The Arts · Foundation

Active learning ideas

Exploring Textures in Art

Active learning builds memory and understanding when students can connect abstract concepts, like texture, to concrete sensory experiences. By touching, sorting, and recreating textures, young learners anchor new vocabulary and visual techniques in real sensations that stay with them longer than passive observation alone.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9AVAFE01
• AC9AVAFE02

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Experiential Learning
• 30 min · Pairs

Texture Rubbing Gallery: Nature Walk Prints

Students collect leaves, bark, and fabrics on a short outdoor walk. Back in class, they place items under paper and rub with crayons to capture textures. Display prints for a gallery walk where pairs discuss similarities to real textures.

Compare the visual representation of a rough texture to a smooth texture.

Facilitation Tip

During Texture Rubbing Gallery, place one texture rubbing sheet on the table and have students work in pairs, one tracing with paper and pencil while the other holds the object steady, to build fine motor skills and teamwork.

What to look for

Provide students with two small squares of paper, one with a rough texture (like sandpaper) and one with a smooth texture (like cardstock). Ask them to draw one line or mark on each square that they think best shows its texture. Then, ask: 'Which one feels rough, and which one feels smooth?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Experiential Learning
• 45 min · Small Groups

Collage Creation Stations: Mixed Media Layers

Set up stations with sandpaper, cotton wool, foil, and yarn. Students select three textures, glue them onto card to form a picture like a textured animal. Groups rotate stations and add drawn details to enhance effects.

Design a collage that incorporates at least three distinct textures.

Facilitation Tip

As students move through Collage Creation Stations, rotate roles at tables so each child experiences cutting, arranging, and gluing, which prevents bottlenecks and reinforces process skills.

What to look for

Show students a picture of a familiar animal (e.g., a sheep). Ask: 'What words would you use to describe the texture of its wool? How could you draw that texture using only lines and dots? What other textures can you see in nature, like on a tree or a rock?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Experiential Learning
• 20 min · Small Groups

Texture Sorting Relay: Feel and Match

Prepare bags with hidden textured items like pom poms, shells, and smooth stones. In teams, one student feels an item, describes it, and relays to teammates who select matching visuals from a chart. Switch roles after each round.

Explain how texture can add interest and meaning to an artwork.

Facilitation Tip

For the Texture Sorting Relay, set up two stations with identical sets of materials so students can compare their sorting decisions and discuss differences in small groups, reinforcing both vocabulary and observation.

What to look for

During the collage activity, circulate and ask individual students: 'Show me the three different textures you have used. Can you tell me how they feel? Which one do you think looks the most interesting, and why?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

Activity 04

• Experiential Learning
• 35 min · Whole Class

Storytime Texture Hunt: Book-Inspired Art

Read a textured picture book like 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. Students hunt classroom items matching book textures, then draw or collage their own page replicating those sensations.

Compare the visual representation of a rough texture to a smooth texture.

What to look for

Provide students with two small squares of paper, one with a rough texture (like sandpaper) and one with a smooth texture (like cardstock). Ask them to draw one line or mark on each square that they think best shows its texture. Then, ask: 'Which one feels rough, and which one feels smooth?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers approach texture by blending sensory play with visual representation, ensuring students first experience textures with their hands before transferring those ideas to paper or collage. Avoid rushing to abstraction; let students internalize rough and smooth through repeated, guided touching and naming. Research shows that young children learn best when they can verbalize their experiences and see immediate connections between touch and sight, so emphasize clear transitions between sensory input and artistic output.

Successful learning looks like students confidently identifying and describing textures with precise vocabulary, using lines, marks, and patterns to represent those textures in drawings, and intentionally combining materials in collages to create clear visual effects. Collaboration and discussion should reveal growing awareness of how texture contributes to meaning in art.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Texture Rubbing Gallery, some students may believe texture can only be felt with hands, not shown visually.

  After students complete their rubbings, hold up a rubbing next to the original object and ask them to point to the lines that remind them of the texture. Use sentence stems like, 'The bumpy lines remind me of the ______ because ______.' to guide discussion.

• During Collage Creation Stations, students may think all textures look the same in art.

  Place a smooth fabric swatch next to a crumpled paper piece and ask students to describe the differences in appearance. Ask them to adjust their collages to show how one texture looks different from another, naming each clearly as they work.

• During Storytime Texture Hunt, some students may not realize texture changes an artwork's meaning.

  After reading a story with emotional scenes (e.g., a stormy sea or a cozy blanket), ask students to choose two textures from their collage materials that match two different feelings, explaining their choices to a partner.

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Methods used in this brief

• Experiential Learning