outlining the design specifications. A stakeholder is selected who may or may not be the recipient of the 'Canvas Me'. Their main role is to give feedback as to the success or otherwise of the student's portrayal of themselves and to bring other considerations to the student's attention.
Students do a 2D sketch of the block and the layout of each section in their visual diaries. Each student is responsible for collecting the resources needed to successfully complete the outcome. Students often place the resources they have collected on their sketch to test ideas for their placement and then modify the design, recording the thinking behind the decision as they do so.
Eventually each student writes a final brief that focuses on the construction aspects of their canvas block. Once constructed, the canvas is then photographed by the students and evaluated against the specifications on their final brief.
The finished blocks are publically displayed at the school, and then given to the intended recipient or taken home for private display.
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