Art and Design · Year 5

Active learning ideas

Using Colour to Show Feelings in Portraits

Active learning helps Year 5 students move from passive observation to hands-on experimentation with colour and emotion in portraits, making abstract concepts tangible. Through mixing, painting, and discussing, they internalise how colour choices shape meaning beyond realism, which research shows strengthens retention and critical thinking.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS2: Art and Design - Painting and Colour Theory
• KS2: Art and Design - Expressive Use of Colour

• 30–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Gallery Walk
• 35 min · Pairs

Gallery Walk: Expressive Portraits

Display 6-8 prints of portraits using emotional colours, such as Van Gogh's self-portraits or Frida Kahlo's works. Students circulate with clipboards, noting colours used and emotions evoked in 10 minutes. Pairs then share one observation and justify the artist's choice.

Justify why an artist might choose to paint a face in colours like blue or green to show a certain feeling.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, position students in small groups at each artwork and give them two sticky notes: one for observations about colour, one for questions they have about the artist’s choices.

What to look for

Display two portraits of the same subject, one with realistic colours and one with expressive, non-realistic colours. Ask students: 'How does the artist's choice of colour change the feeling you get from the portrait? Point to specific areas and explain your reasoning.'

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

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 45 min · Small Groups

Colour Mixing Workshop: Emotion Palettes

Provide primary paints and palettes. In small groups, students mix colours for five emotions: happy, sad, angry, calm, surprised. Test mixes on scrap paper, then paint simple face outlines to show mood shifts.

Analyze how bright or dull colours can change the mood of a portrait.

Facilitation Tip

In the Colour Mixing Workshop, model the process of mixing tints and shades for an emotion before students start, then circulate with a colour mixing chart to guide those who need it.

What to look for

Provide students with a limited palette of paint colours (e.g., blue, yellow, red, black, white). Ask them to quickly paint a small circle that expresses 'excitement' and another that expresses 'calm'. Have them hold up their circles and briefly explain their colour choices.

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

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 50 min · Individual

Self-Portrait Challenge: Mood in Colour

Students select a personal emotion and paint a self-portrait using non-realistic colours. They label choices and write a short justification. Follow with whole-class share-out where peers guess emotions and discuss.

Evaluate what emotions different colour combinations make you feel when looking at a portrait.

Facilitation Tip

For the Self-Portrait Challenge, have students sketch their face in pencil first so they focus on colour placement rather than line accuracy during the painting stage.

What to look for

Students write on an index card: 'One colour I might use to paint a portrait showing happiness is ____ because ____. One colour I might use to paint a portrait showing worry is ____ because ____.'

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

Activity 04

• Gallery Walk
• 30 min · Pairs

Collaborative Critique: Peer Portraits

Pairs exchange self-portraits from previous activity. Each duo analyses colours, mood conveyed, and suggests one colour tweak for stronger emotion. Groups report findings to class for collective evaluation.

Justify why an artist might choose to paint a face in colours like blue or green to show a certain feeling.

Facilitation Tip

In the Collaborative Critique, provide sentence starters on cards to scaffold feedback, such as 'I see ____ which makes me feel ____ because ____'.

What to look for

Display two portraits of the same subject, one with realistic colours and one with expressive, non-realistic colours. Ask students: 'How does the artist's choice of colour change the feeling you get from the portrait? Point to specific areas and explain your reasoning.'

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should treat colour as a language with its own syntax: students learn best when they see colour combinations as sentences that communicate emotion. Avoid over-framing the activity with too many rules; instead, let students discover through trial and error how mixing affects mood. Research suggests that when students physically mix colours to match emotions, their understanding of colour theory deepens faster than with verbal instruction alone.

Students will confidently explain how colour conveys emotion in portraits, justify their choices with evidence from artworks and their own work, and give and receive feedback that focuses on emotional impact rather than technical skill. Success looks like students using colour deliberately to express mood and supporting their choices with clear reasoning.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Gallery Walk, watch for students assuming portraits must always use realistic skin colours.

  During the Gallery Walk, ask students to sketch a quick colour chart next to each portrait, noting how the artist used colour in the face and background. Prompt them to compare these to realistic skin tones and discuss why the artist chose alternatives.

• During the Colour Mixing Workshop, watch for students thinking bright colours always show happiness and dark ones always show sadness.

  During the Colour Mixing Workshop, have students mix a 'happy' colour and then swap it for a partner to turn it into a 'sad' colour without adding black or white. This forces them to explore how hue, saturation, and context change emotion.

• During the Self-Portrait Challenge, watch for students assuming everyone feels the same emotion from the same colour.

  During the Self-Portrait Challenge, after students paint, ask them to write one sentence on a sticky note explaining their colour choices. Then, have them place these next to their artwork for peers to read, encouraging discussion about personal and cultural differences in colour perception.

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Methods used in this brief

• Gallery Walk