Drawing Our Connections

Year Level

Foundation (Kindergarten/Preparatory)

Duration

45 minutes

Class Size

21 students

Unit Overview

Unit Title: Creative Material Explorations
Lesson Number: 1 of 6
Lesson Title: Drawing Our Connections
Lesson Description:
Students use classroom stationery (pencils, textas, crayons) to create self-portraits and drawings of their family members. This lesson focuses on personal expression and understanding family connections, linking with an English text about families.

Australian Curriculum Links (The Arts - Visual Arts, Foundation Level)

Content Description:

AC9AVAFD01
"Use play, imagination, arts knowledge, processes and/or skills to discover possibilities and develop ideas"
(Students explore drawing materials and personal imagery to represent themselves and family.)
AC9AVAFE01
"Explore how and why the arts are important for people and communities"
(Students share drawings and discuss their family connections)

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Use pencils, textas, and crayons to create simple self-portraits and portraits of family members.
Express personal and family identity through visual arts.
Identify and describe lines, shapes and colours used in their own and peers' artworks.
Demonstrate awareness of family connections and personal stories through their drawings.
Share their artwork and explain its connection to their family, using simple oral language linked to English curriculum themes.

Resources & Materials

Pencils, textas, crayons (one set per student)
A4 drawing paper (one sheet per student)
Mirrors for self-portrait observation (optional)
Chart paper and markers for a class family tree visual (optional)
Shared English text about families as a prompt (previously read or on display).
Display area for student artworks.

Lesson Plan

1. Warm-Up & Introduction (10 minutes)

Engage: Gather students on the carpet and have a brief group discussion about families and family members.
Link to English text: "Remember the story we read about families? Today, we will draw our own families and ourselves."
Introduce the art materials: pencils, textas, crayons. Show examples of self-portraits and family portraits (simple child-friendly images).
Explain that they will draw themselves and then a family member.

2. Demonstration & Guided Practice (10 minutes)

Model how to begin a self-portrait: looking at themselves in a mirror or imagining their face, sketching basic shapes (circle for the face, lines for eyes, mouth).
Show how to use textas or crayons to add colour and simple details.
Encourage use of different lines (curved, straight) and shapes (circles for heads, triangles for noses, etc.).
Highlight that their drawings can look however they want — the focus is on expressing who they are and who their family members are.

3. Independent Drawing Activity (20 minutes)

Distribute paper and materials to each student.
Students first draw their own self-portrait. Circulate, providing support and positive feedback about use of lines, shapes, and effort.
Then, students draw a family member — parent, sibling or someone important to them — encouraging thinking about that person’s features and what colours or lines show their personality.
Encourage students to think about connection words, for example, “This is me,” “This is my mum,” to scaffold oral sharing later.

4. Sharing & Reflection (5 minutes)

Create a gallery walk: place drawings around the room or on tables.
Invite students to walk around, view peers’ artworks, and share one thing about their own, e.g., “This is a picture of me and my dad.”
Use simple guided questions: “Who did you draw? What colours did you use? How are you connected to the person in your drawing?”
If time permits, create a collaborative class family tree chart where students place their drawings or names.

Assessment & Feedback

Formative assessment: Teacher observes students during drawing for use of materials, their ability to represent self and family, and engagement with prompt.
Oral sharing: Listen for students’ use of personal language to describe their artwork and family connections aligned with the English curriculum.
Provide positive, specific feedback: e.g., “I like how you used bright colours to show your happy family,” or “You tried different lines to make the face — well done!”

Differentiation

Support: Provide simplified templates or face outlines for students needing assistance.
Extension: Encourage some students to add background elements to their portraits showing home or favourite activities.
Use peer support for vocabulary development during sharing.

Links to Cross-Curriculum Priorities & General Capabilities

Personal and Social Capability: Students reflect on family and self-identity.
Literacy: Speaking and listening through oral sharing and linking artwork to stories of families.
Creative Thinking: Experimenting with line, shape, and colour to represent ideas.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures: Invite reflection on connection to family and community (can be linked to later lessons).

Teacher Reflection

Note engagement levels, success in personal expression, and language development.
Plan to scaffold further with family-related storytelling and connection to other art media in subsequent lessons of the unit.

This lesson plan adheres closely to the Australian Curriculum v9 for Foundation Year Visual Arts, addressing content descriptions AC9AVAFD01 and AC9AVAFE01, fostering foundational skills in art making and personal expression through family connections, while integrating meaningful classroom discourse and connection to English texts.

Teaching Instructions