Learning objective
- To tell a story using colours in an artwork.
Success criteria
- I can identify colours in an artwork.
- I can
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National curriculum
Art and design
Pupils should be
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Cross-curricular links
English
Spoken language
Pupils should
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Before the lesson
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Lesson plan
Recap and recall
This activity revisits learning from the whole unit of Art and design, Year 2, Painting and mixed media: Colour mixing to help the children recall key knowledge. Ask the children to look back at the artwork they created throughout the unit, including their work inspired by Gillian Ayres and Frank Bowling. Ask them to look…
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Adaptive teaching
Pupils needing extra support:
- Could be asked closed or either/or questions to scaffold their ideas, such as ‘Is this colour bright or dark?’ or ‘Does it feel calm or exciting?’
- Could use sentence stems such as ‘I can see…’ or ‘This colour makes me feel…’
- Could respond using single words, gestures or pointing, choosing from the feeling words provided in the Resource: Colour story word bank.
Pupils working at greater depth:
- Should explain why particular colours suggest different feelings, ideas or events, referring to visual clues in the artwork.
- Should use precise and descriptive vocabulary to explain their colour choices and develop their stories, for example, swirling, energetic or calm.
- Should compare different interpretations of the same artwork, explaining how particular colours or shapes inspired different ideas.
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Assessing progress and understanding
Pupils with secure understanding can:
- Identify colours in an artwork.
- Suggest what different
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Vocabulary definitions
-
colour
The appearance of something, such as red, blue or yellow.
-
emotion
A feeling, such as happiness, sadness, anger or fear.
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In this unit
Maintained by: Kapow Primary team
Last update: 9th October, 2026
Lesson 5: Applying colour mixing skills
Using colour mixing skills to produce a painting in the style of Gillian Ayres.
Lesson 1: Exploring primary colours
Exploring how the three primary colours can be mixed to create new colours.
Lesson 4: Using paint in different ways
Exploring the ways paint can be used to create different effects.
Lesson 2: Primary and secondary colours
Exploring colour mixing and creating a range of secondary colours in paint.
