A lesson with a starter activity which focuses students on how artists communicate ideas in different ways as well as understanding that when they look at an image it is usually communicating a story, a concept, a response to something. Students are then guided to explore a discussion question relating to how artists use text in their work with a list of suggested sources. The slides have notes accompanying to prompt discussion and there are opportunities to dwell on issues of equality and diversity. This lesson is aimed at GCSE and A Level to boost response to AO1 to show extended informed comments and discussion rather than the usual biographical information on one artist.

A good intervention lesson to use an approach of looking at close up details of paintings to show a better understanding of techniques and approaches. The lesson has a starter to engage students on entry and stimulates curiosity in identifying works from close up detail. The task builds to extend responses to explore work relevant to personal project work and so hits AO1 and AO2 nicely. Ideal for KS4 and 5 but will work equally as well if you want to engage younger students in looking at painting

Good for hitting multi cultural approaches in painting - a lesson with a starter to focus students on different approaches to landscape painting in different countries around the world. I find this one useful to get students thinking in how they might identify places at first which feeds into looking at painting approaches and differences in thinking. Good for any age group and a useful intervention lesson in project work or a session on equality and diversity.

An essay to accompany the Personal Investigation component for Art Level Photography - a good example for students

This lesson covers AO 1 and 2 really well giving good opportunity for students to comment on working practice and philosophy as well as practical activity in exploring the approach. It can be used as an intervention lesson or as a part of a scheme of work in exploring different practical approaches to painting. The presentation uses close up photos of Blotter by Peter Doig taken by myself to show what peter talks about in his comments on ways of working and the lesson plan includes questioning for AFL as well as E&D .

I've found that students fond it easier to draw from sculpture source images as they can focus on the tonal aspects without being distracted by detail. This resource consists of 36 images of hands from sculpture by Rodin, Michelangelo and Bernini. It leads into suggested drawing approaches students can then adopt from direct from observation, or from photos of their own and classmates hands. These images allow students to focus on essentials of drawing - large scale charcoal drawings look really good from these, and give students confidence. This is great for any project on the figure and hits AO1 as well as AO3

A useful guide to writing a meaningful evaluation - prompts and examples for students to move them away from a descriptive list of what they did. Good for GCSE and A Level

A nice starter activity for students to consider employment rights, and how they behave in the world of employment. Its an odd one out exercise to consider what is acceptable and not acceptable in the workplace, in things they may take for granted about their appearance

A lesson starter and activity to explore Matisse's cut outs in a new approach. The starter will enable students to challenge their thinking on how an artist can work when faced with physical challenges. This is a great lesson for the promotion of equality and diversity and gives good coverage to AO1 AO2 and AO4 with them commenting on the ways of working and then taking new approaches with the cut outs of Matisse. Great for all age ranges in raising their awareness of equality and diversity. The power point slides give additional information on the artists condition and ways of working.

I developed this after a conversation with a student about a celebrity they said was now too old to be beautiful. It prompted the question at what age does someone cease to be attractive? Is it 29, 35, 40? etc. This is a fun starter with a homework task to explore this idea and will engage the students on entry having to identify 9 "beautiful" people from photographs when young with them as now, with some of them quite old! This leads into questioning on age and looking at ideals of beauty across time, which all neatly explores equality and diversity and multi cultural aspects. This is great for any age group and provides good opportunity for wider thinking and development of discussion skills.

A PowerPoint run through of a mid grade sketchbook which throws up good opportunity for students to spot what could be improved, and help them identify what they may be doing wrong. The starter activity focusses them on identifying what the differences are between approaches from students and proper artists and gives opportunity to challenge why there may be differences. A really useful lesson to focus and redirect students and hits AFL nicely with self and peer assessment.

This is a set of 16 slides featuring 30+ images of French Emblems by Claude Paradin. I use these with the boys you can come across that are not so engaged in their Art - they really go for the style of approach and the strange combinations of images, which sets their imagination going for their own ideas. Covers AO1 really well if you have students wanting to explore this kind of work with more interesting sources. For this activity they can work directly from the images before developing theirs over a series of lessons

Written as an artist's statement about their work this provides year 1 A Level Art and Design with a really good example of how to write the essay that accompanies the Personal Investigation.

A great lesson for early for creative approaches to photography. I use this in Photography but it can be used for any Art and Design where you want the student to think a bit more creatively about how they take photographs for their subject matter. I do this with the students using their phones - to get them into the mind set of using their phones more for their work. The power point shows examples of approach to use of the mirror to achieve unexpected and deceiving results, and includes a photographer as a source who they can respond to for AO1 using this approach.

A starter activity and extension task to use as a lesson of idea development, challenging students to be more ambitious in thinking how art can be made in unusual and sometimes quite fun ways. This can be used to focus students as they enter and will encourage curiosity in exploring the images as to how they might be done. Super for GCSE and A Level groups.

Advisory notice - this looks at a taboo subject and you'll need a class you feel secure with doing this with. This looks at works of art exploring a taboo subject of urination and includes works by Rembrandt, Brueghel as well as Piss Christ by Andres Serrano and images of women by photographer Sophy Rickett in office dress weeing in the street. It throws up some interesting questions for students to consider though about decency and human behaviour, reference Fundamental British Values, as well as it as a why artists choose it as a subject throughout the history of art

A fun starter to set students on arrival - getting them to look at layouts of city plans and make guesses as to location and culture of the place.

A sheet of handy reminders for students writing about Art and Design

A starter activity to engage students on arrival. This is a nice one to explore the perception of alcohol and raise awareness of issues, and can prompt some useful discussions with students.

A starter activity to engage on entry. Really useful not only for students to look at the works but also to through up conversations on the nature of prison and law and order