Art and Design · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Creating Expressive Self-Portraits

Active learning builds observational skills and emotional recall that static lessons cannot. When students sketch their own faces, they notice details they’ve overlooked before. Pairing drawing with movement and discussion strengthens both technical accuracy and expressive intent.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: Art and Design - Drawing
• KS1: Art and Design - Knowledge of Artists and Designers

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 30 min · Pairs

Mirror Pairs: Feature Sketching

Pair students with hand mirrors and pre-drawn head templates. One student observes their partner's face for 3 minutes, sketches eyes, nose, and mouth positions. Partners switch and compare sketches, noting unique differences. Add emotion by exaggerating one feature.

Differentiate the shapes and positions of your facial features in a mirror.

Facilitation Tip

During Mirror Pairs, circulate with a small mirror and ask students to compare their partner’s nose bridge to their own, guiding them to spot individual differences.

What to look for

Hold up a mirror and ask students to point to specific features and describe their shape. For example: 'Show me your left eye. Is it round or almond-shaped?' 'Where is your nose in relation to your mouth?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Emotion Charades: Expressive Poses

Model emotions like happiness or sadness. In small groups, students act them out in front of mirrors, then draw their face with that expression using charcoal. Groups share one portrait each, explaining their choices to the class.

Design a self-portrait that conveys a specific emotion.

Facilitation Tip

Before Emotion Charades begins, model exaggerated expressions so students understand how to stretch features for maximum emotional impact.

What to look for

Give students a small card. Ask them to draw one facial feature (e.g., an eye) showing a specific emotion (e.g., surprise). Then, ask them to write one word describing the line quality they used (e.g., 'wiggly,' 'sharp').

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 25 min · Individual

Gallery Walk: Peer Feedback

Display all portraits around the room. Students walk individually, leaving one positive comment and one suggestion on sticky notes for three peers' works. Regroup to discuss feedback and make quick revisions with pencils.

Justify your artistic choices in representing your unique identity in your drawing.

Facilitation Tip

Set a timer for the Gallery Walk so students have five minutes to study two peers’ portraits and jot one kind, specific comment on a sticky note.

What to look for

Gather students to look at a few completed self-portraits. Ask: 'Which drawing best shows happiness? How do you know?' 'What did the artist do with their pencil or charcoal to make the eyes look sad?'

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

Activity 04

• Inside-Outside Circle
• 35 min · Small Groups

Artist Match: Style Exploration

Show three artist self-portrait images. In small groups, students vote on favorite styles, then adapt one element, like swirling lines, into their own portrait. Justify choices in a whole-class share.

Differentiate the shapes and positions of your facial features in a mirror.

Facilitation Tip

For Artist Match, prepare laminated cards with close-up details of Van Gogh’s brushstrokes so students can trace texture with their fingers before drawing.

What to look for

Hold up a mirror and ask students to point to specific features and describe their shape. For example: 'Show me your left eye. Is it round or almond-shaped?' 'Where is your nose in relation to your mouth?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with a full-class mirror exercise to normalize differences in features. Teach proportion by having students measure their head length in finger widths, then mark the eye line together. Avoid showing only one example of a self-portrait so students don’t copy instead of observe. Research shows children learn facial proportions best through repeated, hands-on sketching rather than lectures.

By the end of the unit, students will sketch their facial features with attention to proportion and line quality. They will use charcoal and pencils to convey at least two emotions in their self-portraits. Peer feedback will help them identify how lines and shapes communicate feeling.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Mirror Pairs, some students may assume all faces share the same proportions.

  Have partners sketch each other’s faces side-by-side, then point out one unique detail on each drawing. Ask, 'Which feature looks different on your partner’s face than yours?' to reinforce observation.

• During Mirror Pairs, students may insist eyes sit exactly halfway down the head.

  Give students rulers to measure their head length, then fold the paper in half to mark the eye line. Ask them to sketch again, comparing their drawing to the fold line.

• During Emotion Charades, students may believe self-portraits must look like photos to be accurate.

  After the activity, display two portraits—one realistic and one expressive. Ask students to vote which best shows the emotion and explain why, shifting focus from realism to expression.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inside-Outside Circle
• Gallery Walk