LEARNING OBJECTIVE

To use The Phoenix of Persia story as a starting point for extended curricular art work.

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Below are some ideas for art activities:

 

1. Drawing characters from the story. Pupils can choose a character to draw, using ideas from the book and their own imagination. This can also be combined with literacy work writing about and describing the characters. Here's a reminder of the main characters in the story:

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• The magical Simorgh bird

• King Sam

• Queen Aram

• Prince Zal

• The Tree of Life

• The Mountain of Gems

• The soldiers

• The baby Simorgh chicks

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2. Pupils at Hugh Myddleton Primary School in London drew their own comic strips of sections of the story, using narrative speech bubbles.

 

3. Drawing instruments. Pupils can choose an instrument to draw. This can be combined with literacy work with pupils finding out more about and describing the instrument in writing. Here's a reminder of the instruments in The Phoenix of Persia, and other Iranian instruments that pupils might like to draw.

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        daff                            santur                                     qanun                               tanbur

                                                                                                                                                               nei

 

4. Remember that in Iran and other parts of the Middle East, instruments are often objects of great beauty, and this could be something for pupils to find out more about. Here is a tombak goblet drum with beautiful inlaid decorations.​

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5. There are more ideas for art work on pages 10 and 11 of the Teacher's Resource Pack. This includes finding out about and drawing geometric patterns like those often found in art work in Iran and other parts of the Middle East.

 

6. The art work in The Phoenix of Persia uses a special technique known as 'sgraffito', which involves scratching through a layer of still-wet paint to reveal what’s underneath. You can can find out more about this in the Teacher's Resource Pack (see also here) and try it out with pupils. Pupils at Welland Academy drew magic feathers using the sgraffito technique.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. The artist for The Phoenix of Persia is Amin Hassanzadeh Sharif. Meet the artist and find out more about his work here.

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EXAMPLES OF WORK FROM PRIMARY SCHOOLS

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Pupils at Knockhall Primary School in Kent did this amazing art work 

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