Art and Design · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Exploring Portraits by Frida Kahlo

Active learning helps Year 1 students connect personally with Frida Kahlo’s art by moving, talking, and creating. When children explore symbols through hands-on activities, they move beyond surface observations to deeper meaning-making, which builds both artistic knowledge and emotional vocabulary.

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

• 15–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 25 min · Small Groups

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.

Analyze how Frida Kahlo uses symbols in her portraits to tell a story.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, position yourself at key paintings so you can prompt students with questions like, 'What might this animal mean to Frida?' without taking over their thinking.

What to look for

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.

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

Activity 02

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 20 min · Pairs

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.

Compare Kahlo's self-portraits to the self-portraits you created earlier.

Facilitation Tip

When students work in pairs to compare portraits, ask them to point to specific details in their own drawings and Kahlo’s paintings to justify their comparisons.

What to look for

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.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 30 min · Whole Class

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.

Explain how an artist's life experiences can influence their artwork.

Facilitation Tip

In the Story Circle, sit in the middle of the group to model listening and encourage students to build on each other’s ideas with phrases like, 'I heard you say… so maybe…'.

What to look for

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.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 15 min · Individual

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.

Analyze how Frida Kahlo uses symbols in her portraits to tell a story.

What to look for

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.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach this topic by balancing guided observation with open-ended creation. Start with structured discussions to build confidence in noticing details, then shift to student-led symbol choice to reinforce ownership. Avoid over-explaining symbols; instead, let students test ideas through trial and error. Research shows that when young children connect art to their own lives, their engagement and retention grow significantly.

Successful learning looks like children identifying and discussing symbols in Kahlo’s work, using personal symbols in their own portraits, and confidently explaining how artists share stories through art. They should begin to see art as a way to express feelings and experiences, not just to copy reality.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Gallery Walk: Kahlo pairs, students may say, 'Her face looks wrong because it’s not like a photo.'

  Pause at the painting and ask students to point to one symbol. Say, 'Look at how the thorns curve around her neck. How does that make you feel? Now compare it to a real thorn—how is this different?' to shift focus from realism to symbolism.

• During Pairs: Compare My Portrait, students might insist their symbol means only one thing.

  Prompt them to share their symbol with their partner and ask, 'Could your partner’s symbol mean something different? How?' to open discussion about personal interpretations.

• During Story Circle, children may say, 'Artists just make things up.'

  Share a simple timeline of Kahlo’s life events (like her accident) and ask students to act out how she might have felt. Then ask, 'How could she show that in her painting?' to link life experiences to art.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk
• Outdoor Investigation Session