Dive into the rich culture of African art with this Art of Africa five-lesson scheme of work. Challenge your class to think carefully about which mediums they choose for their artwork, as well as the tools they use to sculpt and manipulate clay to recreate a Benin plaque. Introduce the children to Esther Mahlangu and her culture of Ndebele patterns before investigating the Adinkra symbols of the old Ashanti kingdom.

#TheCompleteSeries5lessons

This creative scheme of work comes with all you need to teach your class about the beautiful artwork of Africa, including plans, activity ideas, slides and printable resources.

This scheme of work is also part of a Topic Bundle. Perfect if you are teaching 'Africa' as a cross-curricular topic.

#Lesson1NaturalPatterns

Investigate the natural patterns of animal prints with your class and challenge them to observe the repetitions, symmetry, shapes and textures of each. Recreate the patterns by giving the children a choice of different mediums to use. Ask the children to make decisions based upon previous experiences with the mediums, choosing them based on their suitability to recreate each of the natural patterns they have been studying.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Picture cards
Differentiated worksheets
Animal templates

#Lesson2Tingatingapaintings

Discover the world of Tingatinga paintings and their history. Encourage your class to pick out the defining features of this style of painting before challenging them to recreate the style in a painting or 3-D mask.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Worksheet
Tingatinga picture cards
Animal templates
Mask templates
Mask instructions

#Lesson3TheArtworkofBenin

Take a trip into the history of the kingdom of Benin by analysing, observing and discovering the artwork that was made during this time. Investigate how the precious artefacts like the bronze plaques can tell us more about the magnificent Obas of the kingdoms and challenge your class to recreate this magnificence using clay to sculpt their own plaques.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Picture cards
Clay sheet

#Lesson4NdebelePatterns

Discover the cultural artwork of South African artist Esther Mahlangu. Investigate the bright colours, bold lines and geometric shapes which make up the Ndebele artwork which is used to decorate their houses and jewellery. Encourage your class to create their own Ndebele patterns to decorate a small hut, or on a larger scale in their own piece.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Hut template
Picture cards

#Lesson5AdinkraSymbols

What symbols do we use to communicate? Investigate how symbols are used by us and in other cultures to communicate words, ideas and emotions in different ways. Introduce your class to the Adinkra symbols of the old Ashanti kingdom and how they were used to convey messages at different special events. Challenge your class to create their own messages using Adinkra symbols.

What's included:

Lesson plan
Slides
Activity ideas
Differentiated worksheet
Adinkra symbol sheet
Challenge cards
Printing sheet
Practice squares

Free Overview (Medium-Term Plan)

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Free Assessment Grid

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Curriculum Objectives covered

KS2 - to create sketch books to record their observations
KS2 - to improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing with a range of materials
KS2 - about great artists in history