Evaluate use of materials and techniques
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can evaluate my work, including the use of materials and techniques, using appropriate vocabulary.
Key learning points
- Materials have distinct qualities which influence the creation and impact of your final outcome.
- Materials and techniques should be assessed to establish if they align with an artwork's intended message or concept.
- Evaluating your proficiency with different techniques helps to identify areas requiring further practice or exploration.
- Using suitable vocabulary will help you communicate your ideas clearly and show that you understand the subject well.
Keywords
Evaluation - thinking about and giving your opinion on how well your work was made, what was learnt and what could be improved
Proficiency - the skill or ability to do something well, gained through practice and experience
Characteristics - the features or qualities that make something unique, like colour, texture, or appearance
Common misconception
I should talk about all of the visual elements and principles of art in my evaluation.
Select and describe only the areas that are relevant, but consider them all to see if you notice anything new. Sometimes you make work instinctively and don't realise until later what techniques or principles you actually applied.
Teacher tip
This is a great lesson to use after making a larger response to encourge critical thinking about materials, characteristics and techniques.
Equipment
Recording materials as appropriate (pens, paper, word processing, voice recorders etc) and portfolios or sketchbooks of their work to review and consider.
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.What does the word "evaluate" usually mean in art and design?
Q2.True or false? Different materials have unique characteristics (like colour, texture, or strength) that affect how they can be used in artwork.
Q3.Match the material to one of its characteristics:
creates bold, smudgy marks
can be dyed or embroidered
transparent or reflective
Q4.Why is technical proficiency important when using techniques?
Q5.True or false? When evaluating, using precise art vocabulary (like balance, emphasis, texture) helps explain ideas more clearly.
Q6.Why might an artist reflect on the visual effects created by their chosen materials?
To help you plan your 11 art and design lesson on: Evaluate use of materials and techniques, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 11 art and design lesson on: Evaluate use of materials and techniques, 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 Second sustained project: working from a theme changing perspectives unit, dive into the full secondary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.