What are the formal elements and skills topics?

Kapow Primary’s Art and design content features a formal elements and skills topic within each year group.

The formal elements topics focus on teaching the discreet skills of the formal elements of art which are:

• line
• shape
• tone
• texture
• pattern
• colour

The skills topics again, focus on specifically developing pupils’ art, craft and design skills.

The knowledge and skills from these two topic areas are then applied throughout the rest of the scheme within the other topics areas.

Do the topics need to be taught in order?

The topics within each year group can be taught in any order, as the progression of knowledge and skills is across the years and key stages, not across a year group. So you can work through them in the order in which most suits the rest of your curriculum time and requirements.

Do the lessons within the topics need to be taught in order?

Due to their discreet teaching of the different skills and formal elements of art, many of the lessons within the formal elements and skills topics can be taught in any order, however some are sequential.

The lessons within the other topics do build upon one another so should be taught in order.

We only have three half terms to teach Art and design

Don’t worry! Kapow Primary’s scheme can be used flexibly to fit into three half terms. Or equally, can be further developed to be taught across the full year if your curriculum time allows.

Find out more from one of our Art specialists Paul Carney:

Teaching Art & design in mixed aged classes

Differentiating art lessons needn’t be a problem if you remember that art and design does not have the same rigid competencies as is the case in core subjects.

Find out more from one of our Art specialists Paul Carney: