Year 7 Visual Arts – Term 1 (WA Curriculum): Foundations of Making

What this unit covers

In Term 1, Year 7 Visual Arts in the WA Curriculum centres on the unit “Foundations of Making”.

Students develop fundamental making skills through observational drawing, composition and colour theory while reflecting on their artistic practice and audience interpretation.

Lesson sequence (10 lessons)

The unit breaks down into the following lesson-by-lesson sequence — each title below is a teachable lesson, in order:

1. Drawing What You See: Basic Observational Techniques
2. Line, Shape and Form in Observational Drawing
3. Understanding the Elements of Composition
4. Creating Balance and Movement in Your Artwork
5. Introduction to the Colour Wheel and Primary Colours
6. Exploring Secondary and Tertiary Colours Through Mixing
7. Combining Observation and Composition in Still Life Drawing
8. Applying Colour Theory to Enhance Your Compositions
9. Reflecting on Your Artistic Journey and Growth
10. Presenting Your Work: Understanding Audience and Interpretation

Curriculum codes in this unit

Content codes:

Reading the codes: WA codes (the ones starting with WA) pack the year level, learning area, strand and content number into one string, while the national Australian Curriculum v9 uses a different anatomy that starts with AC9 — same content family, different labels. Our complete WA Curriculum guide decodes both, character by character.

Planning notes for Term 1

WA terms run roughly 9–11 weeks, and in 2026 Term 1 runs from Monday 2 February to Thursday 2 April — 9 weeks for WA public schools. With 10 lessons in this unit, that leaves breathing room for assessment, moderation and the weeks that disappear to carnivals, camps and public holidays — plan the assessable work to land two to three weeks before the end of term rather than in the final week.