Task 2: Developing personal symbols (1.5 hours)

Brainstorm examples of symbols the students are familiar with in their own lives. (Images could include stop signs, public signs for woman, man, children, whatever they can think of). Ask them where and why we use symbols rather then words to convey ideas.

Provide images of well-known symbols. Ask them to identify the meanings, and then consider and discuss the evidence of line and shape in these symbols. Look again at the examples of calligraphy and discuss the lines and shapes that are evident there. Notice where they vary in width. Compare this with examples of their own writing.

Homework or extension ideas:

Students could look for symbols around the school and on their journey to and from school, drawing them, and sharing what they have found with the class.

As a class, the students brainstorm a list of important things from their lives like pets, sports, people, toys, hobbies.  They select one idea from the list and the teacher draws this as a line drawing, on the board.

Talk about the way the marks get simpler and sometimes even link together. Make connections with the way that when several words are repeated many times over, they become blurred and slide into one another (ask them to repeat "red lorry, yellow lorry" to see what happens!)

Each student now considers what things from their own lives they might like to put into a calligraphic scroll, making their own list of up to five significant ideas down the side of an A4 page. Alongside each word they make little drawings to express the idea.

Choosing at least two favourite ones, they change each into a symbol, by simplifying it in four successive stages.