Art and Design · Year 1

Active learning ideas

Local Crafts and Artisans

Active learning brings the workshop into the classroom, letting children touch, shape, and watch real craft processes. Students move from passive listeners to active artisans, which builds muscle memory and respect for the precision local makers demonstrate each day.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: Art and Design - Knowledge of Artists and Designers

• 25–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 45 min · Whole Class

Visitor Demo: Potter's Steps

Invite a local potter to demonstrate clay preparation, pinching, smoothing, and drying. Students sketch each step in sequence and ask questions about tools. Follow with a short Q&A where children share one new fact learned.

Explain the steps involved in creating a piece of pottery.

Facilitation Tip

During the Potter’s Demo, position students so they see the potter’s hands and hear the clay’s sound when pinched, not just the final pot.

What to look for

Give each student a card with a picture of a local craft item (e.g., a pot, a woven scarf). Ask them to write down two steps the artisan might have taken to make it and one tool they might have used.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 35 min · Small Groups

Small Groups: Paper Weaver Tools

Provide paper strips, card looms, and sticks as shuttles. Groups follow steps to warp, weave, and finish a mat, then compare to photos of real weaver tools. Display and discuss similarities and differences.

Compare the tools used by a local weaver to the tools we used for paper weaving.

Facilitation Tip

While Small Groups weave paper strips, have each pair verbalize the step they are on before moving to the next, building oral sequencing skills.

What to look for

Show students images of tools used by a local potter and a local weaver. Ask: 'How are these tools similar or different? Which tool do you think is harder to use and why? What makes these crafts special to our town?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 40 min · Pairs

Pairs: Pinch Pot Challenge

Pairs knead playdough or air-dry clay, pinch pots following four steps shown on cards, and decorate simply. They label steps on a shared poster and explain to another pair why each matters.

Justify the importance of keeping traditional crafts alive in our community.

Facilitation Tip

For the Pinch Pot Challenge, model safe clay handling first, then circulate with a damp sponge to prevent cracks from dry hands.

What to look for

Observe students as they create their own paper weavings. Ask individual students to explain one step they are doing and name the tool they are using (e.g., 'I am threading this strip through the paper,' 'I am using scissors to cut').

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 25 min · Whole Class

Whole Class: Crafts Matter Circle

Sit in a circle to pass craft objects like woven baskets. Each child shares one reason crafts should continue, such as making useful things or looking pretty. Chart responses on a community poster.

Explain the steps involved in creating a piece of pottery.

Facilitation Tip

In the Crafts Matter Circle, hold up each child’s pot or weaving and ask, 'What would you change next time?' to encourage reflective practice.

What to look for

Give each student a card with a picture of a local craft item (e.g., a pot, a woven scarf). Ask them to write down two steps the artisan might have taken to make it and one tool they might have used.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should blend demonstration with immediate hands-on trials so students feel both the joy and frustration of craft. Avoid over-explaining; let the materials and the artisan’s words do the teaching. Research in maker-centered learning shows that early childhood learners grasp sequencing and tool use best when they mimic, then create, then reflect.

By the end of the unit, every student will name at least two steps and one tool for both pottery and weaving. They will compare classroom tools to real artisan tools and explain why practice matters in both crafts.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Visitor Demo: Potter's Steps, children may assume the pot appears quickly and easily.

  Interrupt the demo after wedging to ask students to predict what will happen if the clay isn’t smooth, then let them feel the rough edges before the potter continues.

• During Small Groups: Paper Weaver Tools, students may believe all weaving follows one fixed pattern.

  After the first row, pause the class to compare two finished strips side by side and ask, 'How did your neighbor’s pattern differ?' to spotlight variation.

• During Pinch Pot Challenge, students may claim pottery is just squishing clay.

  Before firing, show a cracked pinch pot and ask students to point to where the clay split, then re-wedge and try again to see how air pockets cause cracks.

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Methods used in this brief

• Outdoor Investigation Session