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KS1 & KS2 art and design curriculum

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Art and design
Year 1

My world: art and nature

4 lessons

Description

Designed in collaboration with October Gallery, this unit reflects how art operates in the world, as expression, storytelling, identity and connection. While remaining accessible for all classrooms pupils explore mark-making, movement, clay, print, and dye to build fine and gross motor skills.

Children begin by understanding themselves in relation to the natural world, laying the foundation for empathy, care for the Earth, and awareness of interconnected stories. Early engagement in personal mark-making supports National Curriculum goals in exploring ideas and developing control in materials. Nature as archive, self and movement, mapping memory, sensory engagement with materials, environmental awareness, shared human experience.

  1. Paint a walking line
  2. Make a clay picture
  3. Art with music and colour
  4. Print a sea pattern on cloth – stories in indigo

  • Understanding themselves in relation to the natural world, laying the foundation for empathy, care for the Earth, and awareness of interconnected stories.
  • Familiarity with basic mark-making tools (pencils, crayons, chalk)
  • Introduction to using materials from nature (e.g., leaves, sticks)
  • Early painting experience with brushes or sponges
  • Exposure to clay or dough (pinching, rolling)
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Use this KS1 and KS2 art and design curriculum plan to explore our sequences developed by leading su...

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