Students will explore self-portraiture and representing themselves through the use of symbols. Instead of drawing themselves, students will choose objects that represent them and put them together so that they make up a face or figure. Students will be given the opportunity to look at self-portraiture in a new way and will be provided with an interesting outlet for self-expression. 

• Express self through visual arts

• Create a self-portrait using personally relevant symbols and objects

• Play with textures, images, and 2D/3D

• Become comfortable evaluating and reviewing visual arts work

This unit has a creativity and critical thinking focus:

• Make connections and use symbols

• Play with unusual ideas and consider different perspectives

• Reflect on strengths, weaknesses, and affordances of different kinds of self-portraiture

    Web and Print

• Example images of self-portraits that relate to the current curriculum.

Other Resources

• Graphite

• Erasers

• 3.12” by 18” white drawing paper

Opportunities to adapt, extend, and enrich

• Students could also be given the option of making sculptures with different materials and comparing self-portraits made in different formats

• Finished pieces could be hung in a gallery and students take part in a gallery walk and be tasked with guessing which student produced which self-portrait

• This could form part of a larger unit on identity for personal, social, and health education. Students could, for example, be asked to produce a series of artistic works on how other people see them, how they see themselves, how they might be in the future, representing different feelings, etc.

• The class could discuss the difference between self-portraits and portraits and be asked to produce portraits of each other.

• Links can be made to other curriculum subjects by exploring the portraits, lives, work/inventions, fashion, etc. of famous historical figures. Portraits of historical figures can be found at https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/explore/

• The theme of art and representation could be developed by looking at artistic movements such as cubism etc.

English Version

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-YxcdLxVcl0wSKk2Ng2jHvRHbgOXPcdLO-zc1lLFOQw/edit?usp=sharing

Hindi Version

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IZvHOYkL8-q71ImoFT3FqxF_XfoRdoY23TF7-IgDNAo/edit?usp=sharing

Gujarati Version

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/11XoT-ystE1wmVpGXBff7Egs1vL5zGJlhWS6scyLsCBM/edit?usp=sharing

Kannada Version

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FS4B4ivd9h-6yf73V-0HtqnzqmBxCiN231WW45JQLNc/edit?usp=drive_link