Aboriginal Dot Art (Australia)

Multicultural Art Lesson Plans

Lesson plan developed by Aurora Tollestrup, BS Ed

Activity:

Age Group:

Preschool

* Lesson plan objectives and assessments can be adapted to use this activity with school-age children

Aboriginal Dot Art (Australia)

Objectives:

Children will:

explore Aboriginal dot art as a collaborative art activity.

CDA Competency Standard:

III.9.1a

The classroom environment provides opportunities for children to practice cooperation
a. Materials, equipment and activities provided help children experience working and playing in harmony

Materials:

earth tone paper
earth tone paints
Q-tips
pencils
black Markers
wet wipes
a video about Aboriginal art

Procedure:

Watch a video or two about Aboriginal dot art.
Explain to children that aboriginal dot art is used by artisans to document the history of the Aboriginal people.
Divide the children into small groups and give them one large sheet of paper.
Discuss with the group some important things in their lives such as school, friends, family, etc.
Encourage the group to find something that they all agree is important.
For example, they may all find their friends to be important.
Have each child do a paint handprint on the large sheet of paper and use the Q tips and paint to emphasize the handprints on the paper.

Assessment:

Observe and record children’s social interactions and collaborative experiences creating art.

Note: Please provide appropriate supervision to the children in your care when completing all activities. You will need to decide what types of activities are safe for the children in your care. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when providing art and sensory experiences for children. Infants and toddlers require special precaution, only use non-toxic materials, and do not allow young children to put things in their mouths that are a choking hazard.