Exploring Artistic Styles

Unit

Expressing Identity Through Art Lesson 2 of 5: Exploring Artistic Styles

Year Level

Year 8 (ages approximately 12-13)

Duration

60 minutes

Class size

30 students

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Curriculum Alignment

Learning Area: The Arts - Visual Arts (New Zealand Curriculum Refresh)

• Vision: To develop confident, creative, and critical communicators who explore and express identity through art.
• Strands:
• Developing practical knowledge in art
• Developing ideas in art
• Communicating and interpreting in art
• Key Competencies:
• Thinking — Explore different artistic styles and how they convey identity.
• Relating to others — Discuss interpretations of artworks and respect diverse perspectives.
• Using language, symbols and texts — Use art vocabulary and visual language to describe styles and techniques.

Achievement Objective Reference:

• Levels 4-5 (Year 7-8)
• Respond to ideas, experiences, and stories in artworks from a range of contexts, including Aotearoa New Zealand
• Explore and express personal and community identity through arts practices
• Develop and use practical knowledge of visual art elements, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas

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Learning Intentions

By the end of the lesson, students will:

• Recognise and describe a variety of artistic styles and techniques from different artists and cultural contexts.
• Understand how artists use styles to express personal identity and stories.
• Explore how artistic styles might resonate with and represent their own identities.

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Success Criteria

Students can:

• Describe at least three different artistic styles with examples.
• Discuss how style and technique communicate meaning or personal stories.
• Reflect on which styles connect to their own identity and explain why.

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Resources

• Projector and computer to display images/videos of artworks
• Printed or digital visual examples showing diverse artistic styles (e.g., realism, abstract, expressionism, traditional Māori art, Pacific art, street art)
• Art style vocabulary handout (including terms such as texture, line, form, colour, symbolism, abstraction)
• Student worksheets: observation and reflection prompts
• Whiteboard / whiteboard markers
• Optional: short clips/interviews or quotes from artists speaking about identity in their art

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Lesson Outline

1. Introduction (10 minutes)

• Greet students and briefly recap previous lesson on expressing identity through art.
• Introduce today’s focus: exploring different artistic styles and how styles communicate personal and cultural identities.
• Activate prior knowledge by asking:
• “What different art styles or techniques do you know?”
• “How do you think artists use style to tell stories or show who they are?”
• Outline lesson intentions and success criteria.

2. Research & Analysis Activity (20 minutes)

• Show curated visual examples of artworks in diverse styles and cultural contexts (at least five different styles). Include examples that represent Aotearoa New Zealand and Pacific cultures alongside international styles.
• Provide a short description of each style and point out techniques or features characteristic of each style.
• Students use the worksheet to:
• Observe key features (line, colour, texture, form, symbolism).
• Reflect on how the style might express identity or personal stories of the artist.
• Consider whether the style resonates with their own cultural or personal identity and how.

3. Guided Discussion (15 minutes)

• Facilitate a whole-class discussion:
• Invite volunteers to share their observations and reflections from the worksheet.
• Discuss how different styles communicate different feelings, stories, or identities.
• Encourage connections to te ao Māori, Pacific arts, other cultural artworks, and contemporary urban art.
• Highlight how identity can be expressed in many ways through art—styles are a powerful language for this.
• Record key points and vocabulary on the whiteboard.

4. Individual Reflection (10 minutes)

• Students write a short personal reflection in their art journals or on the worksheet:
• Which artistic style(s) did you connect with the most and why?
• How might you use aspects of these styles in your own artwork to express your identity?
• Optional: invite a few students to share their reflections with the class to build confidence and respect for diverse voices.

5. Conclusion and Preview (5 minutes)

• Summarise the main ideas about artistic style and identity. Reinforce that exploring styles helps artists find ways to tell their stories.
• Explain that in the next lesson they will begin to experiment with these styles and techniques in their own artwork.
• Set a simple "looking forward" task: observe any examples of artistic styles in their environment or media that might inspire their personal art project.

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Assessment for Learning

• Formative: Observations of students’ participation in discussion, quality of reflections, and ability to use art vocabulary to describe styles.
• Informal check for understanding through questioning and worksheet completion.

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Differentiation

• Provide vocabulary lists and sentence starters for students who may need language support.
• Offer additional visual examples for students needing more scaffolding.
• Encourage extension by inviting students to find additional examples of styles online or at home.
• Pair or group ELL students with peers for support during discussion.

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Cultural Responsiveness

• Incorporate Māori and Pacific artists and styles alongside global examples to reflect New Zealand’s cultural diversity.
• Use te reo Māori art terms where appropriate (e.g., “kōwhaiwhai” patterns, “whakairo” carving motifs).
• Encourage respectful discussion about how culture influences identity and artistic expression.

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Reflection and Next Steps

• Teachers to reflect on student engagement and understanding of artistic styles and identity expression.
• Adjust examples or depth of analysis depending on student needs for following lessons.
• Prepare materials for students to start applying selected styles in personal artworks in lesson 3.

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This detailed plan is tailored to align closely with the New Zealand Curriculum Refresh's arts learning area, focusing on personal and cultural expression through artistic styles, meeting Year 8 students' developmental and curriculum needs. It integrates purposeful use of vocabulary, cultural inclusion, critical thinking, and reflection, following best practice in New Zealand education.