Sculpting Myself
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can create a clay sculpture of myself.
Key learning points
- An armature is a support structure inside a sculpture that helps it stay strong before adding clay.
- When working with clay, you can use pinching and pressing to form shapes.
- You can blend clay pieces together.
- You can make a figure balanced by using the right amount of clay.
Keywords
Clay - a thick, soft material from the earth that can be shaped when wet
Sculpture - a three-dimensional piece of art made by shaping or combining materials
Blending - a technique where two colours, shapes, or pieces of clay are gently joined together so they look smooth and connected
Balanced - when something is even and steady so it doesn’t tip or fall
Common misconception
The more clay you use, the better balanced your figure will be.
Using more clay does not always make your figure balanced. A figure is balanced when the weight is spread out evenly.
Teacher tip
The children will need an armature figure for this lesson. You can refer to lesson 5.
Equipment
pre-made armature, clay, water and a long stick or paintbrush
Content guidance
Risk assessment required - equipment
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What does proportions mean when making a figure?
Q2.Why do we use wire when making an armature?
Q3.What is the form of a sculpture?
Q4.All body parts are ...
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What is a sculpture?
Q2.Why is clay a useful material for making a sculpture?
Q3.An armature helps a sculpture to ...
Q4.Match the word to what it means:
Making clay parts join smoothly together
When something is even and steady so it doesn’t tip or fall
A thick, soft material from the earth that can be shaped when wet
To help you plan your 2 art and design lesson on: Sculpting Myself, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 art and design lesson on: Sculpting Myself, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 art and design lessons from the Me, myself and others: clay sculpture unit, dive into the full primary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.