Designed as an A3 printable, this literacy mat has all the vocabulary and tips to get students’ writing about art confidently. Aimed at KS3 and KS4, there is guidance about producing high quality writing as well as art-specific vocabulary. Also works at A4 size, and can be laminated back-to-back. Visually engaging and highly effective for supporting students!

Develop literacy in the Art room with a one-page handout to support students’ vocabulary. 80+ descriptive words for writing about their own work or the work of other artists on one engaging worksheet/poster. Easy to follow, the sheet gives hints and tips to advise students on writing about art. Designed with GCSE and A level students in mind, but could also be used with more independent-minded KS3 students. Printable at either A3 as a poster, or A4 as a handout.

This powerpoint presentation is designed to be printed and then photocopied into a booklet (A5 sized) which can be stuck into the back of year 10 students sketchbooks towards the start of the GCSE course. I have found that students take the idea of managing their own learning more seriously with the handbook and that they are able to refer to pages on evaluation and artist research when needed. They seem to enjoy having this resource. The booklet has been updated to the wording of the new specification (from 2016, AQA exam board - though this is easily adapted to other boards) and includes a page outlining the projects students will cover over the year that you would probably want to adapt to suit your own course. The idea of producing this as a powerpoint is that you can also incorporate pages into your own lesson presentations where relevant throughout the year (for instance when asking students to add new vocabulary).

A fun Pop Art word search PDF with key terms relevant to this art movement. These print well at A5 (two to an A4 sheet) so are an economical, fun way to embed student learning on Pop Art.

A two page resource (can be photocopied back to back and laminated for repeated use) on Rembrandt van Rijn. This worksheet is focused on his self-portraits and in particular the graphic examples. Can be used as a cover lesson during a relevant project (self portraiture, tone, mark-making…), an extension activity, or as a whole class task. Students are asked to read the information about the artist then answer questions, try mark-making and creating a tonal ladder, then transcribing a detailed copy of one of Rembrandt’s graphic self-portraits. This could be continued into a biro self-portrait lesson or project, or be used as a stand alone resource. Designed to be easy to deploy and requires no additional resources (only black biros and paper). A fantastic resource to have on hand!

I put together these artist quotes to develop students’ understanding of what drawing can be and why it is important in art. The powerpoint can be printed as individual sheets and displayed in the classroom. Eleven thought-provoking quotes.

A level art and design students have found the Pecha Kucha format a useful way to get edit their ideas and thoughts ready for peer critique sessions. They have developed skills in speaking about their work as well as found the process of selecting and combining images helpful. This presentation introduces the format with a little background, instructions on putting together the powerpoint and then provides an exemplar.

This poster can be printed A3 or A4 sized for display in the classroom or for handing out for students. A helpful reminder of the elements needed to put together a successful project for GCSE students. Although not expressed in terms of the assessment objectives (for a change!), the elements correspond to the requirements of the exam board specifications, and present the information in a new and accessible way.

All of the woks in this self-portrait introduction lesson come from an exhibition held at Kettles Yard in Cambridge called Face Off - and none of the artworks feature the artists faces. This makes for really interesting class discussions about the nature of portraiture and also what can be used to make an artwork. The lesson has been used successfully with KS3 and KS4 students and always generated interesting ideas from the the students. To get the class thinking about their own identity, I print off the slide handout sheet from powerpoint and photocopy this for the students, then I give them 2 or 3 minutes on each slide to complete their own mini-self-portrait in response to each image (e.g. draw your own favourite shoes or sign your name...). An enjoyable lesson which sets a class up well for a self-portraiture project. There is a homework task at the end if you choose to use it.

This works best with a group between 5 to 15 students. You can use it as a prompt to consider what creativity means or as a way of getting students to think a bit more laterally… or just to bring a bit of energy to their ideas about a new theme. I have used this ‘creativity test’ with GCSE and A level students but never as a serious graded test - it is intended more as a fun or provocative activity. It is based on one way of assessing creativity where you consider four categories of thinking: orginality, fluency, flexibility and elaboration. The scoring (instructions are in the presentation) can take some time, but once students get the hang it gets quicker. The presentation gives an example at the beginning and then you give students a fixed time (say 3 minutes) to write uses for each new object (without discussing). It could be an interesting starter for a CPD event too…

Ten A4 artist quotes for display. An unusual range of artists and quotes: Mondrian and Renoir to Ai Weiwei and Sonya Boyce. These are aimed and getting students motivated to work hard and understand the artistic process a bit better...

These learning disposition stickers have been useful in my Art lessons to make the skills we are developing in a lesson explicit to students. They have been incorporated in the lesson objectives and the plenary and as a result, students have become more resilient in their approach to challenges in their work. Developed from Building Learning Power reading, I have found this language has been effective in improving attitudes to learning. Sticker sheets can be printed onto Avery L7651 stickers . This presentation could also be adapted for use in staff training / CPD.

A four-page PDF resource (can be photocopied back to back and laminated for repeated use) on the artist Keith Haring. Can be used as a cover lesson during a relevant project (Pop Art, human figure, shape, movement, graffiti …), an extension activity, independent study, or as a whole class task. Students are asked to read the information about the artist and answer questions, then create pop-up card inspired by Haring’s work. Included are image source sheets and instructions to guide students through the process. Also included are idea to develop into further investigation. The lesson requires minimal materials (thick paper or card, pens, scissors and glue) and can be carried-out in a non-specialist classroom. A great introduction to an important 20th century artist whose work is inspiring and engaging for young people.

A useful poster to point students in the right direction with web research. The PDF file is interactive - you click on the text to link to websites. Or you can print and display next to departmental computers.

A presentation and accompanying worksheet / booklet for use with students when reviewing an exhibition. This was designed for KS3 students looking at a GCSE Art exhibition in the school, but could be used for GCSE students exploring an A level show, or for a class visiting an exhibition at a museum or gallery. There are three versions of the worksheet which have been differentiated for lower, mid and high ability students. The lesson finishes with students sharing their reviews and giving feedback to one another. I have found this to be a successful way to structure and focus the opportunity of getting students to look at the artwork of those in the years above (and incidentally to get them excited about studying Art at GCSE themselves!).

This lesson is designed to give structure to a standard GCSE art project lesson where students are working on individual projects. The format asks students to identify priorities initially and then specify what they should achieve in the lesson. The plenary reviews this, and then sets home learning that arises. The aim is to encourage students to take personal responsibility for their projects and to avoid procrastination during the lesson! There are 4 slides in the powerpoint which should be printed off (possibly laminated for repeated use) and used by students to help identify their personal priorities. Each slide looks at an assessment objective and explains what it is asking for as well as some ‘top tips’ for achieving good marks. The lesson would work well after an interim assessment, or when you feel the class needs more urgency/momentum. I have also used this in an observed lesson to ensure it is clear how students are making progress. A copy of slide number 11 should be printed off for each student.

This lesson was designed for a year 9 class to introduce the concept of Abstraction. There is an introduction with background and definition and then two artists looked at in more detail: Piet Mondrian and Beatriz Milhazes. There are opportunities for discussion of ideas throughout and students are asked key questions. The presentation finishes by setting a homework task where students research one of the artists and present a page in their sketchbooks. There is a template provided to guide students in producing high quality artist research and two student examples. (slides 29 to 34 can be printed as a '6 slide to a page handout' and photocopied for students to follow) There is a short quiz mid way through the presentation - and a slide at the end which can be printed as a differentiated version of the quiz for individual students. Also at the end is a page of links to helpful web resources which support the lesson. There is a link to a 5 minute video on Milhazes in the presentation which provided interesting context. I have found that this lesson is unusually wordy but that students respond very well to the concepts and seem to really enjoy looking at these artists in more detail - I have received some excellent homework from this lesson!

This is a powerpoint presentation of photographs of a successful Foundation application portfolio. The sheets are A1 in reality but they have been photographed and put into a presentation to show students preparing their own portfolio as guidance, example and discussion points. The portfolio was accepted to Central St Martins, along with other universities to study on a Foundation course.

A fun clay vocabulary word search PDF with 12 vocabulary terms to find relating to ceramics. These print well at A5 (two to an A4 sheet) so are an economical, fun way to embed student learning, building on literacy, extending vocabulary with any clay scheme of work.

Aimed at KS4 and 5, this presentation is designed to accompany a photogram workshop giving artist links and information, simple instructions, weblinks for further research and potential techniques to develop and explore such as scanography, cyanotypes, silhouettes... Artist links include Anna Atkins, Man Ray, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Jenny Saville, Paul Morrison, Susan Derges. A really useful structure for the setting up of a practical workshop with guidance for students on writing-up and then developing their ideas through further techniques.