Pathway for Years 5 & 6

Disciplines:
Printing, Collaging, Drawing

Key Concepts:

• That artists can use art as a way to express their opinions, using their skills to speak for sectors of society.

• That artists acting as activists often use print because it allows them to duplicate and distribute their message.

• That a carefully chosen image can be a powerful way to communicate as it is direct and crosses boundaries of language.

• That through art as activism we can come together. 

In this pathway children are introduced to the idea that they can use art as a way of sharing their passions and interests with their peers and community. We start by introducing pupils to artists who are activists, and then we go on to help pupils identify and voice the things they care about as individuals. 

There is then a choice of projects: the class can either make posters or zines, using using collage, print and drawing.

Medium:
Paper, Pen, Paint

Artists: Luba Lukova, Faith Ringgold, Shepard Fairey

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

History: Look at the messaging from WW2 posters.

Science: Environmental changes, deforestation.

PSHE: Responsibility to the planet, Collaboration, Peer Discussion, Different Religions, Ethnic Identity.

I Can…

• I have seen how artists use their skills to make art which speaks about things which matter, often on behalf of whole communities.

• I have explored how I can find out what I care about, and find ways I might share my ideas with us.

• I have seen how my classmates may have different things they care about, or share things we care about, but they are all valid.

• I can create visuals and text which communicate my message.

• I can use line, shape and colour to make my artwork.

• I can use typography to make my messages stand out. 

• I can combine different techniques such as print, collage and drawing.

• I can reflect and articulate about my own artwork and artwork made by my classmates.

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, handwriting pens, sharpies.

Option 1: Make a Poster – Wall paper samples, white acrylic paint, PVA glue.
(For the screen printing) – Masking tape, silk screen mesh, printing ink, printing medium, newsprint, cartridge paper or other printable surface, pen/pencil, craft knives (optional), masking tape, cardboard for palette and squeegee, bucket, A4 Acetate sheets and pva glue (optional).

Option 2: The Art of Zines – Large sheet of cartridge paper, collage papers, newspaper, PVA glue.

Pathway: Print & Activism

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway introduces pupils to the idea that artists can use their skills, vision and creativity to speak on behalf of communities, changing the world for the better. 

• Week 1: Introduction
  

  The Relationship Between Print & Activism

  We begin by introducing pupils to the idea that art can be used to express the opinions of artists, who in turn speak for sectors of society. Artists can be activists, and many artists choose print as a way to make their art, as it allows them to reproduce their artwork so that it can reach many people. 

  Choose one or more of the artists below to introduce to your class, depending on the project option you choose. 

• Introduce an Artist Activist
  

  Luba Lukova

  Use free to access “Talking Points: Luba Lukova“ to explore a designer who uses posters as a way to address injustice in the world. Use the questions at the bottom of the resource to help guide a discussion about the artists approach. 

• Introduce an Artist Activist
  

  Faith Ringgold

  Use free to access “Talking Points: Faith Ringgold” resource to explore an artist who makes painted quilts to communicate personal narratives, history and politics. Use the questions at the bottom of the resource to help guide a discussion about the artists approach.

• Introduce an Artist Activist
  

  Kate DeCiccio

  

  Use the free to access “Talking Points: Kate DeCiccio” to explore how posters can be used to communicate important messages within different communities.

• Find Your Voice…
  

  What Do YOU Care About?

  

  What do you care about? What is your message to the world? Sometimes it can be hard to find the right words, or be brave enough to say them outloud.

  The “Find Your Message” resource will help pupils to find their passion and their message, and enable them to communicate it in their own way. 

  Work in sketchbooks or on large sheets of paper. Work alone or in small groups of people you trust. 

  This activity will encourage children to start exploring who they really are, before they take their next steps to secondary school.

• Week 2,3,4 & 5
  

  Find your focus

  Decide whether you would like to explore pupil voice by making posters or making zines, and follow the pathways below.  

• Option 1
  

  Make a Poster

  This pathway shares how you can make a poster about something you care about. 

• Look and Talk
  

  Shepard Fairey

  

  Introduce discussions about street art and activism in the classroom using free to access “Talking Points: Shepard Fairey“.

• Make
  

  Create a Poster Inspired by Shepard Fairey

  

  Use the “Creating a poster inspired by Shepard Fairey” resource. Children will begin by collaging their own canvas and go on to create their poster design, through stencil, collage or screen print.

• 
  

  Screen Print Hack

  

  If you decide that you’d like to revisit screen print with the children or they haven’t had the opportunity to screen print before, here is a video for our “Screen Print Hack” to support this facilitation. 

  Children can also use collage and stencilling as a way to create their posters.

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 2:
  

  Make a Zine

  Use the following resources to inspire pupils to make a zine.

• Introduce
  

  Talking Points: What is a Zine?

  

  Use the free to access “Talking Points: What is a Zine?” to explore the purpose of Zines. 

• Be Inspired
  

  The Art of Zines

  See how older pupils made zines about things they cared about in the “Art of Zines” resource.

• Make
  

  Make a Simple Folded Sketchbook

  

  Use the “Simple Folded Sketchbook” resource as basis for your zine.

• Collage
  

  Fill your Zine

  

  Children may want to begin their zines by “starting with magazine imagery“.

  Supply children with a variety of magazine imagery which can be used to communicate their message.

  Invite children to modify their chosen imagery, by cutting, folding, sticking and juxtaposing whilst thinking about the composition of their zine pages. Images can be photocopied in black and white and drawn/painted over.

  Encourage experimentation and exploration of how best to communicate their message through text and word. 

• Week 6
  

  Share, reflect, discuss

  

  Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome.

  Invite children to display the work in a clear space, and walk around the work as if they are in a gallery. Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the children of their hardwork.

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

See This Pathway Used In Schools

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

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Share and Tag

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an exploration of artwork by Shepard Fairey

Take inspiration from Fairey’s methods of production and use of imagery to make work

Screen Prints Inspired by Shepard Fairey

Enjoy these examples of activist screen prints

Screen Prints Mesh Hack in Action

See the screen print mesh hack in action

Pathway for Years 5 & 6

Disciplines:
Drawing, Sculpture, Graphic Design, Collage, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That drawing and making have a close relationship.

• That drawing can be used to transform a two dimensional surface, which can be manipulated to make a three dimensional object.

• That when we transform two dimensional surfaces we can use line, mark making, value, shape, colour, pattern and composition to help us create our artwork.

• That we can use methods such as the grid method and looking at negative space to help us draw.

• That there is a challenge involved in bringing two dimensions to 3 dimensions which we can solve with a combination of invention and logic. 

This pathway contains two choices: 1) working towards a piece of sculpture, or 2) working towards graphic design/packaging. 

Both options allow children to explore the idea that drawing as a 2 dimensional activity can be used to transform surfaces which can then be manipulated into a 3 dimensional object. 

Along the way, children explore how mark making, line, tonal value, colour, shape, and composition can be used to inform the final piece. 

The sculptural project additional includes two methods to help build drawing skills: looking at negative space and grid drawing. 

The graphic design packaging project includes typography.

Medium:
Card, Paper, Drawing materials.

Artists: Lubaina Himid, Claire Harrup

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

You can see a recording of a session sharing this pathway here. 

Curriculum Links

English: Create characters inspired by literature.

History: Create characters inspired by theme.

Maths: 2D and 3D shapes, measuring, symmetry, angles, plot points.

PSHE: Collaboration, Peer Discussion.

I Can…

• I have explored artists who use their drawing skills to make objects, and I can share my responses to their work, thinking about their intention and outcome.

• I can use my sketchbook to record and reflect, collecting the ideas and approaches I like which I see other artists use. 

• I can use line, mark making, tonal values, colour, shape and composition to make my work interesting. 

• I can use negative space and the grid method to help me see and draw.

• I can explore typography and design lettering which is fit for purpose.

• I can transform my drawing into a three dimensional object.

• I can share my work with others, and talk about my intention and the outcome. I can listen to their response and take their feedback on board.

• I can appreciate the work of my classmates. I can listen to their intentions and share my response to their work.

• I can photograph my three dimensional work, thinking about presentation, lighting, focus and composition. 

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Option 1: Flat/Sculptural Drawings: Corrugated cardboard, silhouette images of dogs, handwriting pens, soft B pencils, collage papers/newspapers/photocopies, PVA glue, tape, scissors.

Option 2 Packaging: Cardboard food packaging, ink, brushes, handwriting pens, sharpies, acrylic paint/poster paint mixed with PVA, coloured paper, coloured crayons, scissors, string, big needles, glue, tape, wire.

Pathway: 2D Drawing to 3D Making

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• The Aim of the Pathway

  This pathway enables pupils to consider how 2 dimensional drawing might relate / transform to 3 dimensional making. 

• Find Your Focus
  

  Sculpture or Graphic Design?

  Before you begin, decide which focus you would prefer:

• Option 1
  

  Sculpture

  

  Sculpture – Explore drawing techniques such as grid drawing, using negative space, and mark making (including tonal value), before transforming your drawings into sculpture.

• Or…

• Option 2
  

  Graphic Design

  

  Graphic Design – Explore typography, line, shape, colour and composition to recreate food packaging, turning the flat graphics into 3d nets.

• 
  

  Follow Option 1 or Option 2 for the Full 6 Weeks Below

• Option 1:
  

  Flat Yet Sculptural Sculpture Project

• Option 1: Week 1: Introduce
  

  Introduce the Work of Lubaina Himid

  

  Introduce pupils to the work of Lubaina Himid, an artist working in London, using the free to access “Talking Points: Lubaina Himid” resource.

  Note for teachers on adult content: Please see the advisory on the Talking Points page above.

  Lubaina paints on wood to create flat, standing images which viewers can walk amongst. 

  With sketchbooks open use the “Making Visual Notes” resource so that pupils can note down things that they notice during the exploration. Use the questions on the resource to start discussion. 

• Option 1: Weeks 2 & 3: Draw
  

  Use Negative Space and the Grid Method

  

  Pupils will start to create their own “flat yet sculptural” artwork.

  In the resource we feature, we framed our exploration around dogs – but you can choose any focus you like. 

  Begin by introducing children to two key techniques which will help them both see and draw: 1) using negative space and 2) the grid method. 

  Use the “Use Negative Space to Believe What You See (and Scaling Up)” resource to help pupils understand these methods and begin their project work. 

• Option 1: Weeks 4 & 5: Draw
  

  Explore Mark Making, Tonal Value & Structure

  

  Continue the project by collaging and making the drawings into sculptures. Full instructions via the “Flat Yet Sculptural” resource. 

• Week 6
  

  Share, Reflect, Discuss

  Refer to the bottom of the pathway for help with running a crit.

  ---

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 2:
  

  Redesigning Food Packaging

• Option 2: Week 1: Introduction
  

  Graphic Designers and Food Packaging

  

  Use the free to access “Talking Points: Food Packaging” resource to explore food packaging. Use the questions on the resource to stimulate conversation.

  You may also like to take in food packaging of favourite foods and invite children to talk about the colours and design of the boxes etc. 

  Use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to give children the opportunity to note down things that they notice during the exploration.

  

  You could also look at “Which Artists: Claire Harrup” to see how an artist working for one of the big supermarkets designs her work. 

• Option 2: Week 2, 3, 4, 5: Draw, Paint, Make
  

  Explore Packaging Design

  

  Use the “Redesigning Food Packaging” resource to design your own food packaging. 

  You might like to start the project by watching the third video on the “Talking Points: Food Packaging” resource if you didn’t watch it last week. The process you will follow is slightly different but it gives a nice insight into how a designer might approach a similar project. 

  You may also like to visit the free to access “Talking Points: What is Typography?” resource if you would like to remind children how they can think creatively about lettering. 

  Throughout the project, use sketchbooks to test ideas and reflections. 

• Week 6 (both options)
  

  Share, Reflect, Discuss

  

  Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome.

  Invite children to display the work in a clear space and walk around the work as if they are in a gallery. Have sketchbook work present too. Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the children of their hard work.

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams. Explore how children can take high quality photographs of 3d artwork with this resource.

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

See This Pathway Used In Schools

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

You May Also Like…

drawing with wire like calder

Draw and create wire models of toys

Graphic inky still life

Explore bottle packaging through drawing and construction

Pathway for Years 5 & 6

Disciplines:
Making, Drawing, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That there are many traditions of using intricate cutouts as shadow puppets to narrate archetypal stories.

• That artists and craftspeople adapt the traditions they inherit to make them their own, and to reflect the culture they live in.

• That we can take inspiration from other artists and cultures and make the processes and techniques our own by using materials, tools and narratives which are important to us.

• That we can work in collaboration with others to make a shared experience. 

In this pathway children explore both traditional and contemporary artists and craftspeople using intricate cutouts to create artwork which is meaningful to the culture in which it is created. 

Pupils explore how they can take inspiration from other artists and craftspeople, and adapt ideas to suit their own way of working. Pupils create puppets working in collaboration.

Sketchbooks are used throughout to record, generate ideas, test and reflect. 

Medium:
Paper, Construction Materials 

Artists: Lotte Reiniger, Matisse, Wayang Shadow Puppets, Phillipp Otto Runge, Pippa Dyrlaga, Thomas Witte

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

See the Zoom CPD session exploring making shadow puppets. 

Curriculum Links

English: Use literature to inspire narrative.

History: Create a narrative around area of focus.

Science: Human body, animals, light and shadow.

Music & Drama: Be Inspired, or make a creative response to, existing productions/themes.

PSHE: Responsibility to the planet, Collaboration, Peer Discussion, Different Religions, Ethnic Identity.

I Can…

• I have seen how a variety of artists and craftspeople use their interest in cutouts to generate imagery. I can share my response to their work with my classmates.

• I can use my curiosity to think about how I might adapt techniques and processes to suit me.

• I can use my sketchbook to record, generate ideas, test ideas and reflect.

• I can make a shadow puppet thinking about how the qualities of the materials I use affect the final outcome.

• I can manipulate the materials using tools so that the puppets I make have character and expression.

• I can make my puppets move in simple ways by articulating them.

• I can work with my peers to create a collaborative experience.

• I can share my work, as a team, and share and listen to feedback.

• I can give my feedback to the work of other teams, and appreciate the differences and similarities of their work to ours. 

• I can photograph or film our puppets and performance.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, handwriting pens (black/coloured).

For the puppets: Coloured and black card, coloured tissue paper, doilies, fabric, string, wire, feathers, acetate card, paper fasteners/split pins, wooden skewers, PVA glue, tape, large white sheet (or whiteboard).

Pathway: Cut Outs & Shadow Puppets

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  The aim of this pathway is to introduce pupils to the art of paper cutting, and understand how it can be used and adapted to create shadow puppets. 

  Pupils explore shadow puppets from a historical and contemporary perspective before making their own puppets, exploring line, shape, form and character.

• Week 1: Introduce
  

  Discover Artists & Approaches

  Explore the Talking Points below as an introduction to the project.

  Use as few or as many as you would like, depending upon time / area of interest. 

  Have sketchbooks open and make time during the exploration to use sketchbooks to use the “Making Visual Notes” resource. Pupils might make references, collect ideas, jot down methods of working, draw equivalents etc. 

• Introduce
  

  Talking Points: Lotte Reiniger

  

  Explore the work of Lotte Reiniger through the free to access “Talking Points: Lotte Reiniger” resource.

• Introduce
  

  Talking Points: Paper Cut Outs

  

  Explore artists who create artwork using paper cut outs using free to access “Talking Points: Paper Cut Outs“.

• Introduce
  

  Talking Points: Malaysian Shadow Puppets

  

  Find out about the 250 year old tradition of Wayang Kulit and how artists are adapting it to suit our times with our free to access “Talking Points: Malaysian Shadow Puppets“.

• Weeks 2, 3, 4 & 5: Explore & Create
  

  Making Shadow Puppets

  

  Use the following resources to help you explore how to make the puppets, and use the whiteboard as projection screen:

  Shadow Puppets & Whiteboards

  Shipwrecked!

  Shadow Puppets & Performance

  

  Have sketchbooks open and encourage pupils to remember the approaches explored in week 1, and to use the sketchbooks to further make notes, note down ideas, make quick sketches to test ideas/shapes etc.

  

  Depending upon how much time you have, you may want to work towards creating puppets for a performance following a narrative, or you may prefer to make standalone puppets.

  You may want to connect the puppets that you make to links within the curriculum, or even make puppets along the theme of transition or retrospection to celebrate the end of Primary School/moving on to Secondary School.

• Week 6: Present & Share
  

  Share, Reflect, Discuss

  

  Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome. 

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document the puppets. You could also film the puppet show. 

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

See This Pathway Used In Schools

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

You May Also Like…

Pathway for Years 5 & 6

Disciplines:
Design, Making, Drawing, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That artists who create furniture are often called craftspeople or designers. 

• That furniture is more than just practical – designers and craftspeople produce furniture which reflects the era or culture it is made in, or the personality of the maker. 

• That as artists, we can use a variety of materials to design and make our own model chairs. The chairs we make can reflect our personality, and be enjoyed by others. 

• There are certain requirements for a chair to be a chair (4 legs and a back?) – but we can be as imaginative as we like. 

• We can think about the form, structure, material and texture, as well as the way the chair is constructed, to help us make our chair unique. 

In this pathway children are introduced to the work of a craftsperson/designer, and they explore how the artist brings his personality to his work. They go on to explore chair design over the centuries to understand how furniture can reflect or define the age in which it was made.

Children then use a warm up making exercise to remind themselves that they can be inventive in their making, and that the things they make can communicate ideas to other people. Finally children go on to make their own chair (a model of) using the Design Through making technique. 

Medium:
Construction Materials

Artists: Yinka Ilori

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Please find the CPD session recording of the Take a Seat pathway here.

Curriculum Links

Maths: Measuring, 2D and 3D shapes, symmetry, angles.

Science: Forces and gravity.

PSHE: Responsibility to the planet, Collaboration, Peer Discussion.

I Can…

• I have explored the work of a craftsperson / designer and seen how they bring personality to their work.

• I have seen how chair design has changed through the ages.

• I can use my sketchbook to make visual notes to record and reflect.

• I can experiment with how I can make mini sculptures with lots of different materials, guided by a short sentence to help me.

• I can use the Design Through Making technique to make a model of a chair which expresses an aspect of my personality.

• I can see how my sketchbook exploration helped me work towards my final outcome, and I can see what I like and what I would like to do differently. 

• I can present and share my work, and talk about it with my classmates, and listen to their responses to my work.

• I can respond to the work made by my classmates and I can share my thoughts. 

• I can take photographs of my work, thinking about focus, light and composition. 

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, oil/chalk pastels, handwriting pens. Construction Materials (see list here).

Pathway: Take a Seat

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway aims to introduce chair design to children. Children will explore what a chair can be and how the design and “personality” of a piece of furniture can make us feel.

• Week 1: Introduce a Craftsperson / Designer
  

  Exploring Chair Design

  

  Explore the work of contemporary artist and designer Yinka Ilori with our free to access “Talking Points: Yinka Ilori” resource. Watch the videos and use the questions to prompt class discussion.

  Have your sketchbooks open and use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to record and reflect. 

• Sketchbook Work
  

  Using Drawing to Build Understanding

  

  Use the free to access “Talking Points: History of Chair Design” resource as basis for some more sketchbook work. 

  Use the “Show Me What You See” technique to help pupil’s visually explore chairs.

  During the exercise, draw attention to the visual elements of the chairs, including talking about materials, form and structure. 

  By the end of the session sketchbooks should be full of pupils interpretations of different elements (shapes, lines etc) from the video.

• Week 2: Be Inventive
  

  Making Prompt Cards

  

  Before you begin, watch “Making is Hard” to remind everyone that making can be tricky! It’s okay if things don’t go to plan. Making is all about experimenting with materials to find out what is possible.

  Use the “Making Prompt Cards” resource to help children gain experiential knowledge. The prompts in the resource will provide inspiration to kick start creative thinking and enable an exploration of material and intention, without worrying about the design or purpose of what you are making. Children will make mini sculptures guided by the prompts on the cards.

• Week 3, 4 and 5
  

  Take a Seat

  Challenge children to become furniture designers with the “Take a Seat” resource, and invite children to create a chair which expresses their personality. 

  Encourage children to make intuitive choices when thinking about which materials to use, which shapes to make, and how they might connect materials together.

  Be inspired by the “Take a Seat Gallery“.

• Week 6: Present and Celebrate
  

  Share, Reflect, Discuss

  

  Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome.

  Display the work in a clear space, including sketchbook work, and walk around the work as if you were in a gallery. Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the children of their hard work.

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams. Explore how children can take high quality photographs of 3d artwork with this resource.

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

See This Pathway Used In Schools

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

You May Also Like…

Making sculptures: the chair and me

Make sculpture inspired by your bodies relationship to the furniture around you

Pathway for Years 5 & 6

Disciplines:
Installation Art, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That as humans we react emotionally to colour.

• That artists can create immersive environments using colour, light, form and sometimes sound to create a transformative experience for others.

• That we can use colour in a brave and inventive way, trying new colour combinations and exploring the relationship between colour and form. 

• That we can test ideas, use our imagination, and share our vision with others by creating 2 and 3 dimensional models. 

In this pathway pupils are enabled to explore colour in a very personal and intuitive way. 

Taking inspiration from artists who use colour, light and form to create immersive installations, pupils are encouraged to create (propose) their own art work. They are enabled to imagine “what if…?” and encouraged to share their vision or imagining with others through mock-up artworks and models. 

Recognising pupils growing ability to articulate their thoughts, and understand that we can use art to bring people together through sharing common experiences, such as how our bodies and minds react in certain colourful environments, pupils are empowered to create their own response to simple sculptural challenges. 

Pupils use sketchbooks throughout to record, test and reflect. 

Medium:
Paper, Card, Paint, Light (coloured filters)

Artists: Olafur Eliasson, Yinka Ilori, Morag Myerscough, Liz West

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

Science: Light, shadows.

PSHE: Collaboration, Peer Discussion.

I Can…

• I have explored the work of installation artists who use colour, light and form to create immersive environments. I have been able to imagine what it might be like to be in those environments, and to share my thoughts with others.

• I can respond to a creative challenge or stimulus, research the area, and make a creative response.

• I can create a 3d model or 2d artwork which shares my vision with others. 

• I can use a sketchbook to focus my exploration of colour, taking time to record thoughts, test ideas and reflect.

• I can take photos of my artwork, thinking about focus, lighting and composition.

• I can present my ideas and vision to others, articulate my thoughts and listen to the response of my classmates, taking on board their feedback.

• I can listen to the creative ideas of others, and share my feedback about their work. 

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Selection of papers, elastic bands, cardboard, soft pencils, coloured pencils, oil/chalk pastels, water colour paint, inks, acrylic or ready mixed paint, brushes, collage papers, PVA glue, scissors.

Option 1: Mini World Light Boxes- Cardboard boxes, pencils, felt tip pens, sharpies paper/card, junk modelling materials, torches, marbling materials, paper, marbling inks, sticks for mixing, trays, PVA glue, scissors.

Option 2: Sculptural Challenge: Colourful Walls and Option 3: Sculptural Challenge: Light and Form – Construction Materials (see list here).

Pathway: Brave Colour

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway gives pupils the opportunity to engage with colour in an intuitive and physical way.

  Pupils are given a greater degree of creative independence and the pathway invites pupils to  respond to the following questions:

  “How can we create colourful experiences? How do they make us feel? How might we connect to others through colour?”

  Pupils are encouraged to guide their own exploration, making choices about how they want to use colour in their artwork. 

• Week 1: Prepare
  

  Make a “Brave Colour” Project Sketchbook

  

  Fill the classroom full of colour and start as you mean to go on by inviting children to make a dedicated Brave Colour Project Sketchbook. 

  Use the “Elastic Band Sketchbook” resource to make the sketchbooks. Use white paper inside (use cartridge paper torn into double sized sheets – don’t use printer paper) so that pupils can fill it with the colours that appeal to them. 

  For the covers, use something durable like cardboard as a base, but invite pupils to personalise the covers with colours they are attracted to. This might involve paint, card, paper or fabric.

  Encourage pupils to use these sketchbooks throughout the project. Use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to capture colours, generate ideas and reflect. 

• Week 2: Be Inspired
  

  Explore the Work of Artists Using Colour

  

  As a class, explore the work of artists who use colour in their work – sometimes in the form of paint, sometimes light. 

  Explore the following Talking Point resources, using them as the basis for class discussion. Use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to give pupils time to jot down thoughts and ideas in their sketchbooks. 

  As this is a colour project, make sure pupils have ready access to colour – paper, paint, ink, pastel – so even though this session is about watching and talking, they can also easily reach for colours to apply to their sketchbook notes. 

  Explore one or more of the free to access resources below:

  

  Talking Points: Yinka Iloria and Colourful Spaces

  ---

  

  Talking Points: Morag Myerscough

  ---

  

  Talking Point: Carnovsky

  ---

  

  Talking Point: Olafur Eliasson

  ---

  

  Installation Artist – Liz West

  ---

  You may also like to explore the “Talking Points: What is Installation Art?” resource. 

• Week 3: Collect Colour
  

  Exciting Colour

  

  Explore pattern designer Rachel Parker’s moodboard books. Invite children to “Collect Colour” from magazines to create their own colour moodboards. These moodbards can be used in the future as inspiration for other projects.

• Weeks 3, 4, & 5: Explore & Create
  

  Dream Big by Working Small

  Choose one of the following options to focus pupils exploration of “brave colour”. 

  Use sketchbooks to record, test and reflect. 

• Option 1
  

  Mini World Light Boxes

  

  Use the “Mini World Light Boxes” resource to create models of sculptural installations exploring light, colour and form.

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 2
  

  Sculptural Challenge: Colourful Walls

  

  Use the “Sculptural Challenge Number 1: Colourful Walls” resource and challenge pupils to create a design proposal for a colourful architectural installation exploring colour and form.

• Option 3
  

  Sculptural Challenge: Colour, Light, Form

  

  Use the “Sculptural Challenge Number 2: Colour, Light, Form” resource and ask children to create an idea for an installation which uses light, colour and form (and even maybe sound) to create an immersive experience for others.

• Week 6: Present and Share
  

  Share, Reflect, Discuss

  

  Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome.

  Invite children to display the work in a clear space, and walk around the work as if you were in a gallery.

  Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the pupils of their hard work. Look back on all stages of the colourful journey and connect work made by pupils to that of the initial artists. 

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams. Explore how children can take high quality photographs of 3d artwork with this resource.

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

See the Pathway Used in Schools…

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You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

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Share and Tag

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To Colour

A sensory exploration exploring questions ‘What does colour smell like? What does colour feel like?’

Pathway for Years 5 & 6

Disciplines:
Architecture, Drawing, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That architects have a responsibility to design buildings which help make our world a better place, including thinking about the environmental impact of the buildings they design.

• That we can make creative choices which both serves ourselves as individuals and the communities we belong to. 

• That we can use form, structure, materials, and scale to design innovative buildings.

• That we can build architectural models to test out our ideas and share our vision. 

In this pathway children are opened to the idea that artists and designers have responsibilities, in the case of architects to design homes that help us have a brighter future. Children discuss as a class if it is best to design aspirational homes which make us feel good to live in, or tiny homes which benefit the environment. Or perhaps we can do both?

Children explore the work of architects and individual builder/designers, and use sketchbooks and drawing to collect, process and reflect upon ideas.

Children then go on to build an architectural model of their aspirational home or tiny house, before sharing as a class to see the village that has been made. 

Medium:
Foamboard, Ink, Card

Artists: Shoreditch Sketcher, Various Architects

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

Geography: Opportunity to talk about issues surrounding climate change to inform the type of houses you make, and the materials you use.

History: Changes in Britain – How architecture has changed from your chosen civilisation topic. Design a bomb shelter inspired by WW2?

Maths: Measuring, 2D and 3D shapes, symmetry, angles.

PSHE: Responsibility to the planet, Collaboration, Peer Discussion.

I Can…

• I have explored domestic architecture which is aspirational and large, and I have explored the Tiny House movement. I can discuss with the class how both these ways of designing might affect our lives.

• I can use my sketchbook to collect, record and reflect my ideas and thoughts. 

• I can make larger drawings working from still imagery, using various drawing techniques for fifteen or so minutes. 

• I can explore how line, form, structure, material, and scale are all used to make architecture interesting, and help the designer meet the design brief. 

• I can make an architectural model using the ‘design through making’ technique, using my sketchbook to help free my imagination.

• I can present my work, reflect and share it with my classmates.

• I can respond to the work of my classmates, sharing my thoughts about their work in relation to the architecture we looked at during the project. 

• I can photograph my work considering lighting, focus and composition.

• I can make short films of my work giving a close-up tour of my architectural model.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, handwriting pens, sharpies, A2 cartridge or sugar paper. Construction Materials (see list here)

Pathway: Architecture – Dream Big & Small

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• The Aim of the Pathway

  The aim of this pathway is to give pupils the opportunity to use their growing creative independence to discuss, decide, and design. Pupils will explore the responsibilities architects have to create a better world for us all by exploring whether we should “dream big or dream small” when it comes to planning for homes for the future. 

• Week 1: Introduce
  

  Dream Big or Small?

  

  Introduce pupils to the point for discussion and design:

  “As architects, should we aspire to fill the world full of amazing beautiful buildings, or do we serve ourselves and the planet better by designing small, modest, cleverly designed eco homes. Or can we do both?”

  Use the free to access “Drawing Source Material: Amazing Architectural Homes” resource to see aspirational architectural design.

  Use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to get children to note down forms, structures and materials that they like.

  

  Then use the free to access “Talking Points: Tiny Houses” resource. Again, use sketchbooks to make visual notes of the details, structures, materials, and ideas which appeal to the children.

  Have a class discussion, and perhaps even a vote, about what they feel is important in terms of house design to make the world a better place.

• Week 2: Draw
  

  Drawing Houses

  This week, children will work on larger sheets of cartridge or sugar paper (A3 or larger) and revisit the two resources used last week (“Drawing Source Material: Amazing Architectural Homes” and “Talking Points: Tiny Houses“). This time pupils will make drawings of paused moments in the video (so they are working from a still image).

  The aim here is not to design a building (they are not designing on paper) but instead to deepen understanding of the form and structures architects might use. Children will use drawing to help look more closely: to collect ideas for when they ‘design through making’. 

  Try to create between 3 and 5 drawings, each on a fresh sheet, during the session. Pupils will work in handwriting pen and, if they wish, coloured pen to highlight/accent certain features.

  They might like to be inspired by the drawings by the Shoreditch Sketcher. You can see his work at “Talking Points: Shoreditch Sketcher“.

  You might also like to use the following drawing exercises to inspire their drawings (using handwriting pen):

  Continuous Line Drawing

  Drawing with a Ruler

  If there is a sense of perspective in the image pupils are drawing, invite them to try to capture it on the page. Sometimes, if they are drawing from a still image on a whiteboard, they can use a metre rule or a cane to help see where the lines of perspective are. 

  Rather than try to draw the whole image, invite them to record what they consider to be the most important elements of the architectural design. 

• Week 3, 4, 5
  

  Make your Architectural Model

  

  Start Week 3 with a recap about the architectural dilemma: dream big or small?

  Decide as a class if the children are all going to make models of aspirational homes, or tiny houses, or a mixture of both. 

  Have sketchbooks open so that pupils can use them as reference material, and have access to the drawings made the week before. Use the “Ink and Foamboard Architecture” resource to help pupils build their architectural models.

  Tips:

  Remember they are not designing on paper first. Instead pupils are using sketchbooks as reference and using the “Design Through Making” technique.

  Remind pupils (if they get frustrated!) that Making is Hard!– but that’s ok! 

  Allow pupils plenty of time to cut and stick their shapes. You may want to get a head start by having a member of staff cut a selection of shapes beforehand so that pupils can use them as “building blocks” and then cut their own as they need them. See how to cut foamboard here Coming Soon.

  Buying foamboard (coming soon)

• Week 6
  

  Share, Reflect, Discuss

  

  Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome.

  Pupils will display the work in a clear space, and walk around the work as if they were in a gallery.

  Remember to display sketchbook work too, so that they remember the whole journey and give context to the outcomes.

  Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the children of their hard work.

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams. You could also make films by bringing the cameras really close to the models, to see different perspectives and interiors. Explore how children can take high quality photographs of 3d artwork with this resource.

   

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

See the Pathway Used in Schools…

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

You May Also Like…

Anglo Saxon Architecture

Making Architecture Inspired by Anglo Saxon Architecture

My House

A Cardboard Construction Project

Houses from Around the World

Drawing and Collaging

Pathway for Years 5 & 6

Disciplines:
Set Design, Making, Drawing, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That designers and makers design “sets” which form the backdrop/props to give context to drama (theatre, film or animation). 

• That we can use many disciplines including painting, making, drawing to create sets, as well as thinking about lighting, scale, perspective, composition, and sound. 

• That we can create our own “sets” to create models for theatre design, or backgrounds for an animation.

• That we can take our inspiration from the sources of literature or music to inform our creative response and to capture the essence of the drama. 

In this pathway pupils explore the work of set designers – in the first instance a set designer that works in theatre, and in the second instance a maker that creates sets for animation. 

Pupils go on to explore how they can create their own model set, inspired by a creative stimulus (poetry, prose, film or music). 

Sketchbooks are used throughout to brainstorm, record, test and reflect. 

Medium:
Paper, Card, Construction Media, Mixed Media, Paint, Drawing Materials

Artists: Rae Smith, Fausto Melotti, Tiny Inventions, Rose Hurley, Gabby Savage-Dickson

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

English: Create set designs inspired by your chosen play or book (for example Esio Trot).

History: Create a ‘scene’ inspired by your chosen civilisation topic e.g. a Roman amphitheatre.

Science: Light, shadow.

Music & Drama: Link to projects in Music and Drama.

PSHE: Collaboration, Peer Discussion.

I Can…

• I have explored how other artists use their skills to build sets for theatre or animation, inspired by literature, film, poetry or music. I can articulate and share my response to their work.

• I can respond to a suggested stimulus (poetry, prose, music or short film) and design and build a model set which conveys my interpretation of the mood/narrative of the original stimulus. 

• I can use my sketchbook to brainstorm ideas, jot down thoughts, test materials, record and reflect.

• I can share my process and outcome with my classmates, articulating my ideas and methods. I can listen to their feedback and take it on board.

• I can appreciate the artwork made by my classmates and share my response to their work.

• I can take photographs or film of my artwork thinking about presentation, lighting, focus and composition. 

• I can use my animation set as backdrop to an animation.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, A2 cartridge paper, charcoal, cardboard boxes, selection of small toys, construction materials.

Pathway: Set Design

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway aims to introduce pupils to set design, either for theatre or animation. Pupils explore the work of designers/makers and then create their own model “sets” around a theme. 

• Find Your Focus
  

  Choose Theatre Design or Design for Animation

  Decide if you would like your pupils to explore Set Design for Theatre, or Set Design for Animation, and follow the stages below accordingly.

• Set Design for Theatre

  In this option pupils explore how designers design sets for theatre.

• Week 1: Introduce
  

  Set Design for Theatre

  Use the “Talking Points: Set Designer Rae Smith” resource to introduce pupils to the work of a set designer working in theatre.

  Pause the video at suitable points to open up conversation. Invite children to make a page or two using “Making Visual Notes” in their sketchbooks. They might make quick drawings of the sculptures, note down how they feel and also include any other thoughts that the videos prompt.

• Week 2, 3, 4 & 5: Create
  

  Set Design for Theatre

  

  Use the “Set Design With Primary Aged Children” resource to focus a project around how pupils can create their own model sets in response to a dramatic stimulus.

  Children will have the opportunity to draw, build and paint and by the end they will have an atmospheric and dramatic set in response to text. Use sketchbooks throughout to come up with ideas, jot down thoughts, test materials and reflect.

  You may also like to introduce the work of Melotti through the “Talking Points: Fausto Melotti” resource if children need further stimulation mid project.

  ---

• 
  

  Or…

• Set Design for Animation

  In this option pupils explore how animators build sets for their animations. 

• Week 1: Introduce
  

  Set Design for Animation

  

  Use the “Talking Points: Negative Space by Tiny Inventions” resource to see how animators created the set for their animation Negative Space. 

  Pause the video at suitable points to open up conversation. Invite children to make a page or two in their sketchbooks using “Making Visual Notes“. They might make quick drawings of the set, note down how they feel and also include any other thoughts that the videos prompt.

• Weeks 2, 3, 4 & 5: Introduce
  

  A Textiles Set

  

  Take further inspiration from artist Gabby Savage-Dickson and explore the “Gabby Savage-Dickson: Felting & Embroidering Sets” resource. 

• Create
  

  Rosie Hurley

  

  Explore the “Rosie Hurley: Esio Trot” resource – an artist who created a set based on the film Esio Trot. Explore all of the developmental stages in her sketchbook and see how it connects to the work that has been done in class.

  Again, ask children to have sketchbooks open and jot down any “tips” about the ways Rosie works in her sketchbooks which might be useful. 

  

  Use the “Animation Set Design Challenge” resource to inspire children to create their own set based upon a piece of music, prose, film or poetry. Follow a similar process as Rosie Hurley to create your set. 

• Extension
  

  Animate!

  Coming Soon

• Week 6: Reflect and Discuss
  

  Present, Talk, Celebrate

  

  End the pathway by taking time to appreciate the developmental stages and the final outcomes in a clear space.

  Depending upon the project option chosen, display the work appropriately including having open sketchbooks. Use the “Crit in the Classroom” resource to help you. 

  Encourage children to reflect upon all stages of the journey, and reference the artists studied. 

  If available, children can use tablets or cameras to take photographs of the work. Explore how children can take high quality photographs of 3d artwork with this resource.

See This Resource Used In Schools…

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

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Drawing Exercise Responding to text

Adapt the workshop for younger students and create drawings in response to text

model making responding to text

Use text extracts as a starting point to make ‘scratch models’

Pathway for Years 3 & 4

Disciplines:
Painting, Drawing, Collage, Sketchbooks, Relief

Key Concepts:

• That when artists make work in response to static objects around them it is called still life.

• That still life has been a genre for many hundreds of years, and is it still relevant today.

• That when artists work with still life, they bring their own comments and meaning to the objects they portray.

• That we can make a still life creative response in many media: drawing, painting, collage, relief…

• That we can use line, shape, colour, texture, and form to help us give meaning to our work, and explore composition, foreground, background, and negative space. 

In this pathway children are introduced to the genre of still life as an old art form and also one which is still enjoyed by many contemporary artists. Pupils revisit and develop their drawing (and looking) skills using observational drawing of physical objects, and then go on to explore a project, either working in collage, photography and paint, clay relief, or graphic still life. 

Along the way children consolidate and develop their understanding of how we can use line, shape, colour, texture, form and composition to make their work. 

Medium:
Acrylic or poster paint, pen, pencil, ink, clay (depending upon project chosen)

Artists: Paul Cezanne, Peter Claesz, Melchior d’ Hondecoeter, Jan Davidsz, Jacob Vosmaer, Hilary Pecis,  Nicole Dyer, Baas Meeuws, Hirasho Sato

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Please find the CPD session recording of the Exploring Still Life pathway here.

Curriculum Links

History: Depict objects related to your chosen ancient civilisation topic or even arrange for a museum handling collection to visit your school.

Maths: 2D and 3D shapes, Pattern (on object).

Science: Plants, trees and flowers, rocks and fossils, light and shadow (explore all of these through your still life arrangement).

I Can…

• I have explored the work of contemporary and more traditional artists who work within the still life genre.

• I have felt able to express my thoughts about other artists’ work, and talk about the meanings of objects as artists present them.

• I can use my sketchbook to make visual notes, record and reflect. 

• I can draw from observation and think about how I can use line, colour, shape, texture, form and composition to make my artwork interesting.

• I can present and share my artwork, and explain how my sketchbook work helped build my knowledge and skills towards my final piece.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, cartridge paper, sharpies or felt tip pens, handwriting ink or watercolour (undiluted or thick & diluted down to a wash), a fine brush and a thick brush, a small, solid object to draw.

Option 1: Cut Paper Collage Still Life – (to make the collage papers) A2 cartridge paper, A3 coloured sugar paper, sponges, brushes, bubble wrap scraps, acrylic or ready mixed paint (to make the collage), a still life arrangement, PVA glue, scissors.

Option 2: Cezanne Paintings to reference (digitally and printed), a still life arrangement (textured cloths/tea towels, colourful fruits, large bowls, glass vase or bottle, tea pot etc), large pieces of card in various colours for background, iPads/tablets/digital camera/iPhone for photographing.

Option 3: Clay Fruit Tiles – Selection of fruit and vegetables, drawing materials: charcoal, graphite, pencil, chalks, pastels, paper, card, tissue paper, scissors, cardboard, camera, photocopier or tracing paper, clay, clay tools, rolling pins, clay knives, boards, plastic bags, sponges, water pots, brushes, toothbrush and water (for joining clay onto your tile), acrylic paint.

Option 4: Graphic Inky Still Life – Inks, foamboard or cardboard, quills/brushes/pens, craft knife and cutting mat, PVA glue, variety of bottles to draw.

Pathway: Exploring Still Life

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aim of the Pathway

  The aim of this pathway is to introduce children to the genre of still life, explore traditional and contemporary still life artists, and make their own creative response.

  In doing so, they consolidate and develop many technical and visual literacy skills and concepts, including looking at line, colour, shape, texture, form, composition, foreground, background and negative space.

• Week 1: Introduce an artist
  

  Introduce the artist Paul Cezanne

  

  Use the free to access “Talking Points: Cezanne” resource to introduce pupils to the still lifes of Paul Cezanne. 

  Invite children to capture elements of his paintings in their sketchbooks as you discuss his work (focusing particularly on colours, lines and shapes). 

  You might like to use the “Show Me What Your See” or “Making Visual Notes” resources to help children embed exploration in their  sketchbooks.

  You might also like to visit the “What is Composition?” resource to help pupils think about about composition in still life artwork. 

• Work in sketchbooks
  

  Choose One of the Drawing Exercises Below

  

  Use the “See Three Shapes” exercise to help children appreciate how seeing simple shapes can help improve drawing skills, and how one material can be used in a variety of ways to create different qualities of line.

  

  Use the “Four Colour Gestural Drawing Exercise” resource to help children build their understanding of the subject matter, and think about how they can use marks to share their understanding. 

• Week 2: Explore Further
  

  Explore the Work of Contemporary and Traditional Still Life Artists

  

  Explore a variety of contemporary artists who study still life in different forms. Use our free to access “Talking Points: Contemporary Still Life” to prompt class discussion about the artists work.

  Compare and contrast with the work of Dutch and Flemish 16th century artists using the free to access “Talking Points: Flemish Painters” resource.

  Use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to record and reflect.

• Weeks 3, 4 & 5: Find Your Focus
  

  Choose a Project

  Choose between an exploration of:

  • Painting and collage

  • Photography,  composition and painting

  • Clay, texture and painting

  • Still life sculpture

• Option 1: Paint and Collage
  

  Cut Paper Collage Still Life

  

  Use the “Cut Paper Collage Still Life” resource to facilitate a collaged still life activity. This technique is very accessible – pupils paint sheets of paper before collaging with them. 

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 2: Photography, Composition and Painting
  

  Still Life Inspired by Cezanne

  

  Use the “Still Life Inspired by Cezanne” resource to invite pupils to make their own still life compositions, before photographing and painting them. This option is a great way to bring cameras into the classroom. 

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 3: Clay, Texture, Paint
  

  Clay Fruit Tiles

  Give children the opportunity to work with clay to make decorative “Clay Fruit Tiles“.

  Children will gain skills in working with clay as a resistant and responsive material, resulting in an exploration of texture, mark making, colour and composition.

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 4: Still Life Sculpture
  

  Graphic Inky Still Life

  

  Explore still life through drawing and construction. “Graphic Inky Still Life” gives children the opportunity to develop their observation and mark making skills to create charming and powerful 3d graphic images.

  Scaffold with sketchbook exercises such as “Continuous Line Drawing” and “Thoughtful Mark Making” to extend the project.

  Tip: This project was originally shared with slightly older children. It’s perfectly suited to this age group – just replace the knife-cutting of the foamboard shapes of the bottles with scissor cutting working on cardboard instead. 

• Intervention
  

  Learning to see

  

  If you feel pupils need help learning to see, use the exercises on the “Painting on Plaster” activity, which includes drawing exercises to explore composition, setting up an individual still life to encourage close looking, and using a viewfinder to help you see. Don’t progress to painting on plaster, unless you are interested in painting on plasterboard (link coming soon).

• Week 6: Present and Celebrate
  

  Share, Reflect, Discuss

  

  Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome.

  Invite children to display the work in a clear space, and walk around the work as if they are in a gallery. Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the children of their hardwork.

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams. 

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

See the Pathway Used in Schools…

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

You May Also Like…

Thoughtful Mark making

Develop mark making vocab and decision making skills

Using pastel to capture texture

Explore using pastels, with graphite, to capture the texture of fabric

Blind Contour Drawing

Match the speed of drawing with the speed of looking

Drawing Vegetables

Explore a variety of media through drawing vegetables

Japanese sushi inspires our art

Create large-scale mixed media drawings inspired by food from Japan

still life acrylic paintings

Make acrylic paintings on canvases

Pathway for Years 3 & 4

Disciplines:
Sculpture, Painting, Drawing, Collage, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That we can respond to a creative stimulus through lots of different media (paper, pen, paint, modelling materials and fabric) to work towards drawing, painting, collage, and sculpture. 

• That we can use our knowledge and curiosity of line, shape, colour and form to make playful and inventive art. 

• That we can make an individual artwork which contributes to a larger shared piece, or we can work on a shared artwork.

• That making art can be fun and joyful, and that we can find subject matter which inspires us all and brings us together.

In this pathway children are enabled to begin to recognise that their individual creative response will be different to that of their peers, but that it is valued and can contribute to a larger shared artwork. 

As children progress through the school, they are enabled to use and further develop the knowledge and skills learnt so far, and bring their personal likes, dislikes and experience to a project, working towards being confident creative decision makers. 

The pathway begins with an exploration of artists who make sculptures of food, working at unexpected scales, working in a sketchbook to make visual notes to consolidate their experience. 

Children then further develop drawing skills by drawing from still imagery and from life, and then teachers choose from two projects, one using dry materials (paper, card, pen, paint) to make a “corner shop”, or using modroc and other modelling and construction materials to make a shared sculptural feast.

Finally, if you have time, invite pupils to make a shared picnic drawing, before making time to present the work, reflect and share. 

Medium:
Paper/Card, Drawing Materials, Modelling Materials (incl. Modroc)

Artists: Claes Oldenberg, Lucia Hierro, Nicole Dyer

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

See the recording of the Zoom CPD session Exploring Modroc.

Curriculum Links

History: Look at the food grown during the time of your chosen civilisation topic e.g. Iron Age farming.

Science: Soil, room to grow, nutrition, food groups, environmental changes.

PSHE: Supports Responsibility to the planet, Collaboration, Peer Discussion. Look at foods from different religious ceremonies.

I Can…

• I have explored the work of artists who are inspired by food and I can share my responses with the class.

• I can use my sketchbook to record and reflect how the artist’s work makes me feel.

• I can use my sketchbook to draw food using a variety of media, drawing from still images and from life, exploring how I can use line, shape, and colour to capture the texture and form of the food.

• I can make a sculpture of food, understanding that by working in 3d my sculpture will be seen from different viewpoints. 

• I can explore and experiment using “Design through Making”, and I can discover how I can transform and construct with different materials to make my sculpture. 

• I have seen how my own sculpture can form part of a larger artwork, and how we can all find inspiration in each others’ ideas.

• I can explore drawing on different surfaces such as fabric, understanding how the drawing materials act differently to when they are used on paper.

• I can present my work as part of a larger artwork, and I can share my response to my own work and also to the work of my peers. 

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, coloured pencils, oil/chalk pastels, water colour, graphite sticks, still life arrangement of food

Option 1: Paint Your Corner Shop – Acrylic or poster paint, pencils, handwriting pens, cartridge paper, sellotape, PVA glue, scissors.

Option 2: Feast from Modroc Construction Materials (see list here )

Pathway: Festival Feasts

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aim of the Pathway

  The aim of the pathway is to give children the opportunity to consolidate and further develop a variety of skills (drawing, painting, making) in a celebration of the ways food connects us, as families, cultures, and communities.

• Week 1 & 2: Be Inspired
  

  Explore & Draw

  For the first two weeks, pupils will spend time looking at the artists below and making drawings in sketchbooks. 

• Introduce
  

  Claes Oldenburg

  

  Explore the sculptures of Claes Olderburg with our free to access “Talking Points: Claes Oldenburg” resource.

  Whilst watching the videos, ask children to fill a couple of sketchbook pages using “Making Visual Notes“. They may draw quick drawings of the sculptures, note down how the sculptures make them feel and also include any other thoughts that the videos prompt.

• Introduce
  

  Lucia Hierro

  

  Explore the free to access “Talking Points: Lucia Hierro” to find out more about an artist who creates soft sculptures and installations related to corner shops.

  Children will fill one or two sketchbook pages using the “Making Visual Notes” resource, and consider the similarities and differences between Claes and Lucia. 

• Introduce
  

  Rowan Briggs Smith

  

  Explore “Making Mini Food” to see how a young artist made a collection of tiny plates of food.

   

• Work in Sketchbooks
  

  Show Me What You See

  

  See the free to access “Drawing Source Material: Food” resource.

  Children will work in sketchbooks, using the “Show Me What You See” technique to help them visually explore food.

  During the exercise, draw the children’s attention to the visual elements of their drawings, including talking about shape, colour, texture and composition. Try to capture all these qualities using different materials (and combinations of materials) such as pen, ink, pastel, oil pastel, watercolour and pencil.

  By the end of the session sketchbooks should be full of pupil’s interpretations of different elements (shapes, lines etc) from the video.

  

  Invite children to bring in food, or make a visit to a bakery and invite children to draw directly from life. How is it different to drawing from photographs? Use any of the drawing exercises on this page to inspire your drawings. 

• Week 3, 4: Find your Focus
  

  Explore Painting or Sculpture

  Invite children to explore their favourite foods through either of these community focused paint or sculpture activities. 

• Option 1
  

  Paint Your Corner Shop

  

  Explore painting and sculpture with the “Paint Your Corner Shop” resource. This activity encourages children to think about foods that they like or have other connections to. Children will paint jars / tins of food in 3 different ways. The paintings can be turned into 3D sculptures to form a classroom shop installation.

  Start the session with a “Continuous Line Drawing” warm up. 

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 2
  

  Feast from Modroc

  

  Give children the opportunity to work with new materials and make a “Feast from Modroc“. Making a sculptural feast allows each child to make their own sculpture which will contribute to a lavish class meal. Using modroc and other materials gives pupils the opportunity to explore texture and modelling as well as colour and form.

  Start week 3 by exploring the work of sculptor and artist Nicole Dyer whose work you can find on the free to access “Talking Points: Nicole Dyer” resource.

  You can find detailed information on using Mod Roc in the classroom here. 

• Week 5: Collaborate
  

  Communal Picnic Drawing

  

  Finish off the summer term with this fun “Communal Picnic” activity.

  Start by laying out the picnic – bring food which contributes colour, texture, pattern and form to inspire – and allow lots of space between the food objects to allow the children to work directly on to the cloth. If you are working with a whole class rather than just a few children then you may prefer to try this activity in the hall or even outside, working on more than one sheet.

  This activity gives children the chance to work on a new surface (use old sheets from charity shops) and see how using the materials is different to using them on paper. 

• Week 6: Share and discuss
  

  Share, Reflect, Celebrate

  

  End the pathway by taking time to appreciate the developmental stages and the final outcomes in a clear space.

  Depending upon the project option chosen, display the work appropriately including having open sketchbooks. Use the “Crit in the Classroom” resource to help you. 

  Encourage children to reflect upon all stages of the journey, and reference the artists studied. 

  If available, children can use tablets or cameras to take photographs of the work.

  Explore how children can take high quality photographs of 3d artwork with this resource.

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Art Club Cafe

Making sculptural food in an after school club setting

Sushi Drawing

Drawing inspired by Japanese Sushi

Sushi Making

Making Sushi with recycled materials

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Pathway: Mixed Media Land and city scapes

This is featured in the ‘Mixed Media Land and City Scapes’ pathway

Talking Points: Vanessa Gardiner

Talking Points: The Shoreditch Sketcher

Talking Points: Kittie Jones

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Pathway: Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & determination

This is featured in the ‘Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & Determination’ pathway

Talking Points: What can we learn from birds

Drawing source material: nests

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Pathway: Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & determination

This is featured in the ‘Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & Determination’ pathway

Talking Points: What can we learn from birds

Drawing source material: nests

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Pathway: Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & determination

This is featured in the ‘Sculpture, Structure, Inventiveness & Determination’ pathway

Talking Points: What can we learn from birds

Drawing source material: nests

Pathway for Years 5 & 6

Disciplines:
Printmaking (Monotype), Drawing, Painting, Collage, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That Monotype is a process where we make images by transferring ink from one surface to another to make a single print.

• That we can use the “distance” that monotype gives us between mark making and outcome to make images with texture and a sense of history/process. 

• That we can combine monotype with other disciplines such as painting and collage.

• That we can make art by expressing our own personal response to literature or film. 

In this pathway children explore the process of making monotypes. The pathway starts with an introduction to monotypes, and then children explore the work of an artist who uses monotypes to build sculptures and installations.

Pupils develop their mark making skills through a simple warm up exercise, before focussing upon a project which gives them the opportunity to use the monotype process (combined with painting and collage) to make a “zine”, inspired by a piece of poetry. The pathway provides two ways of making monotypes according to the space and time you have available. 

Throughout the project pupils use sketchbooks to collect ideas, test methods, and explore colour, line and mark making. 

Medium:
Paper, Ink, Carbon Copy Paper, Paint

Artists: Kevork Mourad

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

English: Use a poem or story to inspire making your own monotype books.

History: Make a zine about your theme or focus.

PSHE: Supports Responsibility to the planet, Collaboration, Peer Discussion.

I Can…

• I have understood what a Monotype is and can see how artists use monotypes in their work. I have been able to share my response to their work.

• I can study drawings made by other artists and identify particular marks they have used in their drawings. I can use my sketchbook to create a collect of marks for me to use later.

• I can listen to a piece of poetry and think about how the piece evokes colours, lines, shapes and words in my head, and I can use these to create imagery which captures the mood of the piece of poetry.

• I can use my sketchbook to explore my ideas. 

• I can use my mark making skills to create exciting monotypes, combining the process with painting and collage.

• I can share my thinking and outcomes with my classmates. I can listen to their views and respond.

• I can share my response to the artwork made by my classmates.

• I can photograph my work, thinking about lighting, focus and composition.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, handwriting pens, cartridge paper, black sugar paper, assorted papers/cards, old maps or newspapers, A1 cartridge paper, assorted small objects and plants, PVA glue, tape, scissors.

Pathway: Making Monotypes

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  The aims of this pathway is to remind/introduce pupils to the technique of making monotype and to enable them to use the technique to make artwork which is poetic and fluid. 

• Week 1: Introduce
  

  What is Monotype Printing?

  

  Use the free to access “What is Monotype?” resource to introduce pupils to the idea of making one off drawings through print. 

• Introduce an Artist
  

  Explore the work of Kevork Mourad

  

  Kervork Mourad creates huge sculptural monotypes on fabric. Find out about the concepts and processes that he uses. See the free to access “Talking Points: Kevork Mourad” resource.

  Use “Making Visual Notes” as a way to encourage children to collect information in their sketchbooks.

• Week 2: Open Up Mark Making Vocabulary
  

  Finding Marks Made by Artists

  

  Monotypes rely on mark making. Use the “Finding Marks Made by Artists” resource to remind pupils of the vast array of marks that are open to them in their work. 

  Encourage children to work in sketchbooks to create a lexicon of marks made by varying the tool, hold, pressure, speed and intention of the way the mark is made. 

• Week 3, 4, and 5: Using Monotype in a Project
  

  Creating a Visual Poetry Zine

  

  Over the next few sessions use the “Visual Poetry Zine with Monotype” resource to help pupils explore how they can use monotype to create their own personal books. 

  Invite pupils to use sketchbooks throughout as a place where they can test the monotype process and explore colour, line and mark making. 

• Week 6: Talk
  

  Share, Reflect, Discuss

  

  End the pathway by taking time to appreciate the developmental stages and the final outcomes in a clear space. Talk about intention and outcome through a ‘crit’.

  Display the work appropriately including having open sketchbooks. Use the “Crit in the Classroom” resource to help you.

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams. 

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Monotype Videos

Videos to demonstrate various monotype processes

Pathway for Years 1 & 2

Disciplines:
Painting (Watercolour)

Key Concepts:

• That watercolour paint has special characteristics.

• That we can use the elements of surprise and accident to help us create art.

• That we can develop our painting by reflecting upon what we see, and adding new lines and shapes to help develop imagery. 

In this pathway children are introduced to watercolour. Through an open and exploratory approach, children not only discover what watercolour can do, how it acts and how they can “control” it, but also how the watercolour itself can help reveal the “story” of the painting. 

Themes:
Exploration, Discovery

Medium:
Watercolour

Artists: Paul Klee, Emma Burleigh

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Please find the CPD session recording of the Exploring Watercolour pathway here.

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

Geography: Adapt by choosing colour palettes which link with topics, e.g. blues/greens, for an exploration of imagery which evokes oceans. (The emphasis should remain on exploration of material, so any theme link should be applied lightly).

Maths: Explore identifying 2d shapes.

Music: Explore the connection between art & music and being in a mindful space.

I Can…

• I can explore watercolour and understand the different effects I can achieve.

• I can work without an end goal in mind – letting the paint lead me.

• I have had the opportunity to see the work of other artists who use watercolour and share my thoughts about their work.

• I can name and use primary colours and begin to understand how colours mix to make secondary colours.

• I can understand that we all see different things in the artwork we make. We all have a different response. 

• I can think about the marks I make and develop them further.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Sketchbooks, A3 cartridge paper, watercolour paints, paint brushes, coloured pencils.

Pathway: Exploring Watercolour

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway aims to enable children to enjoy a freeing exploration of watercolour, building their understanding of the properties of the medium, and opening minds as to how imagery can be created. 

• Week 1: Exploring Watercolour
  

  Hands-On Exploration: What Can Watercolour Do?

  

  Working on sheets of paper or in sketchbooks, start with an exploration of what watercolour can do. Give children the opportunity to discover for themselves the way watercolour acts, and to decide what they like about it as a medium. 

  Take the opportunity to remind children about the names of colours, and to highlight primary colours, BUT let them explore all colours – they will start to understand colour mixing through casual experience and accident. 

  In the first instance the children aren’t drawing anything, instead they are just mark making with watercolour on paper. The journey is as important as the outcome.

  To aid your exploration take a look at the following resources:

  • Let Me Inspire You: Emma Burleigh

  • Exploring Through Watercolour

  The two videos above are made for slightly older children. Watch as a teacher to build your skill, and decide if you want to show any sections directly to your pupils. 

  • Teachers Introduction to Watercolour

  • Practising Watercolour Skills

• Week 2: Look & Talk
  

  Explore the Work of Paul Klee & Emma Burleigh

  

  Explore our free to access “Talking Points: Paul Klee” resource, and see the work of Emma Burleigh (who made the videos above). Talk as a class about your shared and individual responses to the work.

  Use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to encourage children to fill a couple of sketchbook pages with their personal responses to the artworks.

• Week 3: Developing Skills
  

  Building Imagery Through Watercolour

  

  Working on larger sheets of cartridge paper, children will continue to explore the kinds of marks that can be made with watercolour and the various techniques that can be used, this time working towards developing imagery from the imagination.

  Watch Emma’s video with the pupils, as she talks you through the process of the task. 

• Week 4 & 5: Continue Painting Development
  

  Working with Momentum and Focus

  

  Depending upon your pupils, develop the work and skills in the following ways:

  • If pupils need more time, allow them more time to work on the paintings they did in the previous week. 

  • If pupils have “finished”, invite them to make another painting using the same exploratory method, this time perhaps choosing different colours as a starting point.

  • Consider playing music in the classroom as the children paint. How does it change the energy levels and mood of the work?

  • If you are connecting this pathway to a curriculum theme, such as Continents, Oceans, Maps, Weather, Cities, Villages, Plants, Animals etc, then you may want to introduce the idea that children can explore these themes through watercolour painting BUT keep the exploration loose and open: don’t try to resist their exploration of the medium by controlling a desired “recognisable” end result. 

  • If you have some pupils who might like to push it further, watch “Part Three” from Emma Burleigh in which she works into dry watercolours with pen, pencils, crayons etc to build the image further. 

• Week 6
  

  Share, reflect, discuss

  

  Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome.

  Invite children to display the work in a clear space, and walk around the work as if they are in a gallery. Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the children of their hardwork.

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams. 

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

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drawing fish with pen, pencil and watercolour

Explore drawing and painting materials

globe paintings

Let the paint decide what it wants to do

Pathway for Years 1 & 2

Discipline:
Printmaking, Collage, Drawing

Key Concepts:

• That we can make a “plate” from which to “print”

• That there is a relationship between plate and print: e.g. negative / positive.

• That we can use print to create “multiples”

• That we can explore line, shape, colour and texture to explore pattern, sequence, symmetry and intention.

This pathway invites children to explore the world about them as a way to begin to understand the concept of “print”. 

Children use their own bodies, then things they collect around them, to create a variety of prints. They use their hands and feet to make prints, and they take rubbings of textures from the environment around them.  They make “plates” by making impressions in plasticine, and then by using printing foam. 

They explore how they can build up images by creating multiples, and use line, shape, colour and texture to explore pattern, sequencing and symmetry. 

Medium:
Paper, Printing Ink, Plasticine, Printing Foam

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

Geography: Adapt to create imagery which explores symbols on maps.

History: Adapt to create portraits of significant individuals from history.

Maths: Pattern, repetition, pictorial representation, 2D/3D shapes.

Science: Adapt and use plants, trees, leaves, food chains, animals as inspiration to draw and make printed patterns.

PSHE: Peer discussion.

I Can…

• I can make simple prints using my hands and feet. 

• I can explore my environment and take rubbings of textures I find. 

• I can use my rubbings to make an image.

• I can push objects I find into plasticine and make prints.

• I can cut shapes out of foam board and stick them on a block to make a plate. I can print from the plate.

• I can draw into the surface of the foam board and print from the plate.

• I can use colour, shape, and line to make my prints interesting.

• I can create a repeat print.

• I can create a symmetrical or sequenced print. 

• I can use my sketchbook to collect my prints and test ideas.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Ready mixed paints, large sheets of cardboard (maybe primed with white paint), brushes, trays, soft pencils, handwriting pens, chalk, flowers for observation, collected objects (shells, leaves, twigs etc), wax crayons, plasticine, ink pads, printing foam, water soluble printing ink, small pieces of thick card, scrap sugar paper, glue, rollers.

Pathway: Simple Printmaking

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway aims to introduce children to the idea that we can make single or multiple copies of an image through print. 

  Using simple methods to obtain relief prints, pupils explore the materials around them to understand how we can use repetition, pattern, colour, line, shape, and texture to make images. 

• Week 1: Printing with your Body
  

  Hands, Feet and Flowers

  

  Begin an exploration of printmaking using the “Hand, Feet and Flowers” resource to explore other ways of printing patterns using our bodies. This activity can work outdoors on a large scale but can also work well on tables in small groups. 

  Through this activity pupils directly experience what it means to make a “print”, discover how much paint they need and how much pressure they might apply. Children can use primary paint colours, start using the names of the colours, and they can also use ready mixed paint in other colours. 

  In this resource, pupils overlay their printed imagery with drawn imagery based upon flowers. You can choose if you proceed to this second activity, or if you prefer to leave the work as prints only, or if you wish to apply another theme or focus, i.e. draw hands, insects, etc. 

• Week 2: Making Rubbings
  

  Taking Rubbings & Making Compositions

  

  This week focus upon how you can make prints by rubbing dry materials such as wax crayon or pencil crayon, over textured objects.

  Encourage children to “think like an explorer” and venture into the classroom and playground to collect textures and objects which they can take rubbings from. Make sure children take rubbings from things around them like the ground, as well as from things which you can lift up and bring back to the classroom, like leaves.

  Invite children to use the rubbings to make a composition, working in a sketchbook or on large sheets. Adapt the “Taking Rubbings & Making Compositions” Resource.

• Week 3, 4 & 5: Explore & Develop
  

  Exploring Relief Printing

  Over the next few weeks, explore the following printing methods, continuing as far into the exploration as pupils are able.

  Give pupils plenty of time for discovery, experimentation and practice.

  As pupils travel further along the journey they will learn new skills and discover more about how to use their prints to explore pattern and intention. 

• Method 1: Plasticine Print
  

  Explore How Plasticine Can Be Used to Print

  

  Use the “Printing with Plasticine” resource to further explore how we can use the things we find around us to create impressions in plasticine which we can then print from.

  Collect shells, feathers, leaves, twigs, string, coins, lego etc, and invite the children to explore what happens when we push them into plasticine. What kinds of marks does each object leave in the plasticine? 

  Using ink pads with which to print means the plasticine will pick up even fine detail. 

  Once children have created a number of “prints” they can cut them out and stick them in their sketchbooks. 

• 
  

  Or…

• Method 2: Foam Print
  

  Additive & Incised Printing

  

  Use foam board and explore how you can make prints in two ways using the “Print Foam – Making Relief Prints” 

  

  Once pupils have created a number of prints, they can then cut into their prints and collage with them on a larger sheet of paper, thinking about more abstract concepts like pattern and repetition, or using the printed elements to build an image related to a theme, such as architecture or insects or plants. 

• Support with Drawing
  

  Observational Drawing

  

  Support the creation of prints with close observation and careful drawing using the “Continuous Line Drawing Exercise“.  Invite pupils to use a subject matter which informs the creation of prints, and work in sketchbooks. 

• Week 6: Reflect & Discuss
  

  Share and Celebrate the Outcomes

  

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit” to finish the project. 

  Invite children to display the work in a clear space on tables or on the wall. Encourage positive language and a celebration of all their hard work! Recap with children about the exploration – where they started, what they discovered and what they enjoyed. 

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work, working in pairs or teams.

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Make a Monogram

Create stamps using childrens initials

Pathway for Years 5 & 6

Disciplines:
Painting, Drawing, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That artists use a variety of media often combining it in inventive ways, to capture the energy and spirit of land or city scapes.

• That artists often work outside (plein air) so that all their senses can be used to inform the work.

• That as artists we are able to experiment with materials, combining them to see what happens. We can feel free and safe to take creative risks, without fear of getting things “wrong”.

• We can share our artistic discoveries with, and be inspired by each other.

• We can use sketchbooks to focus this exploration and we do not always need to create an “end result” – sometimes the exploratory journey is more than enough. 

In this pathway children are introduced to the idea that artists don’t just work in studios – instead they get out into the world and draw and paint from life, inspired by the land and city scapes where they live. Pupils also see how artists use their creative freedom to explore ways of working which involve different materials and media. 

Pupils extend and adapt existing sketchbooks so that they can make drawings/paintings at different scales and ratios. They are enabled to take creative risks, explore and experiment, without the pressure of having to “produce” an end result. 

Pupils are given the freedom to use mixed medium in ways which suit them and their subject matter.

Medium:
Graphite stick or soft B pencil, Handwriting Pen, Pastels & Chalk, Paper, (Sketchbook Making Task: Paper, string, elastic bands, glue)

Artists: Vanessa Gardiner, Shoreditch Sketcher, Kittie Jones, Saoirse Morgan

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

Geography: Link your landscapes to your chosen topic e.g. cities in the Northern hemisphere, settlements and land use, digital mapping.

Science: Local habitat, Environmental changes.

PSHE: Responsibility to the planet, Collaboration, Peer Discussion.

I Can…

• I have seen how artists respond to land and city scapes in various ways by using inventive mixed media combinations.

• I have seen how artists work outside amongst the land and city scapes which inspire them, and how they use all their senses to capture the spirit of the place. I have been able to share my response to their work.

• I can extend my sketchbook thinking creatively about how I can change the pages giving myself different sizes and shapes of paper to work on.

• I can use my sketchbook to explore and experiment. I have taken creative risks and been able to reflect upon what worked and what didn’t work. 

• I have continued my exploratory work outside the sketchbooks, bringing my “sketchbook way of thinking” to larger sheets of paper. 

• I can share my journey and discoveries with others and am able to reflect upon what I have learnt.

• I can appreciate and be inspired by the work of my classmates, and I can share my response to their work.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, handwriting pens, sharpies, coloured pencils, oil/chalk pastels, charcoal, water colour, acrylic paint, ink, assorted papers and envelopes, glue.

Pathway: Mixed Media Land & City Scapes

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of the Pathway

  This pathway aims to introduce pupils to working in mixed media to create land or city scapes with energy and a sense of place.

  This pathway is about experimenting and exploring. The emphasis is on creative risk taking and discovery. 

  Children are encouraged to explore the format and composition of their work, and explore lots of media combinations through exploratory work.

• Week 1: Introduce
  

  Vanessa Gardiner & The Shoreditch Sketcher

  

  Use the free to access “Talking Points: Vanessa Gardiner” resource to introduce pupils to an artist that takes her inspiration from the landscape. 

  Compare and contrast Vanessa with the Shoreditch Sketcher via “Talking Points: The Shoreditch Sketcher” resource. 

  

  Use “Making Visual Notes” to help pupils record and reflect on the artists’ work, and identify the things which might be of interest in their own work. 

• Week 2: Extend a Sketchbook
  

  Sketchbook Places & Spaces

  

  Use the “Sketchbooks Places & Spaces” resource to extend bought or made sketchbooks. 

  The idea here is to add pages of different sizes and ratios. Use cartridge paper or neutral sugar paper so that it can take a variety of media next week. 

  Make some pages which are long and thin and can fold back into the book accordian style. Make other pages fat and wide. Encourage pupils to think creatively about how they can extend their sketchbook ready for the next few weeks. 

• Week 3 & 4 & 5: Introduce & Explore
  

  Be Inspired by Kittie Jones or Saoirse Morgan

  

  Use the free to access “Talking Points: Kittie Jones” or the “Talking Points: Saoirse Morgan” resource to be inspired by how the artist combines different media in their work to capture the energy and spirit of place. 

  Again use the “Making Visual Notes” resource to get pupils to think about the chosen artists approach approach in sketchbooks.

• Time to Experiment & Create
  

  Exploring Mixed Media

  

  With the emphasis on exploration and experimentation, ensure pupils work in sketchbooks, or if it feels right towards the end of the project on larger sheets of paper, to discover how they can use different combinations of media to capture the energy and spirit of place. 

  Use the “Mixed Media Landscape Challenges” resource to inspire and enable their exploration. Allow children to take their time and give them the space to explore as many of the challenges as feels right. We recommend structuring the challenges so all pupils do the same challenge at the same time.

  Ideally pupils will be able to draw outside, in whatever your local habitat is – the school grounds, or a local park. Try to work outside for at least one session, but if this is not possible or you wish to draw from a different kind of land or city scape (for example to link in with a curriculum theme) then pupils can draw from image or film. 

  You may like to use the free to access resources below as source imagery – or find your own.  

  Drawing Source Material: Drone Footage over Urban Landscapes

  Drawing Source Material: Drone Footage over Rural Landscapes

• Additional Inspiration
  

  Graphite Sketches

  Take inspiration from the ‘Graphite Sketches‘ resource and encourage pupils to explore perspective, tone and mark-making using water-soluble graphite and brushes.

• If you wish to extend or challenge:
  

  Introduction to Watercolour

  

  You may wish to use the “Introduction to Watercolour” resource if you wish to steer pupils towards a final outcome using watercolour. However, we’d emphasis that this isn’t necessary and a great deal of skills will have been learnt through the above exploration. 

• Week 6: Present & Share
  

  Share, Reflect, Discuss

  

  Time to see the work which has been made, talk about intention and outcome.

  Display the work in a clear space, with sketchbooks open on desks – encouraging pupils to carefully and respectfully look in each others books. Walk around the work as if you were in a gallery. Give the work the respect it deserves. Remind the children of their hard work.

  If you have class cameras or tablets, invite the children to document their work.

  You might like to assemble any loose drawings made on sheets into a Backwards Sketchbook. 

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit”.

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Talking Points: Mark Hearld

Explore the work of printmaker, collager and ceramicist

Never-Ending Landscapes

Take inspiration from observational drawings to create fictional landscapes

Sculptural Environments inspired by Hockney

Create a class installation inspired by artist David Hockney

Talking Points: Saoirse Morgan

Explore the work of seascape painter Saoirse Morgan

Layers in the landscape

Create relief sculptures of the landscape

diary of a sculptural sketchbook

Sculpt the landscape out of the paper

Painting the storm

A weather-inspired exploration of watercolour and graphite

Pathway for Years 1 & 2

Disciplines:
Drawing, Making, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That artists sometimes use sound to inspire their work. 

• That artists sometimes work in partnership with musicians. 

• That we can use both aural and visual senses to make art.

• That we can draw from our imagination, using lots of different kinds of abstract marks to express our feelings, whether they are quiet and focussed, or loud and expressive.

• That we can be inventive and make objects in 3 dimensions which make sounds, and which we want to interact with as humans. 

In this pathway children are introduced to the idea that artists often work in partnership and are often inspired by other art forms – in this case music and the visual arts. 

Children explore how other artists have used sound to inspire their artwork, and then go on to experiment with how they can use their mark making skills to both be influenced by, and to capture, the expression in music. 

Children then explore making skills to collage or make inventive instruments, creating a class “orchestra”.

Medium:
Paper, Drawing Materials, Paint, Construction Materials

Artists: Kandinsky, Various “Projection Mapping” artists

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

Geography: Adapt the music you listen and draw to, according to geographical region or continent to help develop sense of place.

Science: The 5 senses, the human body, materials.

Music: Rhymes and chants, musical instruments, combining sounds.

PSHE: Explore the music made from instruments from other countries, Collaboration, Peer Discussion.

I Can…

• I have seen how some artists are inspired by other artforms such as music. I can share my response to their work, and listen to others.

• I can listen to sounds, and use my mark making skills to make marks in response.

• I can draw from observation whilst listening to a piece of music, and let the music inspire my drawing.

• I can use my imagination and work on a larger scale to make drawings of imaginative instruments, or I can use my hands to invent musical instruments made from construction materials.

• I can share my work with the class.

• I can reflect upon what I have made and share my work with the class. I can listen to their responses to my work, and talk about my response to their work. 

• I can take photos of my artwork.

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, coloured pencils or pastels, handwriting pens.

Project 1: Paint an Imaginary Orchestra – Large (A1 or A2) cartridge paper or thin card, coloured paper, foil or metallic paper, marker pens, scissors, tape, paint, brushes.

Project 2: Making Musical Instruments – cardboard, wood, buttons, lids, shells, string, ribbons and other construction materials.

Pathway: Music and Art

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aim of Pathway

  The aim of this pathway is to introduce pupils to some of the links between art and music. Pupils use rhythm and sound to inspire artwork. 

• Week 1: Slow Drawing
  

  Drawing to a Metronome

  

  Settle students with some “Drawing to the Slow Rhythm of a Metronome“. Invite children to make careful, slow drawings with a sharp graphite pencil. Work in sketchbooks and introduce to children the idea that making drawings can be a quiet, slow, thoughtful activity. 

• Introduce an Artist
  

  Wassily Kandinsky

  

  Explore the work of Kandinsky who was a pioneer in abstraction. Use the free to access “Talking Points: Wassily Kandinsky” resource to find out what synaesthesia is, and how it helped him to paint music. Encourage children to have their sketchbooks open to make some “Making Visual Notes“.

• Week 2: Work in Sketchbooks
  

  Mark Making and Sound

  

  Enable learners to develop their mark-making skills with these 3 “Mark Making and Sound” exercises.

  This activity explores how we can use sound as a stimulus to develop the kinds of marks we can make.

  Children will find out how abstract mark making can capture the spirit of a piece of music.

  Children will then take what they have learnt about rhythm and mark making into observational drawing.

• Introduce an Artist
  

  Tomoko Kawao

  Explore the free to access “Talking Points: Tomoko Kawao” resource to discover an artist who makes large scale work using one unbroken movement of a brush.

  Use the questions at the bottom of the resource to help guide your class conversation. 

• Week 3: Sketchbooks
  

  Show Me What You See

  Working in sketchbooks, use the “Show Me What You See” technique to help pupils visually explore orchestras and musical instruments. Take inspiration from the free to access “Drawing Source Material: Orchestras and Instruments“.

  During the exercise, draw the children’s attention to the visual elements of the artwork, including talking about shape, colour and composition. As well as using line in sketchbooks to describe shapes, also use colour (pastel, crayon, pens etc).

  By the end of the session sketchbooks should be full of pupil’s interpretations of different elements (shapes, lines etc) from the video.

• Take a Break & Inspire
  

  Exploring Projection Mapping

  If you feel your pupils would benefit from being inspired by more art made by artists, introduce them to Projection Mapping and music with this video by Light Odyssey in our free to access “Talking Points: What is Projection Mapping“. 

  Use the questions at the bottom of the resource to help guide your class conversation.

• Play
  

  Paint Music with Google Arts & Culture

  Finish the session with this fun interactive activity. 

• Week 4 & 5: Find your Focus
  

  Explore Making or Drawing Instruments

  For the next two weeks work on one of the projects below. 

• Option 1
  

  Paint an Imaginary Orchestra

  

  Start the session with “Backwards Forwards” drawings before moving on to creating a “Cheerful Orchestra“.

  This workshop brings together mythical beasts and musical notes, however it can be adapted to link with curriculum topics such as animals or food.

  Encourage children to draw large and fast so that they can explore a range of materials to create the details. 

  This resource is split into 3 different parts. Depending on time you can pick and choose which activities you’d like your class to do.

  The first part of this resource explores inventing instruments. This is followed by responding to music with narrative. The final part of the activity entails children creating a self portrait of themselves playing an instrument.

  By the end of the session children will have formed an extraordinary noisy orchestra.

• 
  

  Or…

• Option 2
  

  Making Musical Instruments

  

  If you think your children would benefit, warm up using the “Making Prompt Cards” and follow on by creating music instruments below.

  Explore recycled materials to “Make Musical Instruments” and explore sound making. 

  This activity not only explores the process of making but also how to produce different sounds and rhythms with the invented musical instruments.

  Encourage children to make decisions about  material, form, design and colour, experimenting using simple tools to create unusual, surprising sounds.

• Week 6: Reflect and Discuss
  

  Present, Talk, Share and Celebrate

  

  End the pathway by taking time to appreciate the developmental stages and the final outcomes in a clear space.

  Depending upon the project option chosen, display the work appropriately including having open sketchbooks. Use the “Crit in the Classroom” resource to help you. 

  Encourage children to reflect upon all stages of the journey, and reference the artists studied. 

  If available, children can use tablets or cameras to take photographs of the work. 

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

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movement maps

Translate lines, marks and pattern into movement and memories

Painting the storm

Create a stormy painting to the sound of rainy weather

Sketchbooks & Performance

Create expressive drawings in response to performers and audiences

Pathway for Years 3 & 4

Disciplines:
Drawing, Animation, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That artists can make animations by creating drawings which move in a sequence.

• That we can use all our mark making skills and imagination to make our drawings visually engaging.

• That we can use our moving drawings to share narratives. 

In this pathway children are introduced to the idea that animations can be made by sequencing drawings. 

After exploring the work of other artists making drawn animations, children make simple “paper puppets” with moving parts. Pupils also make a “background” for their puppets, and if you wish, then go on to make very simple animations using tablets. 

Medium:
Paper, (Digital media)

Artists: Lauren Child, Steve Kirby, Andrew Fox, Lucinda Schreiber

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

English: Bring characters from literature to life.

History: Make an animated drawing / portrait of a well know historical figure.

Maths: Measuring, weight, position, direction, movement.

Science: Animals, the human body, habitats, materials.

Music & Drama: Link to drama to collaborate and act out short narratives.

I Can…

• I can talk about the work of other animators who make animations from their drawings. I can share what I like, and how it makes me feel.

• I can use my sketchbook to gather ideas from other artists, and start to think about a simple moving drawing I might make.

• I can use observational skills to look at source material to inspire my character and make drawings. 

• I can use my imagination to think about how my character might move.

• I can create a background for my character.

• I can use digital media to film my animation.

• I can share my moving drawing, either through an animation or by showing classmates how it would move. 

• I can reflect and articulate my thoughts about my own artwork and that of my peers. 

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Soft B pencils, coloured pencils, handwriting pens, white and/or corrugated card, paper fasteners for moving joints, kebab sticks, masking tape, ready mixed paints, scissors.

(For shared background drawing) Black ink in pots, feathers cut as quills, black handwriting pens, Sharpies, pencils, roll of paper.

Pathway: Making Animated Drawings

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• The Aims of the Pathway

  The aim of this pathway is to introduce children to the idea that we can create moving imagery through sequenced drawings. 

• Week 1: Introduce
  

  What is Animation?

  Introduce children to the idea that we can make single drawings and then string them together to make the drawings move. Use the free to access “Talking Points: Making Drawings Move” resource to explore this idea.

• Explore
  

  Show Me What You See

  

  Working in a sketchbook, use the free to access “Drawing Source Material: The Natural World” resource to practice drawing skills.

  Think about how you can challenge pupils to make line drawings of animals using a handwriting pen (so they don’t worry about mistakes). Pause a moment on the video, give them a time limit of say 1 minute, and invite them to make a line drawing in one continuous line. Then move the film on, pause again and repeat. The drawings can be on the same page – like flickers or memories. The aim is just to warm up and to begin to tune into lines and shapes of animals and how they move. Use the “Show Me What You See” resource to support your facilitation.

• Week 2: Explore
  

  Paper Cut Puppets

  

  Watch the free to access “Talking Points: Paper Cut Puppets Showreel” to explore what might be possible when you make paper “puppets” which you can then animate. 

  With sketchbooks open as you watch the showreel above, invite the children to begin “Making Visual Notes” in their sketchbooks.  Ask them to pretend to be “magpies” and to jot down anything that they see which they would like to try. What catches their eye? Perhaps challenge them to keep their notes on one page so that the page is full of ideas and words. It doesn’t have to be in order, and colour could be used too. 

  Play the showreel more than once, pause it regularly and invite children to talk about what they see and what they like. 

  This kind of learning (gathering information) is a skill, so take it slowly and give them time to practice. Purposely stop the film in the resource and ask them to turn to their sketchbook to add notes. 

  Let children know that they will be creating their own paper “puppet” and describe their theme or area of focus might be (ie animals which live in the jungle, Ancient Egyptians etc). Then continuing in sketchbooks, and using source material which is appropriate to your theme, ask them to start planning what their puppet might be, and what action they would like it to perform.

  N.B Key here is that the action should be simple. For example, rolling eyes or moving an arm might be enough. Picking up a ball and throwing it will be too much for most children in the time given. 

• Week 3,4 and 5
  

  Make Your Moveable Drawings

  

  Use the following resources to enable children to make their moveable drawings.

  Please note all these resources follow a similar plan so visit them all and combine to suit.

  Cardboard Robots with Moveable Joints

  Making Drawings that Move

  Making Articulated Beasts Part 1

  Articulated Animals

• Invigorate!
  

  Explore the Work of Lauren Child

  

  At a point when children need an injection of energy, introduce them to the work of Lauren Child through the free to access “Talking Points: Lauren Child” resource. Explore how Lauren works as an artist and look for clues and tips in her working process. Use sketchbooks for “Making Visual Notes“. 

• Additional Activity
  

  Creating a Background

  

  You may like to invite the pupils to create a background for their moveable drawings, appropriate to the theme.

  This could be a shared drawing, as shown in the “Shared Ink Drawing” resource, or it could be a drawn background for each child.

• Additional Activity
  

  Animating the Drawings

  If you have access to tablets, you may like to animate some of the drawings, you could also spend less time making the moveable drawings and more time animating them if that is of interest to you.

  

  Find out how to make digital animations using the “Exploring Digital Animation” resource.

• Week 6: Present Work
  

  Share, Reflect, Celebrate

  

  If children have animated their articulated beasts, pull down the blinds and watch all of the animations together. 

  Present all work in a clear space and take the opportunity to visit all work made like a mini gallery. Use the “Crits in the Classroom” resource.

See This Pathway Used In Schools

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Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

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A School full of characters

Explore capturing facial expressions through cartoon sketches

Chimera Drawings

Create chimera drawings and use the ‘articulated beasts’ resource to make them move

Pathway for Years 1 & 2

Disciplines:
Drawing, Collage, Sketchbooks

Key Concepts:

• That artists can be inspired by the flora and fauna around them.

• That we can use careful looking to help our drawing, and use drawing to help looking.

• That we can use a variety of materials to make images, and that the images we make can become imaginative.

• That we can create individual artwork, and that we can bring that artwork together to make a shared artwork.

In this pathway children are introduced to the idea that many artists use flora and fauna to inspire their work. We look at artists who used drawing as a way to accurately capture the way plants and insects look, and artists who use their imagination to create their own versions of flora and fauna.

Children spend time engaged in close looking as a way to build drawing skills. They also experiment with new materials. 

They practice cutting and collage skills and explore shape and colour to build images.

Finally there is the opportunity for children to work collaboratively on a shared background for the artwork, and pupils can see how their individual efforts are valued as part of a larger class artwork. 

Medium:
Handwriting pen, Graphite, Oil pastel, Paper & Collage

Artists: Eric Carle, Joseph Redoute, Jan Van Kessel

If you use this resource in your setting, please tag us on social media: #InspiredBy @accessart (facebook, twitter) @accessart.org.uk (instagram) and share the url. Thank you!

Teaching Notes

Find the MTP for this pathway here.

Curriculum Links

English: Explore The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or books illustrated in similar style.  

Geography: Explore habitats, soil, vegetation, cities/towns/villages, seasonal weathers. Use language which supports these ideas.  

Science: Identify common and wild plants, insects, food chains, life cycle, living and decay. 

PSHE: Responsibility to the planet, Collaboration, Peer Discussion. 

I Can…

• I have enjoyed looking at art made by other artists inspired by flora and fauna. 

• I can look closely at insects and plants and make drawings using pen to describe what I see.

• I can experiment using graphite and oil pastel and make my own insects.

• I can cut out shapes in different colours, and use these shapes to make an insect or bug. I can think about its body parts and what I would like them to look like.

• I can work with my classmates to make a shared drawing.

• I can share my artwork with the class. I can listen to what my classmates like about it and I can share what I like about their work. 

Time

This pathway takes 6 weeks, with an hour per week. Shorten or lengthen the suggested pathway according to time and experience. Follow the stages in green for a shorter pathway or less complex journey.

Materials

Sketchbooks, soft pencils, coloured pencils, oil/chalk pastels, handwriting pens, graphite, collage papers, A1 paper, water colour and/or ready mixed paint over sugar paper, brushes, scrap papers.

Pathway: Inspired by Flora & Fauna

A PDF of this pathway can be found here.

• Aims of Pathway

  The aim of this pathway is to introduce children to the idea that artists can be inspired by the flora and fauna around them. 

• Week 1: Introduce
  

  Explore the Work of Artists Who Are Inspired by Flora & Fauna

  

  Introduce children to the work of one or more artists on the free to access “Talking Points: Artists Inspired by Flora & Fauna” resource. Use the resource as a starting point to encourage an exploration. You may also have artists local to you who are inspired by your local flora and fauna. 

  Invite pupils to make drawings in their sketchbooks of their favourite artworks as a way of enabling them to start to build a collection of “experiences” in their sketchbook. Make time as you look at the resource above for this activity. 

• Week 2: Show Me What You See
  

  Drawing from Film

  

  Working from the free to access “Drawing Source Material: Insects” resource, invite children to make drawings of the insects, working in their sketchbooks.

  Pause the films at various points, and invite the children to verbally describe what they see, what they notice, before inviting them to make sketches in their books. As they sketch, give them a time limit (like 5 or 10 minutes) and talk to them about the things they just noticed, so that they think of these things as they draw.

  Use a handwriting pen and encourage them to make their drawings fill the page. 

  Use the “Show Me What You See” to support your facilitation.

• Week 3: Deepen the Exploration
  

  Using Graphite and Oil Pastel

  

  Use the “Graphite and Oil Pastel” resource to encourage children to expand their mark making.

  Pupils can draw again from the films above, or from colour photocopies, or if you can get them, buy (or loan) insect samples. Encourage children to continue close and careful looking. 

  Remember this is also about learning how a new material works (oil pastel and chunky graphite). Pupils will need to work on a slightly larger scale to accommodate the medium.

• Week 4 & 5
  

  Make Your Minibeast Collage

  

  Invite the children to make individual mini beast collages which you can display as one. Use the “Mini Beast Artwork” resource. 

• Inspire
  

  Introduce Eric Carle

  

  When you feel children need a break or need inspiring, use the free to access “Talking Points: Eric Carle” resource to invigorate them. 

• Extension
  

  Collaborate

  

  If you have time, or if you have a group of pupils who need a challenge, invite them to work together to make a painting of a flower meadow. This could exist as an artwork in itself, or as a background to your collaged minibeasts.

  Use the “Drawing Source Material: Wild Flower Meadow” resource if they need to work from imagery. 

  Use the “Wild Flower” resource to see a painting activity which you can use. 

• Week 6: Share & Celebrate
  

  Display, Reflect & Talk

  

  Tidy the room and make space to see the sketchbook work as well as the final outcomes. 

  Remind the pupils of the progress they made, and the artists they saw along the way. Invite them to make links between the work they made in sketchbooks, on drawing sheets and final pieces, and the work by artists. 

  Encourage them to feel safe to share how they feel about their own work, and nurture an environment where pupils feel able to comment on their classmates work, treating everyones work with respect.

  Use the resource here to help you run a class “crit”.

See This Pathway Used In Schools

If You Use AccessArt Resources…
You might like to…

Join our Facebook Group

Join the AccessArt Network group on Facebook and ask questions of others using our resources

Share and Tag

Share photos of work made by tagging us on social media

You May Also Like…

Make insect sculptures

Create shiny insect sculptures

Drawing with tape

Create a forest on a classroom wall