ADINKRA

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Instructor: Sara Kaye

Targeted Grade Level(s): FIFTH GRADE

Content Area(s) Covered: Social Studies, Geography, Art, among others

Anticipated Duration: 5 lessons

 

Rationale:

Students will study the art and culture of West Africa. They will learn about West African wisdom through the ADINKRA Symbols and Meanings displayed by the Asanti people of Ghana. They will compare cultures around the world and see similarities and differences.

 

Objectives:

  1. Students will learn how to include symbolic design from another culture into their artwork.
  2. Students will view African artifacts at the Harn Museum with enthusiasm after being introduced to West African culture.
  3. Students will compare West African cultures to others and see how the art might have many similarities entrenched in African and European cultures.
  4. Students will make block prints and create a decorative fabric, as is done by the Asanti People in Ghana.

 

Resources/Materials Needed:

  1. white thin painter’s cloth, 12” X 12” for each student,
  2. Styrofoam trays
  3. tempera paint, paint brushes
  4. scissors, glue, clothespins
  5. permanent marker, pencil
  6. 8 X 11 white bond
  7. masking tape
  8. 2” X 2” square linoleum samples (or any hard 2” x 2” surface).
  9. Word Search created from www.puzzle.com.
  10. Vocabulary: adinkra, symbolism, cultural, Ghana, Africa, Asanti, continent, printing, designs, adornment, symmetrical, BLOCK PRINT, critique.
  11. Adinkra Symbols from: http://www.welltempered.net/adinkra/htmls/adinkra_index.htm

 

Procedures:

Day 1

Discuss West African cultures and compare West African art (i.e. Ghanaian Art) to other cultures’ art. Students will be given the Adinkra Index and choose designs that they would like to see representing themselves. On paper, they will then copy designs and create a pattern with a repetition of shapes. An on-going vocabulary list is created while lesson is given and written on board as the lesson proceeds.

 

Day 2:

Students will see a demonstration of the making of an Adinkra Block Stamp. They will make two or three stamps by cutting small pieces of Styrofoam and designing and gluing them on the 2 X 2 surface. Student will write his/her name with permanent marker on block print. Blocks need to dry for a day.

 

Day 3:

Students will receive the 12 X 12 fabric and spend 25 minutes unraveling the edges of it, on all four sides. Place name on masking tape and adhere to fabric.

 

Day 4:

Students see demonstration of printing with tempera paint. Students will choose only TWO block prints and print a design on only one side of the fabric by adding paint to the block print, and pressing it onto the fabric. There might be room for 4 or 5 rows of design. Fabric is hung with clothespins to dry.

 

Day 5:

Fabric is hung on display and students critique the works of art. After discussion, students will receive a word search that was created from 10-16 vocabulary words from www.puzzle.com.

 

 

Informal/Formal Assessments:

The word search is used at the end of the lesson to observe student recognition of history and art vocabulary. Critiquing and observation of student work is helpful for students as well as the instructor as students are able to verbalize what they have learned from the lesson.

Fifth graders visited the Harn Museum and their response to the docents was evidence that they were well-aware of the existence of art in Africa. Their participation with questions and answers was significant.

 

Evaluation/Reflection:

This lesson was a very enjoyable and successful one, as it covered many elements of art, as well as introducing students to other cultures. The art lesson itself has a few intricacies that an instructor would need to manipulate as far as how much paint to use, and how much instruction to give in “color” and how large the fabric should be.