BHM 2020 Archive

EYFS – Literature

All children in the Early Years Foundation Stage focused on stories by black authors that are about different family identities.

Nursery children read So Much by Trish Cooke and they then made family trees to show all the different members of the family in the story.

Family Trees inspired by “So Much” by Trish Cooke

Reception children read “My Two Grannies” by Floella Benjamin.

They talked about what a family is and made family trees to show the different members of the family in the story ‘My Two Grannies.’

They also made their own family trees and talked about the different places their families are from.

Family Trees inspired by My Two Grannies by Floella Benjamin

Year 1 – Pioneers

Year 1 looked at the life story and work of Rosa Parks who was a pioneer in the Civil Rights movement in the USA.

They watched short films about Rosa and talked about what she achieved with the Montgomery Bus Boycott. One of the children brought in a book to share about Rosa’s life.

They wrote down some facts Rosa and then looked at two photographs of Rosa, one when she was in her 40s and another in her 70s. They then painted pictures of Rosa.

Year 2 – Sport

Year 2 have been finding out about Jamaican-born athlete Usain Bolt, who some consider to be the greatest sprinter of all time.

Usain Bolt was born in Sherwood Content, in Jamaica, on 21st August 1986. Nicknamed the Lightning Bolt, he still holds the world record for the men’s 100 metres, which he ran in a staggering 9.58 seconds. He also holds world records for the men’s 200 metres and the men’s 4 x 100 metres relay.

Year 2 researched and wrote fact files about Usain Bolt. They also created some art work using the Jamaican flag and his signature ‘lightning bolt’ pose for inspiration.

Year 3 – Art

Year 3 learned about Frank Bowling who is a Guyana born British artist. Frank creates bold and experimental large scale artworks using unusual techniques such as pouring and layering. Frank’s work takes months to create and adds to his paintings bit by bit.

https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/frank-bowling​

The children tried out some of his techniques and the whole class worked in small groups to create the colourful piece below.

Group 1: Yaw, Maria, Ismat, Adam and Shalom

The canvas was painted and prepared by the children using colours they associate with the Friars Dragon and applied paint directly to the canvas from the bottle.

Group 2: Sabrine, James, Masud, Emily and Rhema

Poster paint mixed with PVA glue, water and even hand sanitiser was poured onto the canvas and the children worked as a team to lift the corners of the canvas and allow the paint to move around.

Group 3: Rubi, Luca, Bella, Toto and  Anniyah

Geometric shapes were drawn onto the canvas using chalk and oil pastels. The children traced around classroom objects and used chalk on a piece of string to draw a perfect circle.

Group 4: Aras, Max, Chelsea, Daniel, Sofian and Jovie

The final touches were added with more paint pouring, sponging and sticking. The children added discarded classroom items such as pencil shavings and old pens as well as Autumn leaves to represent the changing seasons.

 

The video below also has the children explaining in their own words about how they created this piece

Y3 Frank Bowling explanation

Year 4 – Science

The class split into groups to research the following scientists / inventors – they each produced a short video about them
They studied the following people

• Katherine Johnson
• Elijah McCoy
• Charles Drew
• John Edmonstone
• George Washington Carver
• Maggie Aderin-Pocock

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Videos:

Year 6 – Politics

Year 6 were set a research task that involved finding out more about famous Black political figures from history and the present day. Children were able to choose from politicians (Diane Abbott, Barack Obama, Marvin Rees), activists (Dorothy Heights and Frederick Douglass), as well as Britain’s first Black voter, Ignachio Sancho. They then collated their research into a short digital presentation that they delivered to each other. Please click on the links to view a sample of the different people the covered.

• Dorothy Height by Mona and Jessica
• Marvin Reese by Tyrelle
• Frederick Douglass by Eva
• Barack Obama by Samith

In October Years 3 and 4 worked with local artist Xavier Leopold and motivational speaker Carl Konadu. The ‘I can’ creative and educational workshop, used the arts (drawing/painting and storytelling) to teach the children about individuals in black history (Harriet Tubman, the noted 19th Century slave abolitionist) who were faced with unbelievable obstacles but went on to be great. Each class produced their own paintings. Beyond the workshop, a selection of the paintings will be put on display at the Xavi Art Exhibition at the Oxo Tower. We are donating the workshop fee to Black Minds Matter UK (BMM UK) for the advancement of their mission.