Vocabulary in the Art and Design Curriculum

at St Robert Bellarmine

“We are God’s work of art”

At St Robert Bellarmine, the teaching of vocabulary during art and design lessons is an essential component of our pupil’s education and fundamental in developing comprehension, expression, and critical thinking. It is important for students to develop a strong art and design vocabulary so they may verbally communicate about their own or others' art and design work.

Based upon the work of Mary Myatt, we strongly believe that children who have a rich vocabulary are better able to understand what they read, communicate their ideas clearly, and analyze and evaluate information effectively. Additionally, a broad vocabulary helps children to develop their creativity and imagination, as well as their ability to make connections and draw conclusions.

Vocabulary is a key component of our art and design curriculum. It is regularly referred to throughout all interactions. We provide opportunities for the children to encounter vocabulary through all conversations, independent reading, being read to, modelled writing, listening to others, encounters on trips and with experts.

We use a number of practical strategies to help children to develop their vocabulary

• Class shared texts: vocabulary can be discussed in the context of the text being read. Children are encouraged to apply this learning in their class discussions and written work.
• Class environment: working walls display specific vocabulary that children can refer to. They are kept up-to -date and accessible. We aim to develop a rich language environment.
• Knowledge organisers: topic-specific vocabulary will be shared with parents on subject knowledge organisers so words can be discussed at home
• Specific teaching: where the teacher identifies certain words and provides direct instruction in word learning strategies (looking at root words, finding synonyms and definitions etc).
• Scaffolds: we use sentence frames and sentence stems to support children in their use of new vocabulary
• Practice: children are encouraged to use new vocabulary accurately within full sentences in their speech as well as their written work.  Ambitious or new vocabulary used by the children is celebrated by the teachers through verbal and written feedback.

Overall, teaching vocabulary in the Art and design curriculum can help our students develop a deeper understanding of Art and design concepts and techniques, which can enhance their artistic skills and appreciation for the subject. Children should be able to use the language accurately and effectively to communicate their ideas, intentions, reflections and outcomes.