Craft workshops
An artistic approach encourages students to stop and
look. It also allows a more personal approach to the
marine world.It is also the right time to draw what
they have just learnt about.
This document contains a few ideas for craft activities
enabling the students to make a present for their
parents, decorate the classroom or the Christmas
tree, make a disguise etc.
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1 - What is plankton?
Material
. The «Plankton» domino from the
«Dominos of the Sea» game.
. Kandinsky’s sky blue poster.
Plankton is a world in itself.
It contains all the living marine creatures that drift on the currents.
Whales eat huge quantities of plankton.
Activities ...
1) Observe the small plankton shapes drawn on the domino card or on Kandinsky’s
poster. Forget that they are living creatures and see them as parts of a drawing then
copy them and invent others. Look at the jellyfish and whale on the dominos.
©Nausicaá
Animal plankton and phytoplankton
2) Create large format works with rectangular strips held vertically or horizontally
(roll of drawing paper, roll of wallpaper etc.). Use the students’ observation of the
differences in shape to organise them in various ways - combined, alternating,
overlaid, opposite etc. Explore different colour combinations, use different tools or
media (crayons, brushes, paint pads etc.), vary the techniques (drawing, découpage,
collage etc.).Draw jellyfish in ordinary pencil on tracing paper. Cut them out and
place one next to the other to emphasise their transparency. Draw a gigantic whale
in contrast to the microscopic plankton.
3) Make a jellyfish mobile out of rubbish: look for various materialsthat suggest
lightness and transparency (tracing paper, crushed tissue paper, tulle-type paper,
translucent plastic bottle etc.).
©Nausicaá
Jellyfish are considered as plankton.
©Nausicaá
Jellyfish made out of rubbish.
©Nausicaá
Plankton fresco.
2
2 - Life in a shoal...
Material
. Look at the various fish in the
«Dominos of the Sea» game: cod,
Moray eel, skate, sole and shark.
Life in a shoal: we’re stronger in a group! By making the same movement
all together at the same time, the fish are mimicking a large creature
which is very impressive for any potential predators. For some species,
this is even a very good hunting technique. Life in a shoal ensures the
survival of individual fish.
Activities...
1) Make fish out of various materials (corrugated cardboard, foil, sandpaper,coloured
paper etc.). Cut the fish out and stick them on a sheet of paper in a way that makes
them look like a shoal. Remember to overlay some of them. A shoal of cut out or
origami fish can be used to make a mobile with thread and wood picked up on the
beach.
2) Origami. Learn how to make fish by folding paper.
3) Choose a shape of fish and practise drawing it without stopping. Do the same
thing several times on a large sheet of paper then colour the fish in.
A shoal of origami fish
Source : Pliages premiers pas
Didier Boursin (Dessain et Tolra)
3 - Clownfish and sea anemone, partners...
Material
. A4 photo of a clownfish in its
anemone.
Clownfish live cheek by jowl with sea anemones. They do each other
favours. The anemone provides the clownfish with shelter while he
cleans up the crumbs when she’s finished eating. A sea anemone has
tentacles that cause a rash. When the clownfish is born, he immunises
himself by rubbing his whole body against the anemone’s tentacles.
Activities ...
1) Draw the clownfish and his sea anemone in the right colours.
2) Look at the notions of partnership and separation with the sea anemone andthe
clownfish by cutting them out then overlapping, juxtaposing and overlaying the 2
shapes.
©Digitalvision
A clownfish with his sea anemone
3) Use various materials such as strands of wool for the tentacles, crepe paper,fabric
etc.). Recreate an aquarium in a cardboard box cut horizontally. It can then be used
as a puppet theatre - simply attach characters onto chopsticks.
4) Make sea anemone hats and clownfish masks.
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4 - Resemblance and camouflage...
Camouflage is the ability of living creatures to change patterns, colours
and behaviour to blend into the landscape.
Material
. Magazines for cutting out.
. A4 photos of the frogfish and
skate.
. Sole card from the «Nurseries of
the Sea» game.
Activities ...
1) Choose a fish shape.
2) In the magazines, find photos of leaves, rocks, sand, cowhide etc.
3) Cut out the photos and stick them inside the different fish shapes.This creates leaf
fish, stone fish, cow fish etc.
©D.Mallevoy-Nausicaá
4) Have fun by placing all these fish on a fresco with various different environments
on it.
A frogfish.
©Rosenfeld-Nausicaá
A common stingray.
5 - Portrait of fish..
Material
. Adult cards from the «Nurseries
of the sea» cards.
. Cards from the game, «Adapted
to Survive».
In the sea, there are lots of different life forms - large or small, fat or
thin, long or short, thick or flat, with or without legs, with or without
fins, with scales, with feathers, with or without hair. The variation is
amazing!
Activities ...
1) Roughly sketch a fish. Draw an imaginary landscape in the body of the fish.
2) Draw an imaginary animal. The children have an envelope with 5 cards showing
different animals inside. Define five animal characteristics - head, body, limbs and
other specific parts. Pull out an animal card from the envelope and draw its head.
Then pull out another card and draw its body etc.Gradually an imaginary animal will
take shape.
My imaginary animal.
6 - Other ideas...
Agir ...
1) Go out on the beach and create marine animals with sand, pebbles, shells etc.
2) Make a class fresco with hand-fish in lots of different colours.
3) Make a marine kite.
4) Make a marine mask for a carnival.
5) Make a giant sea domino.
©Nausicaá
Beach sculpture.
©Nausicaá
Giant sea dominos
Hand-fish