This document outlines a 7-week art lesson unit for Primary 4 students focused on the artwork "Salted Fish" by Cheong Soo Pieng. Over several lessons, students analyze the artwork and excerpts from the story "Salted Fish", discuss related artworks, and create their own alternative story titled "Salted Fish" using a single sheet of paper to form a picture book. The unit aims to help students understand artworks and illustrate stories through images.

1. Exhibition 2016
Salted Fish
CONTENT/ BACKGROUND
A 7-week lesson unit for Primary 4 students on making their storybooks based an artwork
“Salted Fish” by pioneer artist Cheong Soo Pieng.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDING
Art reveals artist’s experiences and imagination.
ELEGANT ART TASK
Create an alternative story titled “Salted Fish” by making a picture book with one sheet of paper.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Pupils will be able to create images that illustrate the meaning of the print text.
2. Pupils will be able to create picture books
Lesson 1 & 2
Pupils were shown a behind-the-scene image
of a traditional Wayang Kulit performance. They
were asked to generate words or short phrases
that they thought of when viewing the still
image. The group worked together to classify
the words based on its association with the
senses. For e.g. Dim  Sight, Hot  Touch
Pair work
Pupils were shown 2 extracts from the book
Salted Fish by Yeo Wei Wei. They analysed the
text and translate the images in their head into
drawings. A paper consisting of 3 frames were
given to them for distributing the drawings
according to introduction, middle and end with
reference to the text.
Students may not be
familiar with translating
text to images. Make
reference to their ‘guided
writing’ in English
Language class and
explain that in Art lesson
we are just doing the
opposite.
Lesson 3
The class played a game involving guessing the theme of the dollar note denomination for the Singapore note
currency. 2 images by artists Cheong Soo Pieng and Chen Wen Hsi on the back of the $50 note were then chosen for
in-depth discussion.
Possible questions:
 Where do you think this place might be?
 Who might these people be?
 What do you think they are doing?
 Comment/ describe about their attire/ heritage and
features
Pupils compare and contrast the traditional Wayang Kulit
image from lesson 1 with “Drying salted fish”.
Possible questions:
 Are there any similarities between these artworks? What
are the similarities?
 Are there any differences between these artworks? What
are the differences?

2. Exhibition 2016
Salted Fish
Lesson 4 & 5
Teacher recapped the lesson by reading the 2 extracts of the story Salted Fish. The
elegant art task will be explained: Create an alternative story titled “Salted Fish” by
making a picture book with one sheet of paper.
Lesson 6 & 7
Pupils will walk around and read each other’s stories and complete their self and
peer evaluation forms - PQP. Teacher will select some samples of pupils’ work and
share with the class. Teacher will also close the lesson by going back to the image
of the painting Drying Salted Fish, mention that Cheong Soo Pieng is one of the
early artists of the Nanyang School who were largely immigrants from China; this
group of artists include Chen Chong Swee, Liu Kang, Georgette Chen, Chen Wen
Hsi and Cheong Soo Pieng.
Through both text and imagery, pupils’ handmade picture books express their imagination and communicate ideas. According to the Physical, Art and Music (PAM)
research, one of the effective art teaching practices is to build pupils’ understanding of an art form through multiple entry points (p. 53). As described in the lesson unit,
pupils’ storytelling activity is anchored by discussion of the images on local currency, Cheong Soo Pieng’s painting, reading excerpts from an inspired story written by Yeo
Wei Wei and their observations of the features of a published book with their inputs. Discussion revolving the parts of the book such as the book’s shape and size, the kind
of paper, pop-ups or the choice in which the readers view one two-page spread at a time frequently took place during the book-making sessions. Close examination of the
relationship between images in the book, the combination and arrangement of the images, the pace at which the artist guides the turning of pages, the play between the
images and the words, the way in which the artist uses colour and the form of the book are also embedded in our discussion.
If I were to repeat this lesson, I will make more attempt to adapt this lesson unit for the lower progress pupils who are weaker in writing. Although I have been explicit to tell
pupils that writing even one sentence is suffice on each page, I think that it is an even higher order to be able to write concisely.
To value add to this lesson unit, I would think similar lessons can be done with both text and imagery so that pupils can learn how “images communicate social values and
be able to identify visual stereotypes” (Considine, 1986).
Reference
Considine, D. (1986). Visual literacy and children’s books: An integrated approach. School Library Journal, 33(1),
38-42.
Lim, K. B., Teo C. H., Kehk, B. L., & Loy, V. (2016). Development of
21cc through art in Singapore schools: Re-assessing Singapore
art teaching. PAM research report. PESTA and STAR: Singapore.