Art and Design · Year 7

Active learning ideas

Lino and Relief Techniques

Active learning through hands-on carving and printing lets students feel the relationship between tool, block, and ink in real time. This tactile approach builds muscle memory for safe gouge use while reinforcing the abstract concept of negative space in design.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS3: Art and Design - Printmaking
• KS3: Art and Design - Technical Skills

• 30–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Peer Teaching
• 30 min · Pairs

Demo: Safe Tool Handling

Show correct gouge grips and stroke directions on scrap lino. Pairs practice 10 basic cuts on foam blocks, then swap to check safety and depth. End with a group discussion on risks avoided.

Explain why we must think in reverse when designing for a print.

Facilitation Tip

During the Demo: Safe Tool Handling, emphasize the ‘pencil grip’ for gouges and require a one-handed chuck of the block to prevent shifts while carving.

What to look for

Ask students to hold up their partially carved lino block and explain in one sentence what part of their design will appear white in the final print, referencing the 'negative image'.

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

Activity 02

• Peer Teaching
• 40 min · Pairs

Design: Reverse Image Sketch

Students draw simple motifs like leaves, trace mirrors onto tracing paper, then transfer to lino with soft pencils. Pairs critique each other's reversed designs for balance before carving starts. This ensures prints read correctly.

Analyze how the texture of the block affects the quality of the ink transfer.

Facilitation Tip

Have students mark their design outlines with a pencil before carving during the Design: Reverse Image Sketch to avoid confusion later.

What to look for

Provide students with a small slip of paper. Ask them to draw a quick sketch of a simple object and then write a sentence explaining how they would need to alter the drawing to carve it onto a lino block for printing. They should specifically mention reversing the image.

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

Activity 03

• Peer Teaching
• 45 min · Small Groups

Workshop: Texture Test Prints

Small groups carve varied textures (smooth, crosshatch, dots) on mini blocks. Roll ink, press paper, and compare results side-by-side. Record how textures affect ink transfer in sketchbooks.

Evaluate the benefits of being able to produce the same image multiple times.

Facilitation Tip

Set up Texture Test Prints with a rotation of smooth, medium, and coarse sandpaper blocks so students see ink adhesion differences in one session.

What to look for

Show students two prints of the same design, one made with a smooth block and one with a textured block. Ask: 'Which print shows clearer ink transfer? How did the block's texture influence the final image? Which print do you prefer and why?'

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

Activity 04

• Peer Teaching
• 35 min · Whole Class

Production: Multiples Run

Whole class inks and prints one design across shared paper sheets. Rotate roles: carver, inker, presser. Count identical prints to discuss editioning benefits.

Explain why we must think in reverse when designing for a print.

Facilitation Tip

Pre-cut registration sheets for the Multiples Run to save time and ensure consistent alignment across prints.

What to look for

Ask students to hold up their partially carved lino block and explain in one sentence what part of their design will appear white in the final print, referencing the 'negative image'.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should model safe tool use first and then step back to let students explore. Repeated quick test prints after small changes help students connect cause and effect, which research shows strengthens retention of relief concepts. Demonstrate how to hold the brayer evenly and how pressure affects ink transfer, then step away so students can troubleshoot their own prints.

By the end of these activities, students will handle tools safely, explain why raised areas print and cut areas stay blank, and produce a small edition of prints that demonstrate control over line, texture, and ink coverage.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Workshop: Texture Test Prints, watch for students who think cut-away areas will hold ink.

  Have students make two back-to-back prints from the same block, then hold both up. Ask them to point to the raised areas and explain which print shows ink only on those parts, reinforcing the negative image concept immediately.

• During Texture Test Prints, watch for students who believe deeper cuts always yield bolder prints.

  Set up three test blocks with shallow, medium, and deep gouges in the same pattern. After printing, ask groups to rank them and explain which produced the cleanest line and why, guiding them to see that excess depth causes smudging.

• During Multiples Run, watch for students who assume prints will match without consistent pressure.

  Run a quick peer comparison: pair students to print side by side using the same block. Ask them to switch papers and compare ink density; discuss how uneven pressure creates variation and how to stabilize the block and baren for even results.

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Methods used in this brief

• Peer Teaching