Presenting a portfolio: creating pages of documentation
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can select a focus for my portfolio and create a narrative through the pieces chosen.
Key learning points
- Decide on the theme or focus of your portfolio to highlight specific skills, projects, or a particular artistic style.
- Select your most interesting work that aligns with your portfolio’s focus aiming for quality over quantity.
- Showcase a range of styles, techniques, or themes to demonstrate your versatility and depth as an artist.
Keywords
Portfolio - a collection of your artwork, sketchbook work, experiments, and final pieces
Focus - the main idea, theme, or approach you choose to explore in depth
Theme - the big idea or subject that your artwork is based on
Narrative - the story or journey shown through your artwork and sketchbook
Common misconception
A common misconception about portfolios is that you need to include everything you've made.
It's much better to select work that clearly shows your ideas, development, artistic journey and skills.
Teacher tip
When selecting work for your portfolio, choose pieces that show your progress, creativity, and decision-making, not just the ones that look the most finished.
Equipment
Artwork and sketchbooks.
Licence
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the term to its definition.
a collection of sketchbook work, experiments, and final pieces
the main idea, theme, or approach you choose to explore in depth
the big idea or subject that your artwork is based on
the story or journey shown through your artwork and sketchbook
Q2.What is the main purpose of an art portfolio?
Q3.Why is it important for a portfolio to have a focus?
Q4.Which of these could be a theme for a portfolio?
Q5.Community themes in art only focus on places, not people.
Q6.Why is it useful to include mistakes or failed experiments in your portfolio?
To help you plan your 10 art and design lesson on: Presenting a portfolio: creating pages of documentation, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 art and design lesson on: Presenting a portfolio: creating pages of documentation, 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 4 art and design lessons from the First sustained project: working from a theme unit, dive into the full secondary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.