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New
New
Year 3

Paint a rainforest

I can sketch a rainforest composition and apply a range of painting techniques.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 3

Paint a rainforest

I can sketch a rainforest composition and apply a range of painting techniques.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Arranging features of a rainforest in the foreground, middle ground, and background creates a balanced composition
  2. Different painting techniques such as stippling, sponging and blending can create texture
  3. Practicing with different brush sizes (small, medium, large) creates varied effects

Keywords

  • Composition - how the images or elements are arranged within an artwork

  • Texture - how something feels or how something looks like it would feel

  • Sketch/sketching - making quick and simple drawings to show ideas or the things we see

Common misconception

Pupils might use the same brush size for the entire painting.

Demonstrate how larger brushes are best for covering big areas like the background, while smaller brushes are ideal for details like leaves, veins, or animal features. Provide examples of how different brush sizes create varied textures and effects.

Provide visual references of rainforests, focusing on textures and details like overlapping leaves, vines, and animals. Remind pupils to clean their brushes between colours and experiment with techniques like sponging for foliage or using the edge of a brush for fine lines like veins on leaves.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

Paint, palettes, sponges and different sized brushes

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of the following are primary colours?
green, orange, purple
Correct answer: red, yellow, blue
pink, brown, black
white, grey, black
Q2.
A colour palette is the group of __________ you choose for your artwork.
objects
cuttings
Correct answer: colours
Q3.
Match the keywords to their definitions:
Correct Answer:texture,The way a surface looks or feels, like rough, smooth, or bumpy.
tick

The way a surface looks or feels, like rough, smooth, or bumpy.

Correct Answer:tone,A colour's lightness or darkness.
tick

A colour's lightness or darkness.

Q4.
True or false: adding white to a colour is known as tinting.
Correct answer: true
false
Q5.
True or false: adding blue or black to a colour is known as shading.
Correct answer: true
false
Q6.
Jacob mixes equal parts red, yellow and blue. What colour does he make?
purple
Correct answer: brown
grey

4 Questions

Q1.
Composition refers to the __________ of the different elements in an artwork such as the shapes, objects or colours.
Correct answer: arrangement
argument
arranged
Q2.
A composition consists of:
Correct answer: foreground
Correct answer: middle ground
Correct answer: background
closeup
Q3.
Which painting technique has been used here?
An image in a quiz
stippling
Correct answer: sponging
soaking
Q4.
Which painting technique has been used here?
An image in a quiz
stippling
layering
Correct answer: blending
carving