Personal Storytelling Art

Lesson Overview

Unit: Creative Expression Exploration (Lesson 7 of 10)
Duration: 60 minutes
Class size: 1 student
Age group: Year 8 (12-13 years old)
Curriculum: Curriculum for Wales (AoLE: Expressive Arts - Art and Design)

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Learning Intentions (WALT)

• WALT understand how artists use themes and stories to convey personal experiences through art.
• WALT brainstorm ideas from our own lives to develop meaningful thematic artwork.
• WALT experiment with preliminary sketches that reflect personal stories.

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Curriculum for Wales Links

Expressive Arts: Art and Design

• Develop creative and critical thinking when exploring ideas, concepts, and feelings through visual art (AOLE Expressive Arts, Creative Skills 8-14).
• Communicate ideas effectively using a variety of artistic techniques, expressing individual viewpoints and narratives (AOLE Expressive Arts, Developing Artistic Skills 8-14).
• Reflect on the purpose of art in society and how it can tell personal or community stories (AOLE Expressive Arts, Critical Engagement 8-14).

Cross-curricular Skills & Competencies

• Literacy: Use discussion and reflection to develop narrative ideas; dyslexia-friendly strategies to support written brainstorming.
• Personal and Social Education: Build confidence expressing personal identity through creative work.
• Digital Competency: Use digital sketching apps (if available) or traditional media for exploratory drawing.

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Resources

• A3 sketchbook or plain paper
• Pencils, erasers, coloured pencils or markers
• Brainstorming worksheet (dyslexia-friendly with clear fonts, spaced layout, and visuals)
• Example artworks showcasing thematic storytelling (printed or displayed)
• Optional: digital drawing tablet/software for exploratory sketching

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Lesson Sequence

Starter (10 minutes)

1. Engage with thematic artworks: Present 3-4 artworks that tell personal stories (e.g., Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits or local community art projects).
2. Guided discussion: What stories do these artworks tell? How do colours, shapes, and symbols help convey feelings or moments?
3. WALT reminder: Emphasise how art can be a powerful way of sharing personal narrative.

Differentiation: Use visual aids and clear, slow questioning to support comprehension; allow oral answers before writing.

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Main Activity (40 minutes)

1. Brainstorm personal themes (15 mins):

   • Using the dyslexia-friendly worksheet, student lists significant experiences, feelings, or memories they want to express.
   • Encourage thinking about ideas such as family, culture, achievements, challenges, hobbies, or dreams.
   • Teacher scaffolds by asking prompting questions if needed.

2. Sketch ideas (25 mins):

   • Student starts preliminary sketches that visually represent their chosen theme(s).
   • Focus on composition, symbolism, and mood rather than final detail.
   • Teacher offers feedback on how well the visual ideas relate to the story.

Differentiation:

• For learners who may struggle with expressing complex ideas, offer sentence starters or symbols to support story development.
• Use multisensory prompts (e.g., music related to the theme) to inspire creativity.

Extension:

• If confidence and time allow, experiment with mixed media (collage, digital overlays) to enrich the storytelling element.

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Plenary (10 minutes)

1. Reflective conversation:

   • Ask: How did you decide what to include in your sketches? What story do you want your art to tell?
   • Discuss how art can serve as a personal and powerful form of communication.

2. WALT review:

   • Reiterate learning intentions and allow student to self-assess their understanding.

Dyslexia-friendly reflection: Use bullet points or visuals for reflection prompts, allow verbal or pictorial responses.

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Assessment for Learning

• Formative assessment through discussion and observation during brainstorming and sketching.
• Evaluate the connection between the student’s theme and their visual representation (content, creativity, effort).
• Use questioning to gauge understanding of thematic storytelling in art.

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Differentiation & Inclusion Strategies

• Use dyslexia-friendly worksheets with clear typography, spacing and colour coding.
• Allow oral brainstorming and reflections alongside written work to reduce barriers.
• Provide examples of varying complexity to inspire and scaffold ideas.
• Adjust pace and provide breaks as needed to maintain focus.

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Extension Ideas for Advanced Learners

• Develop a digital or multimedia representation of their personal story (e.g., photo collage, scanning sketches for digital manipulation).
• Research a famous autobiographical artist and prepare a short presentation relating their work to personal storytelling.
• Compose an artist’s statement explaining the personal significance behind their thematic artwork.

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Teacher Reflection Notes

• Monitor student engagement with personal storytelling and willingness to share ideas.
• Note which approaches helped most with getting deeper stories out and visualised.
• Plan next lessons to build from sketches to more resolved works incorporating feedback from this session.

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This lesson plan supports a personalised learning approach and promotes meaningful art-making grounded in self-expression, fully aligned with the Curriculum for Wales’s aspirations for Expressive Arts.