Ten Minute Challenge Remaking Our Classroom

Start by watching 'It’s questioning my history, my place', a video sharing how artist Hurvin Anderson paints to try and answer questions about place, belonging and identity. He works with photographs to make his paintings, frequently using collage to make new images by cutting up the photos and rearranging them.

Repeat

Have a go rearranging something else using the same approach; this could be another space or perhaps a familiar painting. You could photocopy some images of one of Hurvin’s paintings to cut up and re-imagine.

Can you end up with 30 different versions of the same thing?

Adapt

How can you rearrange other things in other ways? Suggest pupils rearrange the sentences in a short story, just using their voices to share back the result.

You could also rearrange the classroom around your pupils and see how they respond.

Extend

Make a drawing as big as your classroom (this will take longer than 10 minutes!). You will need paper– the cheaper and bigger the better, so lining paper or newsprint will do. Spread it out over the floor, desks or on the walls.

Invite your pupils to draw something from their surroundings. They could draw a single object or a massive corner of the room. Your pupils could also use their bodies or objects to make marks on the paper. Then, pupils can cut out and stick their drawings or marks somewhere else in the room to rearrange the space.

You can encourage them to get creative: try putting the windows onto the doors or moving objects to places they aren’t meant to be. They could even try moving themselves or their teacher around the classroom!

If you try out these activities or come up with other ideas, please do share your pictures with us and other schools on Twitter; we'd love to see what you're up to!

Tag @tateteachers and use #tatetenminutes to share the fun with the Tate Teachers community.