Designing Portfolio Covers

Lesson Overview

In this 50-minute lesson, Year 7 students will complete their worksheets and design a personalised portfolio cover sheet that reflects their individuality, personalities, and interests. This activity builds on their exploration of Picasso’s art style while encouraging self-expression through colour, design, and symbolism.

Australian Curriculum Links (Western Australia)

• Content Description:
• Explore ideas and practices used by artists, including the use of symbols to represent meaning - Develop and apply techniques to design and create visual artworks - Present artworks and share the stories or intentions behind them - Strands:
• Creating and making
• Responding and interpreting
• General Capabilities:
• Critical and creative thinking
• Personal and social capability
• Literacy (interpretation of visual texts)

Learning Intentions

WALT: Create art that represents our individuality through design.

Success Criteria

• Design a colourful and personal portfolio cover that reflects your personality and interests.
• Complete the provided worksheet with thoughtful symbolism and design choices.
• Use elements of Picasso’s style (such as abstract shapes or bold colours) to inspire your design.

Resources

• Portfolio cover sheet templates (varied complexity for differentiation)
• Worksheets with prompts and space for sketching ideas
• Colouring materials (markers, coloured pencils, crayons)
• Examples of Picasso’s portraits and portfolio covers
• Dyslexia-friendly font handouts (if needed)
• Visual vocabulary cards (for symbol ideas and colour meanings)

Lesson Structure

Introduction (10 minutes)

1. Recap & Connect: Quickly review last lesson’s exploration of Picasso’s artistic style focusing on how he used shapes and symbols to express identity.
2. Explain Task: Introduce the activity — designing their own portfolio cover sheet that shows who they are.
3. Discuss Success Criteria: Clarify what a ‘colourful and personal cover’ means. Discuss how symbols, colour choice, and composition can express personality.

Activity 1: Worksheet Completion (15 minutes)

• Students work individually on their worksheet where they:
• Brainstorm personality traits and interests.
• Choose symbols or images that represent these interests.
• Sketch initial ideas inspired by Picasso’s style.
• Differentiation: Provide a simplified worksheet and symbol suggestion list for students who may need additional support; provide extension prompts for advanced learners to incorporate multiple symbol layers or experiment with abstract shapes.

Activity 2: Designing Portfolio Cover (20 minutes)

• Students transfer their ideas to the portfolio cover sheet, using the templates provided.
• Encourage use of bright, expressive colours and encourage layering shapes or symbols to convey meaning.
• Dyslexia-friendly approach: Provide colour-coded instructions and dyslexia-friendly fonts on templates for any text.
• Teachers circulate to support and prompt creative thinking.

Conclusion & Reflection (5 minutes)

• Students share their covers in pairs or small groups, explaining one symbol or colour choice that expresses who they are.
• Teacher summarises the importance of individuality in art and how their covers are visual stories of themselves.

Differentiation and Support

• For diverse learners: Use templates with varying outlines (pre-drawn shapes for students who struggle with drawing, blank templates for advanced).
• For dyslexic learners: Use dyslexia-friendly worksheets with coloured backgrounds, sans-serif fonts, and step-by-step visual cues.
• Extension: Students who finish early can write a brief artist statement explaining their design choices or try to replicate a small Picasso-style abstract portrait on the back of their cover.

Assessment

• Formative assessment through observation and worksheet completion.
• Evaluate covers for evidence of symbolism and personal voice as per success criteria.
• Informal peer feedback during sharing to reinforce understanding.

This lesson combines creative skills with self-reflective thinking, aligned with the Western Australian Curriculum for Visual Arts Year 7. It emphasises individuality through artistic expression while incorporating strategic differentiation to meet varied learner needs.