New
New
Year 4

Research and photograph a local landmark

I can research and respond to a local landmark

New
New
Year 4

Research and photograph a local landmark

I can research and respond to a local landmark

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Research is a personal process for each artist, and reflects their unique way of exploring and creating.
  2. Responding to a subject is not just about visually representing it, but about expressing a personal reaction to it.
  3. Artists can return to a subject, to approach it in different ways or with different materials.

Keywords

  • Research - a process to deepen an artist’s understanding of a subject

  • Respond - a personal reaction to something

  • Subject - the thing an artwork is mainly about

Common misconception

Responding to a subject is making a copy of it.

Remind children that responding to an artwork means reacting to it, rather than just reproducing it.


To help you plan your year 4 art and design lesson on: Research and photograph a local landmark, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Ensure that children have a wide range of resources and materials available for them to choose from for this lesson, including images of their choosen landmark.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Images of landmarks (these could be local to your area), pencils, charcoal, watercolour paint, collage materials, drawing pens, glue.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Loading...

6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? Composition is only important if you're taking a photograph of a person.
true
Correct answer: false
Q2.
What is a "landmark"?
Correct answer: A significant structure, place or feature
A large type of tree or plant
A creative painting in a gallery or museum
A type of digital camera or device
Q3.
When taking a photograph of a local landmark, what should you focus on?
The people and places in the photograph
Only the colours of the photograph
Correct answer: The landmark itself and your viewpoint
The sky in the background
Q4.
True or false? Landmarks are always human-made.
true
Correct answer: false
Q5.
What is an important thing to think about when composing a photograph of a local landmark?
Correct answer: What time of day it is
How close you can get to the landmark only
What filter you use on your camera only
How many people you capture
Q6.
In this image, it is to see the subject as the photographer is facing towards the sun.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: hard, difficult, not easy

5 Questions

Q1.
The research of every artist will look and be personal to them.
colourful
natural
Correct answer: different
similar
Q2.
Match the different types of research with the description:
Correct Answer:Historical,finding facts or information to deepen understanding of the subject

finding facts or information to deepen understanding of the subject

Correct Answer:Formal elements,the shapes, colours, lines, tone, patterns and textures of the subject

the shapes, colours, lines, tone, patterns and textures of the subject

Correct Answer:Material or technical exploration,exploring different materials to represent their subject

exploring different materials to represent their subject

Q3.
True or false? A landmark is always human made.
true
Correct answer: false
Q4.
Select all that apply. Artists can respond to an artwork in lots of different ways including:
Correct answer: Sketching different parts of the subject they are exploring
Visiting a gallery or museum
Organising art equipment
Correct answer: Using a range of materials to observe and explore parts of the subject
Q5.
True or false? Responding to a subject is copying the subject as it is.
true
Correct answer: false