Mark Making

Introduce your children to the basic skills needed when mark making with this Mark Making Art Lesson Pack for Year 1.

Your children will first learn simple skills such as holding a pencil correctly for drawing before exploring mark making with a variety of mediums and materials. Children will go on to learn about the famous artist Paul Klee, imitating his techniques to create their own piece of art.

This five-lesson Mark Making lesson plan pack comes with everything you need to teach your KS1 class the basic skills of mark making.

Drawing Lines

In this first lesson, children will begin by listening to the story ‘The Dot’ by Peter H. Reynolds, learning how the smallest mark like Vashti’s dot, can be a piece of art.

Children will then be guided through how to hold a pencil correctly before practising drawing a range of different lines; an activity that is fantastic for fine motor skills!

This Drawing Lines lesson is ready-to-teach with detailed lesson planning, slides for input and differentiated activities.

Repeating Patterns

This lesson requires the children to look in more detail at the techniques they can use to change the appearance of lines by using different grades of pencil or by applying pressure.

Now that children are confident in drawing a variety of different lines, they will be challenged to use repetition to create weird and wonderful patterns!

Alternatively, wow your class by using water colours and crayons to create a magical picture that appears with the stroke of a brush!

Creating Brushstrokes

This lesson focuses on teaching children how to use a paintbrush including how to hold and ‘load’ the paintbrush. You could then choose to model to children what makes a good brushstroke, or use the slides to support you.

Encourage your year 1 children to experiment with brushstrokes, creating lines and shapes.

Creating Rubbings

In this penultimate lesson, children will be introduced to the term ‘texture’ and will learn how to describe texture using adjectives. After which, children will learn how to create rubbings using materials and different mediums.

Alternatively, children will go on a hunt outside for different materials to experiment making marks with.

Paul Klee Paintings

In this final lesson, children will be introduced to the famous artist Paul Klee. They will look at examples of his work and think about what techniques he used in his paintings. Children will then use everything they have learnt to finish a piece of art by Paul Klee.

If you would prefer children were given the freedom to apply the techniques they have learnt, children have the opportunity to create their own piece of art in the style of Paul Klee.