Analyse a facial expression through drawing
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can draw and analyse facial expressions to understand emotions.
Key learning points
- The position of the eyebrows, mouth and eyes helps to identify emotions.
- Facial expressions convey emotions and can be captured through art.
- Understanding proportions and basic shapes of the face.
Keywords
Emotion - A strong feeling such as happiness, sadness, or anger.
Feature - A part of the face like eyes, mouth, or nose.
Analyse - To examine something in detail to understand it better.
Detail - A small part of something that adds to its overall appearance.
Proportion - How big or small parts of something are compared to each other.
Common misconception
All types of smile indicate happiness in a person.
There are many nuances in smiles, such as a polite smile versus a genuine smile, which can convey different feelings.
Teacher tip
Encourage pupils to practise drawing each of the main facial features while expressing different emotions to help build their confidence before drawing a full portrait. The “I do/we do” drawing exercises are an opportunity to practise observational skills through drawing without pressure.
Equipment
Reference images of different facial expressions. Mirrors. Pencils, rubbers, sketching paper. Whiteboard for teacher demonstration of changing facial expressions.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.A facial __________ is the appearance of the face that shows feelings and emotions
Q2.Which facial feature often changes shape with different emotions?
Q3.What might a raised eyebrow indicate?
Q4.What shape is often used as a base for drawing faces?
Q5.A __________ representation of something is accurate and true to life.
Q6.Analysing something means …
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the first step in drawing a face?
Q2.How might you show happiness in a portrait drawing?
Q3.What effect does changing the line weight have on a sketch?
Q4.What is the role of proportion in sketching facial expressions?
Q5.What is the purpose of analysing portraits in art?
Q6.What role does context or environment play in understanding facial expressions?
To help you plan your 5 art and design lesson on: Analyse a facial expression through drawing, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 5 art and design lesson on: Analyse a facial expression through drawing, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 art and design lessons from the Photography and painting: facial expressions in portraiture unit, dive into the full primary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.