Art and Design · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Illustrating Story Settings

Active learning helps Year 1 pupils connect art and storytelling by making abstract ideas like mood and setting feel concrete. When children experiment with colours and shapes to represent emotions, they build visual literacy that supports both art and English goals. Hands-on activities let them test ideas and revise their work in real time.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: Art and Design - Drawing
• KS1: Art and Design - Painting

• 25–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Stations Rotation
• 45 min · Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Mood Settings

Prepare four stations with story prompts: spooky forest, joyful picnic, rainy night, sunny beach. Pupils rotate in small groups every 10 minutes, drawing one setting per station using crayons or paints. Groups add two mood details like shadows or raindrops, then label their choices.

Construct a background that makes a story feel spooky or joyful.

Facilitation Tip

During Station Rotation: Mood Settings, place examples of spooky and joyful scenes at each station so pupils have clear reference points before they begin their own work.

What to look for

Show students two simple background drawings, one with elements suggesting a happy mood (e.g., bright sun, flowers) and one with elements suggesting a spooky mood (e.g., dark clouds, bare trees). Ask students to point to the drawing that feels spooky and explain one detail that makes it feel that way.

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

Activity 02

• Experiential Learning
• 30 min · Pairs

Pairs: Day to Night Flip

In pairs, pupils select a story scene and draw it in daylight with warm colours. They flip paper to redraw as night, adding cool tones, moon, and stars. Partners discuss and predict mood changes before sharing with the class.

Explain how details in a setting can provide clues about the story's events.

Facilitation Tip

For Day to Night Flip, provide pairs with limited materials like two sheets of paper and coloured pencils so they focus on changes in light and colour rather than intricate details.

What to look for

Present a simple story scenario, like 'A character is lost in the woods.' Ask students: 'What details could we add to the drawing of the woods to make it feel scary? What details could we add to make it feel peaceful?' Record their ideas on the board.

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

Activity 03

• Experiential Learning
• 50 min · Whole Class

Whole Class: Setting Mural

Project a class story. Pupils contribute painted sections to a large mural: some do sky, others ground or weather. As a group, vote on details that best set the mood and adjust collaboratively.

Predict how changing the setting from day to night would alter the story's mood.

Facilitation Tip

When creating the Setting Mural, assign small groups specific sections of the mural so every pupil contributes meaningfully to the final piece.

What to look for

Have students draw a setting for a given story prompt (e.g., 'A magical castle'). Then, have them swap drawings with a partner. Ask each student to tell their partner one thing they like about the setting and one detail that helps them understand the story.

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

Activity 04

• Experiential Learning
• 25 min · Individual

Individual: Sketchbook Clues

Pupils choose a familiar story and sketch its setting in their books, noting three clues like time or weather. They paint over sketches, then explain orally how details hint at events.

Construct a background that makes a story feel spooky or joyful.

Facilitation Tip

In Sketchbook Clues, model how to label drawings with simple words like 'stormy' or 'sunny' to reinforce the link between visuals and language.

What to look for

Show students two simple background drawings, one with elements suggesting a happy mood (e.g., bright sun, flowers) and one with elements suggesting a spooky mood (e.g., dark clouds, bare trees). Ask students to point to the drawing that feels spooky and explain one detail that makes it feel that way.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should model how to make deliberate choices with colour and shape, showing pupils that art is a tool for communication, not perfection. Avoid over-correcting pupils' work; instead, guide them to reflect on whether their drawing matches the story mood. Research suggests that young learners benefit from seeing peers' work, so rotate groups to share ideas and build collective understanding.

Successful learning looks like pupils intentionally choosing colours and details to match story moods, explaining their choices with simple language, and building confidence in using art to tell stories. By the end of the unit, they should be able to point to specific elements in their drawings that show time, weather, and emotion.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Station Rotation: Mood Settings, watch for pupils adding random details like flowers or rainbows to every scene regardless of mood.

  During Station Rotation: Mood Settings, ask pupils to compare their drawings to the example cards at each station and explain which mood their setting represents. If their details don’t match, guide them to revise by adding or removing elements.

• During Day to Night Flip, watch for pupils creating identical drawings with only a colour change, believing realism is required.

  During Day to Night Flip, model how to use simple shapes and bold lines to show changes in time, like crescent moons or long shadows. Provide examples of expressive drawings and ask pupils to describe how they feel.

• During Setting Mural, watch for pupils ignoring the collaborative plan and adding unrelated details like spaceships to a medieval castle.

  During Setting Mural, hold a mini-review after the first layer of drawings is complete. Ask groups to present one detail that shows the intended mood and explain why it works before continuing.

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Methods used in this brief

• Stations Rotation
• Experiential Learning