Make a tonal study of a sculpture
I can create a tonal study of a sculpture.
Make a tonal study of a sculpture
I can create a tonal study of a sculpture.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Tone refers to the light and dark areas of an object or artwork
- Using the side of a pencil helps create smoother, softer shading
- Shading in one direction ensures there are no gaps or harsh edges
- Blending from light to dark creates smooth transitions and realistic tones
Keywords
Sketch/sketching - making quick and simple drawings to show ideas or the things we see
Shade/shading - drawn marks to show areas of light and dark
Tone - how light or dark something is
Blending - mixing colours or shades together smoothly
Common misconception
Pupils may believe that tone is only about making things darker and that shading should be done with harsh, straight lines.
Tone includes both light and dark areas, and the goal is to show the full range of tones, from light highlights to deep shadows. Using the side of the pencil for softer shading, helps to avoid harsh lines.
To help you plan your year 3 art and design lesson on: Make a tonal study of a sculpture, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 3 art and design lesson on: Make a tonal study of a sculpture, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 art and design lessons from the Creature Construction: sculpture unit, dive into the full secondary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
Sculptures created in a previous lesson, pencils (preferably HB or 2B) erasers, paper towels, reference photos of the sculptures (optional)
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
To build up the internal structure
For adding a ridged texture
To secure joints
