Introducing our new drawing units!
Kapow Primary is thrilled to announce updates to our drawing curriculum for Years 1 to 6.
This brand-new unit offers fresh, engaging content designed to reinforce key skills, inspire creativity and support pupils’ artistic development. The updates include a clearer and more structured progression of knowledge and skills, broader exposure to diverse artists and new educational videos for both teachers and pupils.
In January 2026, the current Year 4 unit Drawing: Power prints will be archived and replaced with this updated unit Drawing: Exploring tone, texture and proportion. For more details on these updates, see the Art Progression of knowledge and skills (pages 29-32) and the Art Long term plan (pages 18-19).
Unit outcomes
Pupils who are secure will be able to:
- Create a three-dimensional effect by using contrasting tones to show light and dark.
- Combine lines and marks to represent different textures.
- Use lines and marks in different ways to represent dark and light areas (tone).
- Comparing the sizes of different objects to draw them in proportion.
- Represent the size of one object relative to another.
- Consider where to place each element thinking carefully about the space.
- Show texture in the collage.
- Use the impasto technique to create textured effects.
Suggested prior learning
*Updated* Drawing: Developing drawing skills
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Lessons
Lesson 1: 3D pencil drawings
Lesson 2: Texture and tone
Lesson 3: Understanding proportion
Lesson 4: Creating an effective composition
Lesson 5: Using texture, tone and proportion in drawing
Optional: Every picture tells a story
Key skills
Generating ideas:
- Generating ideas from
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Key knowledge
Formal elements:
- Form:
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Key vocabulary
collage
composition
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Related content
Unit resources
Vocabulary display – Art and design Y4: Drawing with realism: Exploring tone, texture and proportion
A display version of the vocabulary from the unit 'Drawing with realism'.
Knowledge organiser: Drawing with realism: Exploring tone, texture and proportion
Aimed at pupils, two pages providing key facts and definitions from the unit ‘Drawing with realism: Exploring tone, texture and…
Subject resources
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Cross-curricular opportunities
Mathematics: Geometry – properties of shapes.
Science: Light.