Creating Textural Collages

Active learning works well for this topic because Year 3 students grasp texture more deeply when they touch and manipulate real materials rather than just seeing them in images. Hands-on stations and collaborative tasks help them connect tactile experiences to emotional responses in art.

• Year 3
• Art and Design
• 4 activities
• 25 min–45 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze how combining different materials like fabric scraps and corrugated cardboard creates new visual and tactile experiences.
2. Design a collage that uses varied textures to convey a specific mood, such as 'calm' or 'chaotic'.
3. Compare the impact of smooth versus rough textures within a single collage artwork.
4. Identify at least three different types of materials that can be used to create varied textures in a collage.
5. Explain how the choice of materials influences the overall tactile and visual effect of a collage.

Stations Rotation

⏱ 45 min·Small Groups

Stations Rotation: Texture Exploration Stations

Prepare four stations with materials like sandpaper, velvet, twine, and foil. Students spend 7 minutes at each, layering pieces on card and noting tactile differences in journals. Rotate groups and conclude with a share-out of favourites.

Prepare & details

Analyze how combining different materials creates a new visual and tactile experience.

Facilitation Tip: In Texture Exploration Stations, place a tray of materials at each station so students handle them before deciding which to use in their collages.

Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room

Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer

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

Experiential Learning

⏱ 30 min·Pairs

Pairs: Mood Matching Collages

Pairs choose an emotion card, such as 'joyful' or 'mysterious', then gather matching textures from a central tray. They glue layers to form a collage and explain choices to the class. Extend by swapping collages for peer feedback.

Prepare & details

Design a collage that uses texture to convey a specific mood or idea.

Facilitation Tip: For Mood Matching Collages, provide emotion word cards so pairs can agree on a mood before selecting materials.

Setup: Varies; may include outdoor space, lab, or community setting

Materials: Experience setup materials, Reflection journal with prompts, Observation worksheet, Connection-to-content framework

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

Experiential Learning

⏱ 35 min·Whole Class

Whole Class: Texture Story Circle

Display student collages in a circle. Each pupil adds one textured element to a communal large collage while describing its mood contribution. Discuss as a group how additions change the overall feel.

Prepare & details

Compare the impact of smooth versus rough textures in a single artwork.

Facilitation Tip: During the Texture Story Circle, hold up each collage and ask the creator to point out one strong texture and its effect on the mood.

Setup: Varies; may include outdoor space, lab, or community setting

Materials: Experience setup materials, Reflection journal with prompts, Observation worksheet, Connection-to-content framework

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

Experiential Learning

⏱ 25 min·Individual

Individual: Personal Texture Diary

Students collect five personal textures from home or schoolyard, then create a small collage page per texture, labelling mood evoked. Compile into class books for gallery walk.

Prepare & details

Analyze how combining different materials creates a new visual and tactile experience.

Facilitation Tip: In the Personal Texture Diary, model how to sketch small areas and label textures before adding materials.

Setup: Varies; may include outdoor space, lab, or community setting

Materials: Experience setup materials, Reflection journal with prompts, Observation worksheet, Connection-to-content framework

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

Teaching This Topic

Teachers should model handling materials with care and guide students to plan small sections before gluing. Avoid rushing the tactile exploration phase, as this builds the foundation for meaningful art-making. Research shows that when students articulate why they selected textures, their compositions become more intentional and expressive.

What to Expect

In successful learning, students confidently describe how rough and smooth materials create different moods in their collages. They explain their choices using texture words and support peer feedback with specific observations about contrasts and feelings.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During Texture Exploration Stations, watch for students who only look at materials without touching them.

What to Teach Instead

Circulate and prompt them to feel each material, then ask which textures they notice and how those textures might affect a viewer's mood.

Common Misconception

During Mood Matching Collages, some students may choose all rough materials, assuming they create the strongest mood.

What to Teach Instead

Guide pairs to test smooth materials first, then discuss how silk or foil can convey calm just as effectively as burlap expresses chaos.

Common Misconception

During Texture Story Circle, students may believe more materials automatically make a collage better.

What to Teach Instead

Hold up two examples, one with many textures and one with just two strong textures, and ask the class which feels more focused and why.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

After the Texture Exploration Stations, students select one material and write: 'This texture feels [describe]. I think it would make a collage feel [mood] because [reason].'

Peer Assessment

After Mood Matching Collages, partners share their work and say: 'I like how the [texture] of the [material] shows [mood]. It makes me feel [emotion] because...'

Quick Check

During the Texture Story Circle, hold up a collage and ask: 'Which texture do you think the artist used to create the mood? How does it feel?' Listen for texture words and emotional connections.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge: Ask students to create a second collage using only smooth textures, then compare the moods with their first collage.
• Scaffolding: Provide texture word banks and sentence starters for students to describe their collages during peer feedback.
• Deeper exploration: Introduce a texture hunt around the school, where students collect natural and man-made items to add to their collages.

Key Vocabulary

Texture	The way a surface feels or looks like it feels, including qualities like rough, smooth, bumpy, or soft.
Mixed Media	An art form that uses more than one type of material or medium, such as paint, paper, fabric, and found objects.
Collage	A piece of art made by sticking various different materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or fabric onto a backing.
Tactile	Relating to the sense of touch; how something feels when you handle it.
Surface	The outside part or uppermost layer of something, which has a particular feel or appearance.