The Arts · Year 6

Active learning ideas

Symbolism in Contemporary Art

Active learning helps students move from passive observation to close reading of visual language, which is essential for understanding symbolism. By investigating real artworks in a Gallery Walk or analyzing their own symbols, students see that meaning is constructed, not given. This hands-on approach builds the critical literacy needed to interpret contemporary art with confidence.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9AVA6E01
• AC9AVA6D01

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

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 30 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Symbol Detectives

Place five contemporary artworks around the room. In small groups, students rotate to each station and use sticky notes to identify potential symbols and what they might represent before the teacher reveals the artist's intent.

Analyze how a simple object can represent a complex human emotion.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, give each pair a clipboard with a focus question like 'What cultural knowledge might the artist assume viewers have?' to guide their observations.

What to look for

Present students with two artworks by different contemporary Australian artists. Ask: 'Choose one symbol from each artwork. Explain what you think it represents and how the artist used scale or placement to emphasize its meaning. Discuss with a partner how these symbols contribute to the artwork's overall message about identity or social issues.'

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 02

• Think-Pair-Share
• 20 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Personal Totems

Students select one everyday object that represents a part of their cultural identity. They explain their choice to a partner, then work together to sketch how that object could be transformed into a large-scale sculpture to change its meaning.

Evaluate the choices an artist makes to guide the viewer's eye through symbolic elements.

Facilitation Tip

In the Think-Pair-Share, assign roles: one student explains their totem, one paraphrases, and one connects it to a social issue to ensure equitable participation.

What to look for

Provide students with a handout featuring a single, common object (e.g., a key, a bird, a clock). Ask them to write two sentences explaining how this object could be used as a symbol in an artwork to represent a complex emotion or idea. Collect responses to gauge understanding of symbolic representation.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 03

• Inquiry Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Power of Color

Groups are assigned a specific social issue and must choose three symbols and a color palette that communicates that issue without using words. They present their 'visual pitch' to the class for feedback.

Explain how the use of scale changes the meaning and impact of a symbol in an artwork.

Facilitation Tip

For the Collaborative Investigation, provide a color wheel and emotional word banks to help students articulate how color choices influence mood and meaning.

What to look for

Students bring in a sketch or digital image of a symbol they plan to use in their artwork. In small groups, students present their chosen symbol and explain its intended meaning. Peers provide feedback on clarity: 'Is the symbol's meaning clear to you? How could the artist make its symbolic meaning stronger through scale or context?'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teaching symbolism works best when you model how to look closely, not just at what is shown but at what is implied. Avoid telling students what a symbol means; instead, guide them to consider the artist's background, the artwork's context, and their own cultural lens. Research shows that students develop deeper understanding when they create their own symbols, as this forces them to think about how meaning is constructed.

Students will confidently discuss how symbols carry layered meanings and justify their interpretations with evidence from artworks. They will use terms like context, scale, and placement to describe an artist's choices. Most importantly, they will begin to transfer this understanding to their own symbolic representations.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Gallery Walk: Symbol Detectives, watch for students who assume a symbol's meaning is the same for everyone.

  Use the activity's focus question to redirect them: 'What cultural or personal experiences might change how someone interprets this symbol? Share your thoughts with your partner.'

• During Think-Pair-Share: Personal Totems, watch for students who dismiss their chosen object as 'just a thing' without symbolic potential.

  Ask them to sketch their object and brainstorm two emotions or ideas it could represent, using the totem symbol sheets provided in the activity.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Think-Pair-Share
• Inquiry Circle