Year 8 Electives - The Arts
In this unit, students are introduced to the music of a variety of cultures. This includes African, Asian and Australian indigenous music. Students develop their singing and instrumental skills and perform in groups, creating their own arrangements of music. Students who have music lessons on an instrument are encouraged to bring their instrument to class. Music theory and aural concepts are also explored.
Students who choose this unit will learn how to identify and understand the development of art and art movements throughout history. Students will be encouraged to express their feelings and ideas in an imaginative format by drawing upon the influences of modern artists. To complement their investigations and assist in the development of confidence, knowledge and understanding of art, students:
Undertake research on individual artists/art movements, Develop preparatory work in appropriate styles of art and complete a folio of artwork.
The course in Art and Sculpture will enable students to develop skills in the areas of two and three dimensional design. To increase confidence and encourage expression of creative ideas students will be offered instruction in a selection of activities including paint, cartooning, collage, plaster sculpture, paper mache, wire art and ceramics. This course will include a design and evaluation component.
This course provides instruction to allow students to obtain fundamental skills in desktop publishing, photography and image manipulation, computer based illustration, and basic animation. This course is an extension of the subjects Graphics for Life and Graphics Illustration and provides students with skills to enable them to enter senior levels of visual communication design media courses.
Computer programs to be taught to students can include Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Flash.
This course introduces students to developing visuals for creative productions including; storyboarding, scripting, character development, technical and product design. Productions may include; animation, cover designs for magazines, books, book illustration and product packaging design. This course covers skills associated with both traditional production techniques and computer generated processes
This unit covers popular music from early Blues to today. All students are expected to perform. Students will be taught basic guitar skills, and those that have lessons on an instrument will play their instrument in class. Students will also learn song writing skills, including music theory and working with music software.
In this unit students will create characters and use characters to tell dramatic stories. Students will take on various roles and explore the lives of their characters. They will explore a variety of acting styles, including Melodrama, simple script-work and issue-based process drama.
The unit will include several performances. Assessment is based on the students’ involvement in performances, book work and the ability to appreciate the work of others.
This unit looks at a variety of performance styles, from naturalistic theatre to non-naturalistic theatre, and how these trends have shaped the way we perform plays. Students will develop dramatic skills, including script development and an in depth study of the dramatic elements. They will learn to be a critical audience.
The Unit will involve multiple performances. Assessment is based on the students’ involvement in performances, book work and the ability to appreciate the work of others.
In this Unit students will explore movement as an art form. They will learn about different performance styles and develop the necessary skills, techniques and processes for executing them. In workshops students will improvise movements, choreograph their own works as well as learn prescribed works choreographed by others. They will be required to perform and to develop an appreciation of aesthetics as an audience member. The Unit will culminate in a performance. Assessment is based on their involvement in workshops as well as their ability to perform and appreciate the work of others.