Art Around the World World Art    

Lesson 34: The Soccer Players

by Gerard Sekoto

Directions

Study the artwork for one week.

Over the week:

• Examine the artwork.
• Read the synopsis.
• Study the vocabulary words.
• Recite the artist and artwork names.
• Read about the art region or artist.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Discuss the review questions.

Synopsis

Gerard Sekoto's 'The Soccer Players' shows a woman with an infant snuggled against her back. She watches a field full of young children playing a soccer game, possibly imagining her own child growing up healthy and strong and playing soccer someday. On the soccer field, children sprint at the soccer ball while the goalkeeper watches intently from the goal. A young boy standing behind the woman also watches the soccer game and may be longing to join the fun.

Vocabulary

Soccer: A game played by two teams of eleven players with a round ball that may not be touched with the hands or arms during play except by the goalkeepers.
Goalkeeper: A player in soccer or hockey whose special role is to stop the ball or puck from entering the goal.
Goal: A pair of posts linked by a crossbar and often with a net attached behind it, forming a space into or over which the ball has to be sent in order to score.

Concepts

1. Gerard Sekoto, South African artist and musician, was born in 1913 in Botshabelo, South Africa. See his self-portrait below.

2. Zoom in and find South Africa, Sekoto's country of birth, on the map of Africa below.

3. Sekoto was a teacher before he moved to Sophiatown to live with relatives and pursue art.
4. Sekoto was the first black artist to sell a painting to the Johannesburg Art Gallery. The gallery awarded him with an honorary doctorate decades later for his artwork.
5. Sekoto left South Africa and moved to Paris, where he worked as a musician and continued painting.
6. Sekoto died in Paris, France in 1993 at the age of 79.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Can You Find It?

Find the following in the artwork:

• Woman
• Baby
• Soccer Game
• Soccer Ball
• Soccer Players
• Sprinting Players
• Goal
• Goalkeeper
• Boy Watching the Game
• Power Lines

Activity 2: Narrate the Artwork

• After studying the artwork, narrate the scene shown aloud using your own words.

Activity 3: Complete Vocabulary Activities

• While studying the new words, point out any you see in the painting.
• Define each of the vocabulary words in your own words.

Activity 4: Color the Artwork   

• Click the crayon above, and complete page 53 of 'Art History Coloring Pages for Second Grade.'

Review

Question 1

Who are the characters in the artwork?

1 / 4

Answer 1

The characters are a young woman, a baby, soccer players, and a boy watching the soccer players.

1 / 4

Question 2

What is the setting of the artwork?

2 / 4

Answer 2

From the power lines and buildings, the setting is most likely a city.

2 / 4

Question 3

What are the characters doing?

3 / 4

Answer 3

The characters are either playing a soccer game or watching the soccer game.

3 / 4

Question 4

How does the painting show movement?

4 / 4

Answer 4

The painting shows soccer players leaning forward with their arms and legs extended to show running. The woman's skirt gently billows backward to show she is walking forward.

4 / 4

❮ ❯

1. Who are the characters in the artwork? The characters are a young woman, a baby, soccer players, and a boy watching the soccer players.
2. What is the setting of the artwork? From the power lines and buildings, the setting is most likely a city.
3. What are the characters doing? The characters are either playing a soccer game or watching the soccer game.
4. How does the painting show movement? The painting shows soccer players leaning forward with their arms and legs extended to show running. The woman's skirt gently billows backward to show she is walking forward.

References

'Gerard Sekoto.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.