This six-week series of art lessons is focused around the topic of self-portraits.
Pupils will find out about a range of famous artists and will learn how to draw faces using correct proportions. Throughout the lesson series, children will create a number of artworks, including a ‘split face’ portrait, transient portraits from objects and a Picasso-style face focused on colour.
They’ll also get to grips with shading and the symbolism of portraiture. We’ve provided everything you need to get started straight away.
What they’ll learn
- Draw a portrait using the correct proportions
- Complete a ‘split face’ self-portrait using a photo
- Create a portrait from a range of unusual objects
- Use different pencils to create a range of tones
- Create a portrait inspired by Picasso
- Use colour to portray emotions
- Recognise symbolism in portraits
This download contains:
- Full PDF medium term plan
- Sentence starters
- Worksheets
- Templates
- Additional resources
Julianne Britton is a qualified teacher with eight years’ experience, author of educational resources and a private tutor. Follow her on Twitter at @juliannebritton. Visit her website here.

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