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Year 5 - Art and design

Set the scene: collage, figure and symbol

Art for change: visual voices

Unit Summary

Made in collaboration with October Gallery. the unit explores how artists use visual storytelling to express ideas about people and change. Pupils create symbolic work, experiment with shadow and silhouettes, and design placards that use colour, shape, words, and symbols to share messages.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to build a layered visual scene that includes a figure and objects, using drawing and collage to express myself and tell a story.

Key Notes

  • Arranging objects in art (mise en scène) can build settings that carry memory and meaning.
  • Figures in art express emotion, power, and symbolism through posture and placement.
  • Collage, line, colour, and techniques like carbon/paper transfer can be combined to create scenes and stories.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • mise en scène: a French term meaning "setting the scene"; how objects, figures, and spaces are arranged to create meaning
  • figure: a person or human shape shown in an artwork
  • posture: the way a figure stands, sits, or holds their body, showing feelings or attitudes
  • carbon paper / transfer: a way of copying a drawing by pressing through onto another surface

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Identity means one thing about you.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the lesson in two key points.

Arranging objects in art (mise en scène) can build settings that carry memory and meaning. Figures in art express emotion, power, and symbolism through posture and placement.

2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'mise en scène'

a French term meaning "setting the scene"; how objects, figures, and spaces are arranged to create meaning.

3. Correct this common mistake.

Mistake: Identity means one thing about you. Correction: Identity is made of many parts - culture, hobbies, family, beliefs - and a collage can mix images to show all those layers of who you are.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 5 Art and design guide library.