Art and Design · Year 1 · Artists Through Time · Spring Term

Exploring Portraits by Frida Kahlo

Students examine Frida Kahlo's self-portraits, discussing how she used art to express her feelings and experiences.

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

About This Topic

Frida Kahlo's self-portraits introduce Year 1 students to how artists use symbols to share personal stories and feelings. Children examine paintings like 'Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird', spotting elements such as monkeys for playfulness, tears for sadness, or vines for growth. These discussions meet KS1 Art and Design goals for artist knowledge and painting to express ideas, while building vocabulary around colour, line, and symbolism.

The topic links students' earlier self-portraits to Kahlo's work, prompting comparisons of realistic faces versus symbolic additions. Key questions guide analysis of how her life events, like illness or Mexican culture, shape her art. This develops empathy and cultural awareness, showing art as a tool for storytelling beyond appearance.

Active learning excels with this topic through tactile and collaborative tasks. When students handle printed images to circle symbols, recreate them with collage materials, or explain choices in pairs, they grasp emotional expression firsthand. Such methods turn observation into creation, making concepts stick and sparking joy in personal artistry.

Key Questions

1. Analyze how Frida Kahlo uses symbols in her portraits to tell a story.
2. Compare Kahlo's self-portraits to the self-portraits you created earlier.
3. Explain how an artist's life experiences can influence their artwork.

Learning Objectives

• Identify symbols within Frida Kahlo's self-portraits that represent her feelings and experiences.
• Compare and contrast elements in Frida Kahlo's self-portraits with self-portraits created by students.
• Explain how specific life events, such as illness or cultural background, are visually represented in Frida Kahlo's artwork.
• Analyze the use of color and line in Frida Kahlo's self-portraits to convey emotion.
• Classify symbols used by Frida Kahlo into categories representing emotions or personal experiences.

Before You Start

Introduction to Self-Portraits

Why: Students need prior experience creating their own self-portraits to make meaningful comparisons with an artist's work.

Basic Color and Line

Why: Understanding how colors and lines can be used to create images is foundational for analyzing an artist's techniques.

Key Vocabulary

Self-portrait	A portrait of an artist created by the artist themselves. Frida Kahlo is famous for her many self-portraits.
Symbolism	The use of objects or images to represent ideas or feelings. Frida Kahlo used symbols like monkeys and hummingbirds to show things about her life.
Expression	The way an artist shows their thoughts or feelings through their art. Kahlo's paintings express her emotions.
Influence	The power to affect someone or something. An artist's life experiences can influence their artwork.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Portraits must look exactly like real faces.

What to Teach Instead

Kahlo prioritises feelings over realism with symbols like animals. Pair comparisons of student portraits to hers reveal expression matters more; drawing symbolic tweaks builds this understanding through trial and error.

Common Misconception

Symbols have fixed meanings for everyone.

What to Teach Instead

A monkey means love to Kahlo but play to a child. Group hunts and story circles let students debate personal interpretations, clarifying symbols convey individual stories via shared discussion.

Common Misconception

Artists' lives do not shape their art.

What to Teach Instead

Children may think paintings come only from imagination. Linking Kahlo's accidents to thorns via timelines and role-play discussions shows real influences; creating response art reinforces this connection.

Active Learning Ideas

Gallery Walk: Kahlo Symbol Hunt

Display enlarged prints of three Kahlo self-portraits around the room. Students walk in small groups, circling symbols on worksheets and noting possible meanings like 'monkey = friend'. Regroup to share findings on a class chart.

25 min·Small Groups

Pairs: Compare My Portrait

Pair students with their earlier self-portraits next to Kahlo images. They discuss differences, such as 'I drew my hair realistically; Kahlo added flowers for Mexico'. Draw one symbolic addition to their own portrait.

20 min·Pairs

Whole Class: Story Circle

Sit in a circle with a Kahlo portrait projected. Each child adds a sentence to a group story explaining the symbols, like 'The thorns hurt because Frida was poorly'. Record and illustrate the story together.

30 min·Whole Class

Individual: Symbolic Selfie

Students draw a quick self-portrait adding one personal symbol, such as a pet or favourite food. Label it and share with a partner why it shows their feelings.

15 min·Individual

Real-World Connections

• Museum curators, like those at the Tate Modern in London, study artists' lives and works to create exhibitions that help the public understand the stories behind the art.
• Illustrators creating children's books often use symbols to help young readers understand characters' feelings and the story's message, similar to how Kahlo used symbols in her paintings.
• Therapists sometimes use art-making activities, including portraiture, to help individuals express emotions and experiences they find difficult to put into words.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Give each student a small card. Ask them to draw one symbol they saw in a Frida Kahlo painting and write one word next to it explaining what it represents. Collect these to check for understanding of symbolism.

Discussion Prompt

Display two of Frida Kahlo's self-portraits side-by-side. Ask students: 'What differences do you notice between these two paintings? How might Kahlo have been feeling when she painted each one?' Listen for student observations about color, symbols, and mood.

Quick Check

After discussing Kahlo's life experiences, ask students to hold up one finger if they think her art shows sadness, two fingers if it shows happiness, and three fingers if it shows a mix of feelings. Use this as a quick gauge of their ability to connect life to art.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to introduce Frida Kahlo portraits to Year 1?

Start with a striking image like 'Self-Portrait with Monkey' on an interactive whiteboard. Ask simple questions: 'What animals do you see? How might they make Frida feel?' Use 2-3 portraits max, with child-friendly bios focusing on her love of animals and Mexico. Follow with symbol hunts to keep engagement high, tying to their self-portraits for relevance.

What symbols does Frida Kahlo use in self-portraits?

Common symbols include monkeys for tenderness, hummingbirds for life force, thorns for pain from injuries, and vibrant flowers for Mexican heritage. Year 1 discussions simplify these: animals as friends, plants as home. Hands-on labelling activities help children remember and apply them in their own expressive drawings.

How can active learning help teach Frida Kahlo portraits?

Active methods like gallery walks and symbol collages make Kahlo's emotional world tangible for young learners. Children manipulate images, add symbols to their portraits, and share stories in pairs, shifting from passive viewing to personal creation. This boosts retention of artist knowledge and builds confidence in using art for feelings, aligning with KS1 goals through play-based exploration.

How do Kahlo's life experiences influence her art?

Kahlo's bus accident caused lifelong pain, shown as thorns or blood; her Mexican roots appear in flowers and folklore animals. For Year 1, share short anecdotes via pictures, then have students draw 'me symbols' from their lives. This comparison highlights personal narrative in art, fostering empathy without overwhelming details.