The 26th of January is Australia Day and we're having a party at school on the 27th to celebrate. There are going to be lots of Australian games, songs and activities for the kids to enjoy. Over the last few weeks, in the lead up to the party, we've been teaching the kids all about Australia. Last week this culminated in the Grade 3 students painting their very own didgeridoos.
For those who don't know, didgeridoos are musical instruments used by Australian aborigines. They are usually made from wood that has been hollowed out by termites. Check out Wikipedia for more information.
Due to a distinct lack of termites in Hungary, I decided to consult the web for other ideas about how the kids could made their own didgeridoos. I soon discovered a cool website which provided the inspiration for my lesson.
PREPARATION
I wanted this to be a one-lesson project, so I did a lot more prep work than I would normally do. If you want to make the didgeridoos over two weeks, dedicate the first lesson to preparation.
For those who don't know, didgeridoos are musical instruments used by Australian aborigines. They are usually made from wood that has been hollowed out by termites. Check out Wikipedia for more information.
Due to a distinct lack of termites in Hungary, I decided to consult the web for other ideas about how the kids could made their own didgeridoos. I soon discovered a cool website which provided the inspiration for my lesson.
PREPARATION
I wanted this to be a one-lesson project, so I did a lot more prep work than I would normally do. If you want to make the didgeridoos over two weeks, dedicate the first lesson to preparation.
- Head down to a local hardware store and buy some plastic piping. We bought our pipes for about 1,000 forints each (approximately AUD$5) which was enough for two didgeridoos.
- Sand the ends of the pipes with sandpaper.
- Find a chair with legs narrow enough for the pipes to fit over. Turn the chair upside down, cover it with protective newspaper or plastic sheeting and place a pipe over each leg.
- Apply a base coat of brown paint to the pipe. I found that tempera paint did not adhere to the plastic piping, so I bought a sample pot of house paint at the hardware store. Being unable to read the Hungarian print on the label, I mistakenly bought glossy paint, but I think matt paint would look more authentic.
IN THE CLASSROOM
- Set up the didgeridoos in the classroom ready to be painted (as per point 3 above).
- Write “Didgeridoo” on the board.
Ask the kids – “What is a didgeridoo?”
They may be able to mime or draw a didgeridoo if they can't explain it in English.
- If possible, show the class a YouTube video featuring a didgeridoo (I used this one.) Otherwise, just show some pictures or mime/draw a didgeridoo.
Get the kids to practice saying the word didgeridoo.
- Tell the kids that they are going to paint their own didgeridoo.
Show the kids samples of aboriginal art.
Ask the kids "What colours can you see?" Write the colours on the board.
Ask the kids "What patterns can you see?" Draw some patterns on the board or get the kids to come up and draw them. Aboriginal art uses lots of dots, circles and simple lines.
- As I didn't want the house paint to ruin the kids' paintbrushes, I bought a pack of cotton buds to be used as makeshift brushes. These worked well for drawing dots and gave the didgeridoos a more authentic, primative look. Also, using them was fun!
- Make sure the kids have their art smocks on, give them a little pot with one colour of paint and let them paint their designs on the didgeridoos. When they have finished with one colour, they can swap with other students.
- As the students are working, walk around the room and ask questions to reinforce the vocabulary - for example "What pattern are you painting?"
- Wait for the didgeridoos to dry, then put one end to your mouth and blow. They sound almost like the real thing and they look awesome!
Didgeridoos are a fantastic teaching tool however
ReplyDeletethey are also a musical instrument with spiritual
significance for some Indigenous groups in Australia. Therefore, the drawings and images on
most didgeridoos are symbolic and spiritual representations and should be respected as such and explained before they are painted. In my Indigenous group the didgeridoo should never be touched by a female as it is considered taboo. This is not so for all areas of Australia however. All aspects of Indigenous Art should be taught not just as pictures that look good in the classroom but as images with a lot of meaning. Indigenous Art can tell a story about the group's history, how to behave, how and where to look for food and even how to work together as a group.
By all means, explain the spiritual significance of the didgeridoo, but I can't understand justifying or continuing a taboo that says women and girls mustn't touch a certain instrument.
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