New
New
Lesson 3 of 4
  • Year 1

Art with music and colour

I can make an expressive artwork that responds to music.

Lesson 3 of 4
New
New
  • Year 1

Art with music and colour

I can make an expressive artwork that responds to music.

These resources were made for remote use during the pandemic, not classroom teaching.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Artists might use wax resist and colour to create an artwork.
  2. Symbols can help us share ideas without using words.
  3. Expressive art can tell a story or share a feeling.

Keywords

  • Wax resist - when an artist draws with wax and paints over it

  • Symbol - pictures or shapes that stand for something else

  • Expressive art - using colours and shapes to show feelings and ideas in an artwork

Common misconception

We all feel the same about every colour.

Remind pupils that everyone feels colours differently.


To help you plan your year 1 art and design lesson on: Art with music and colour, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Teachers may wish to have images of the artwork by the artist Aubrey Williams for pupils to refer to and explore.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Coloured card or paper, watercolour paint, paint brushes, pencils, wax crayons.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
Patterns can be made by repeating ...

Correct answer: colours and shapes.
loud noises.
toys and food.

Q2.
What is clay?

Correct answer: soft, wet earth you can shape
a type of paint you can make
a kind of tree you can climb

Q3.
How does the artist start making a spiral with clay?

by painting with a brush
by cutting paper
Correct answer: by rolling clay into balls

Q4.
What do artists do when making a wax resist artwork?

1 - Draw shapes or lines with wax on paper.
2 - Use paint over the wax shapes or lines.
3 - Let the artwork dry.

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
What is expressive art?

Correct answer: art that shows feelings or music
art that copies toys exactly
art that only uses blue

Q2.
Colours can ...

make you run fast.
make noise like music.
Correct answer: make you feel different things.

Q3.
Match the words to their meanings.

Correct Answer:expressive art,shows feelings or music

shows feelings or music

Correct Answer:symbol,a picture that means something

a picture that means something

Correct Answer:wax resistant,paint doesn't stick where the wax is

paint doesn't stick where the wax is

Q4.
Put these steps in order to make wax-resistant expressive art.

1 - Listen to music to inspire you.
2 - Draw with wax crayons.
3 - Paint over the wax.