This is a one-page handout designed for GCSE Art and Design students to support them in pacing themselves through the preparation period for their exam. The sheet gives week by week advice on what they should be doing in order to arrive at the exam day ready! Students can use the sheet to support independent study and to tick off as they complete tasks. It is also a useful way of communicating the expected progress students should be making to parents… This sheet could also be easily adapted for A level students if needed. A quick an easy sheet to photocopy and pop in sketchbooks to get young artists off to an enthusiastic start with their exam. I have uploaded a Word version so you can edit it (this one is for AQA exam board and mentions in week 1 that students should choose their question) or the more ‘designed’ version which is a PDF (printable as an A3 poster).

This fun Christmas themed activity lesson covers repeat printing (cross-curricular link to Maths) and gives step by step instructions on how to create a sheet of wrapping paper by potato printing. The lesson is designed to keep things as simple as possible - mess is kept to a minimum by using one printing colour only. You can use newsprint or brown craft paper as a cheap wrapping paper base, or even tissue paper if you want but this can tear more easily. You could simplify things further for younger students by preparing the potato stamps in advance (if students work in pairs, you could cut 15 potato stamps before the lesson). Tip: a pack of cheap wet-wipes is always handy in these lessons to clear away quickly.

This is a workshop lesson with starter and plenary activities for students to explore textures in natural forms, looking at the work of Peter Randall Page and with links to Kate Malone and Ernst Haeckel. The session was designed for a GCSE class in preparation for an exam project but could be used for KS3 or KS5. Great for developing skills and getting students enthusiastic about working in clay.

A really useful introductory lesson to Art (for year 7s or other KS3 classes). With key information about equipment, expectations and then a simple drawing task to assess skills and set a tone for focus in Art lessons. During the 45 minute drawing task you are able to move around the classroom as students are working in silence (more or less!) and get to know the strengths and weaknesses of students. Although it creates a bit of work, I always like to write a comment for each student after this lesson, so they see that you take their efforts seriously. There is a little plenary where students annotate their own work. A simple, but very useful and enjoyable lesson!

An A3 pdf poster for artroom display to support students' understanding of the Assessment Objectives. This version uses the 'old specification' wording for this years' GCSE (year 11) students - a 'new spec' version is also available for year 10s. The poster aims to keep it simple and provides short 'student speak' explanations of what each assessment objective is looking for. The idea of the poster is to present the process of the project from the perspective of an explorer: developing ideas (using a compass to set a course for the investigation), refining skills with appropriate tools (penknife illustration), recording ideas by observing carefully (binoculars) and documenting, and finally shining a light on the culmination of the adventure! A timely piece of classroom display to remind students what they need for both coursework and exam projects. The pdf can be printed at A3 size or reduced down to A4.

A handout printable at A4 or A3 with a checklist for GCSE art students to self assess their project. The second page (you can print these back to back) includes the assessment objective headings and the description of a grade 8 to further support self-assessment. Students are asked to consider strengths and weaknesses and to come up with three initial targets. Ideal for mid-point or interim assessment tool, and a document students can revisit to monitor their own progress. Excellent for encouraging independence and support students to take responsibility for their own development. The resource works well with this vocabulary handout and this guide to annotation. New for 2023: LOCK theme mind map is available here *

A final reminder to students preparing for their GCSE or A level art exam: what to do and how to do it... Good for the last push to help them get it right in the controlled assessment... Can be printed for display or handout at either A3 or A4 size.

An A3 pdf poster for artroom display to support students’ understanding of the Assessment Objectives. This version uses the ‘new specification’ wording (for year 10 students now) - a version with the ‘old spec’ wording is also available in my shop, though there is not too much difference between them! The poster aims to keep it simple and provides short ‘student speak’ explanations of what each assessment objective is looking for. The idea of the poster is to present the process of the project from the perspective of an explorer: developing ideas (using a compass to set a course for the investigation), refining skills with appropriate tools (penknife illustration), recording ideas by observing carefully (binoculars) and documenting, and finally shining a light on the culmination of the adventure! A timely piece of classroom display to remind students how they are assessed for both coursework and exam projects. The pdf can be printed at A3 size or reduced down to A4.

Originally designed to accompany a workshop to introduce Primary teachers to some quick and easy printmaking techniques, this sheet summarises the ‘how to’ and gives instructions for materials and well as variations on approaches to both monoprinting and polyblock printing. A good starting point for teachers new to these techniques, or used as a handout to accompany a printing workshop for students, this 2 page resources covers the basics as well as giving some useful weblinks for further investigation. I have uploaded both Word and PDF versions of the same sheet as sometimes the formatting on Word can go a bit wonky!

This page can be printed at A3 size then folded down into a small booklet which gives page by page instructions for an exam project on the Beginning and/or End theme. The sheet is designed for students who struggle to work completely independently and need more guidance on how to structure their project. The theme is narrowed to Seasons and then Spring and then takes natural forms such as flowers and seedpods as the focus. This enables students to produce high quality observational drawing and photography. Two artists researches are specified: Angie Lewin and Beatriz Milhazes with a choice of the third (suggestions are given: William Morris, Margaret Mee, Catherine Bertola and Karl Blossfeldt). Students are instructed to work in a range of media and then need to develop their own outcome from their investigations. If they have followed the steps they will end up with a coherent project, covering all of the assessment objectives. I have found that students like the balance of independence and structure that the book gives them and helps avoid wasted time where they are looking at random ideas without a strong thread. Instructions for folding the zine from the printed page are also given.

A useful reminder to students of the elements needed for a brilliant art project. Not written in terms of assessment objectives (for a change!) this infographic does correspond to the AO's but designed to present a more intuitive process, reminding students of the balance of research, skill and creativity required.

Christmas season one-off lesson where students create their own repeat pattern wallpaper using potato printing. This version has instructions using water-based paints (acrylic gives a good opaque colour, but you can use poster paint too) and paint brushes, rather than printing ink and rollers (there is another version of this resource in my shop with instructions for this kind of printing). A fun lesson with good cross-curricular links to design and technology and maths (repeat patterns, rotation). The lesson requires some largish paper to print the wrapping paper - you can use what you have for this... brown craft paper works well; newsprint is cheap and good; sugar paper tends to be a bit thick but has the added benefit of colour and can look good in a display; tissue paper also works but can tear more easily. Although this is a practical lesson, mess is kept to a minimum by using paper plates as palettes which can be thrown away after use. A good tip is to have some cheap wet wipes to help speed up the clean up at the end. If you want to simplify things (perhaps for younger students) you can prepare potato stamps in advance to avoid having students cutting them in the lesson.

A printable worksheet to support students in improving artist research. This resource prompts all the areas of research and provides questions to sparks ideas. Page one is a worksheet which can be filled in with information about the chosen artist being researched. Page two provides additional support in the form of 20 analysis questions plus advice about writing meaningfully about artworks. A great resource for improving the quality of artist research pages! Use as a draft to gather information and then transfer into sketchbooks or mounted pages in a creative way. This two-page PDF gives students guidance and inspiration to produce excellent artist research pages. Primary targets are KS4, but can be used equally with KS3 and KS5. Printable at A3 and A4 size - stick them up as display for constant reference or photocopy for sketchbooks or focused research lesson.

Resources to support felt making in the classroom. There is an instruction sheet and a information sheet on felt making craft traditions around the world with a corresponding sheet with comprehension questions for students. Felt making is a brilliant textile craft to bring into lessons as it is very tactile and a ‘magic’ process whereby the materials transform as you work them. Resources needed for felt making are listed, and it should be possible to create a small sample piece over two lessons (one dry lesson, where the piece is created, and one wet lesson where it is felted). Originally created for a year 9 group, this could be used with GCSE students as a workshop too.

4 pages to kick the exam off in the right way: set expectations and focus on students’ own responsibility for planning their project from the outset. Pages on: timeline, assessment objectives and evaluation, which can be supplemented with your own sheets if desired, and photocopied into a booklet to handout. Two versions are included: one for AQA A level assessment, one for Edexcel A level assessment. You may also be interested in this quick reference student-speak Assessment Objectives bookmark for KS5. Set the right tone from the start!

Designed initially to support year 12 students with sketchbook annotation, this presentation has also been useful with GCSE and year 13 artists. The presentation provides some discussion points and also some clear directions of the 'what not to do’s of sketchbook annotation. Students are asked to look at some examples of sketchbook annotation, so it is useful if you have some old books - good or not - for analysis and discussion. If not, there are two examples in the presentation you can use. The presentation asks students to then look at their own sketchbooks and set their own independent study task, using what they have learnt. I have found this to be a successful starter for lessons, taking about 25 minutes and encouraging independence.

A colour wheel lesson which has the theory with examples and instructions for a practical task (creating a colour wheel with coloured pencil and oil pastels). This is a great straight forward lesson to cover the basics of colour theory with your art and design classes. A template for the colour wheel is included (students can trace this through into their books). Monet is the contextual link and examples are given of how colour theory is applied in his work. A plenary looks at how packaging design uses complimentary colours too.

This A3 PDF page is an interactive mind-map designed to be a starting point for students' exploration of the theme. There are over 50 artists on the mind-map, organised in to sub-themes. Can be used in a digital form and you can click on the artist names to link to examples of relevant work on the internet, or printed out and annotated by individual students to develop their ideas. This is a fun way to get students exploring a wide range of artists and designers from different time periods, working in different media...

An A4 PDF file with key questions for student evaluations. Presented in an accessible and engaging way, this is a handy reminder to art students of the areas they should cover in a meaningful project evaluation. Tried and tested - I have found students respond very well and think carefully about their answers which has a positive impact on the next project!

A folding leaflet for students giving information on choosing Art & Design for GCSE. The sections emphasise the importance of a dedicted approach to the subject whilst highlighting the unique and fun nature of the subject. A great resource to have on hand for options evenings or to have a the ready to hand to interested students or parents. Print the A4 pages and photocopy back to back, then fold into a professional looking leaflet.