Exploring Visual Messages

Learning Intentions

• To deepen understanding of advertising features studied and explore the concept of visual persuasion beyond advertising, focusing on symbols, colours, and composition.
• To develop skills in analysing images critically, identifying intended messages and emotional effects.
• To prepare students for comparing advertising and propaganda through visual language by understanding visual elements used to influence audiences.

Success Criteria

• Students can identify and explain at least three visual techniques used to influence viewers in advertisements.
• Students successfully create a simple visual message using symbols and colours to communicate an idea or emotion.
• Students participate in group discussions analysing images, demonstrating understanding of how visual elements affect interpretation.

Curriculum Links (IE Curriculum Framework for Arts)

• Visual Arts Strand: Exploring and Making
  • Responding to Context: Engaging with visual culture and media to understand how artists use imagery to communicate ideas and feelings.
  • Visual Literacy and Critical Thinking: Analysing and interpreting visual images to identify techniques and purposes.
• Skills Development:
  • Use a range of media, materials, technologies, and processes to create visual works.
  • Reflect on and discuss own and others’ visual artworks, developing vocabulary specific to the visual arts.
• Key Competencies:
  • Communicating – Presenting clear visual and verbal messages.
  • Managing Information – Analysing information from multiple visual sources.
  • Thinking – Reflective and critical thinking through image analysis.

Lesson Duration

80 minutes
Class size: 26 students

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Lesson Structure

Starter (10 minutes)

Activity: Visual Recall & Brainstorm

• Begin with a quick class discussion recalling last week’s learning: What features do we see in advertising? (Colour, celebrity endorsement, slogans, logos)
• Students brainstorm and list other types of visual messages they encounter daily (e.g., warning signs, logos, social media posts) on whiteboard/chart paper.

Development (30 minutes)

Activity 1: Analysing Visual Features in Images

• Show 4-5 carefully chosen visual examples (simple, age-appropriate images like road signs, brand logos, simple campaign posters without text).
• In pairs, students discuss and note what emotions or ideas the images communicate and what features (colour, shape, symbols) help deliver that message.
• Whole class share - teacher charts key features observed.

Activity 2: Colour and Symbolism Exploration

• Brief interactive presentation/slideshow explaining how colours and symbols can communicate feelings or ideas (e.g., red for excitement/danger, green for nature/calm).
• Students are given coloured pencils and a simple worksheet to match colours to emotions/situations.

Main Activity (30 minutes)

Creating a Visual Message

• Each student chooses an emotion or idea from the previous discussion to communicate visually (e.g., happiness, safety, friendship).
• Using A4 paper and coloured pencils/markers, they create a simple picture using symbols and colours discussed to convey their idea without words.
• Encourage creativity and use of visual techniques from lesson.

Plenary (10 minutes)

Gallery Walk & Peer Feedback

• Students display their artworks around the room.
• In pairs, they walk around and give positive feedback using sentence starters like: "I see…, which makes me feel… because…"
• Teacher facilitates brief sharing: How do the colours and symbols change the way we feel about the picture?

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Differentiation Strategies

• Support:
  • Provide visual emotion-symbol charts for reference during artwork creation.
  • Pair students strategically to encourage peer support.
  • Share sentence starters to guide discussions.
• Challenge:
  • Challenge students to combine more than two symbols or include simple composition techniques like balance or contrast.
  • Invite students to explain the reasoning behind their choices in more detail orally or in writing.

Literacy and Numeracy Integration

• Literacy:
  • Use of descriptive language in peer feedback and group discussions to articulate emotions and ideas.
  • Introduce/vocabulary focussed on visual arts: symbolism, composition, contrast, emotion, persuasive, communicate.
• Numeracy:
  • Recognising shapes and spatial understanding through composition in their artwork.
  • Basic colour theory involving recognising warm and cool colours and their placement effects.

Assessment

• Formative assessment through observation of participation in discussions and group work.
• Peer feedback to identify understanding of visual elements and emotional impact.
• Teacher reviews students’ visual artworks against success criteria to assess ability to communicate visually.

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Resources Needed

• Whiteboard/flip chart and markers
• Projector or large screen for image presentation
• Printed worksheet for colour-emotion matching
• Coloured pencils, markers, A4 paper for artwork
• Chart of emotions and symbols for reference

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Reflection and Next Steps

• Document student responses and examples of created artworks to guide next week’s lesson on propaganda posters.
• Plan to explicitly compare advertising and propaganda in imagery, building on students’ developed visual literacy skills.
• Consider introducing simple historical propaganda examples suitable for age to develop critical analysis.

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This double lesson creatively builds the foundation between understanding advertising and moving towards propaganda, maintaining engagement and deepening visual literacy, aligned carefully with the IE Curriculum.