Henri Matisse's painting 'The Snail' is an excellent means by which to use shapes in a creative and fun way while at the same time exploring mathematical language and colour.
The process of talking about and creating pictures inspired by the painting, and having a mounted product by the end of the session, was exhilarating for the children. Some wanted to stay and make another snail straight away!
Planned learning intentions
To look at the way famous artists have drawn pictures
To explore colour, shape, form and space in two dimensions
To recognise and name a rectangle
To recognise and name attributes of shapes such as side, face and corner
To widen language experiences
Resources
3Print of 'The Snail' by Henri Matisse 3squares of white paper on which to make the snails 3rectangular pieces of card and paper 3Pritt Sticks 3squares of orange card for mounting pictures 3non-fiction book about snails or a clear picture of a snail and its shell to reinforce the concept of a spiral NB: I made the rectangles the same size and colour as the shapes in the painting. Use good quality paper with deep colours to make the snails look stunning. I also made white squares the same size as my print.
Step by step
* Have everything set up.
* Make a prototype Matisse snail.
* Display it along with your print and the picture of the snail on your workspace.
* Put the coloured rectangles in separate containers for the children to choose from.
* I completed this activity with two children at a time. We first looked at the print. I explained that Henri Matisse was a famous artist from another country called France.
* We then looked at the picture, discussing the way he had used a spiral shape for his snail and comparing it with our real picture of a snail. The children traced the spirals with their fingers.
* Next, we looked at the shapes Matisse had used to create the snail, talked about the features of rectangles and squares and how they differed from the irregular shapes in the painting.
* The children then began their work with much enthusiasm.
I suggested glueing the white paper with Pritt Sticks rather than having to glue each individual rectangle. Interestingly, the children started to glue from the centre and extended out in a circular motion (as we had done with our fingers on the picture of the snail's shell), so indicating that they had grasped the idea of a spiral.
When making their pictures, some children tried to copy the print, some tried to create a circular shape with their rectangles, some stuck their pieces on in a more random way and some used only one or two colours.
After praising the children's work, we looked at our Matisse print again. I pointed out the orange border, showed the children the orange squares and mounted their snails on to them. Mounting the pictures produced the most gratifying conclusion for the children to what had been a worthwhile and enjoyable activity. They were immensely proud of their work, and deservedly so.
On display
* The snails were intended for a hall display but I had some left to put up in my classroom, so we had two art galleries in the school!
* To display the pictures, I used dark blue paper, thick blue and thin green border paper.
* I backed the board with dark blue paper in order to highlight the bright colours we had used for our snails and made a double border with a thin green stripe.
* I then mounted the Matisse print and labels on the same coloured green paper.
* If you make a Matisse display, put your Matisse print in the centre of the display area.
* Mount your labels either side to draw attention to it.
* Create a symmetrical display, do not overcrowd it, and remember to choose a cross-section of the children's work.
* Put the children's names underneath their work in the middle of the piece to create a gallery.
* Stand back and admire - as will the children and parents!
Extension idea
* You could extend this activity by doing some work on spirals. Have a spiral snail writing pattern available, for example, or let the children cut some spiral snakes from paper.
Helen Shelbourne is a teacher at Homerton Nursery School, Cambridge Further information
* 'The Snail' by Henri Matisse is available as part of Shape and Pattern pack WO7/1 from Philip Green Educational Ltd, 112a Alcester Rd, Studley, Warwickshire B80 7NR.
