Body adornment
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can use body adornment as a form of communication.
Key learning points
- Body adornment is the practice of decorating or modifying the body through our hair, nails, skin, clothing or jewellery.
- Body adornment is used widely across the globe in various forms and contexts.
- Body adornment shows identity, including: gender, religion, family, social status and sexuality.
Keywords
Adornment - decorating the body to express who we are
Collage - an art technique where different materials are glued onto a surface to make a new artwork
Stereotype - an idea or belief about a group of people or an individual, that might not be true, which can lead to unfair judgments
Common misconception
Body adornment is only about appearance or fashion trends.
Body adornment often holds deep cultural, religious, or personal meaning. It can express identity, heritage, beliefs, or social status, connecting individuals to family traditions or cultural values— beyond just aesthetic appeal.
Teacher tip
Prepare a variety of collage items and a diverse range of current beauty advertisements before the lesson.
Equipment
Pens, pencils, paper, collage materials, glue, scissors, old magazines
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following are considered crafts?
Q2.Which of the following objects show handmade crafts that are not mass-produced?
Q3.Complete this sentence. Materials are ...
Q4.Which of these are collage materials?
Q5.Craftspeople use materials to add purpose and meaning to their objects and artifacts. Which statement best explains this?
Q6.Complete the sentence, craftspeople use ...
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of the following is an example of an ancient body adornment?
Q2.Why might someone choose a specific body adornment today?
Q3.Match each type of body adornment with the category it represents.
Religious faith
Family history and tribal connections
Wealth and power
Protective amulet
Q4.Complete the sentence: Hairstyles can be a form of body adornment because they represent a person’s
Q5.Which body adornments would indicate wealth and power today?
Q6.Is this a permanent or temporary body adornment?
To help you plan your 7 art and design lesson on: Body adornment, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 art and design lesson on: Body adornment, 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 3 art and design lessons from the An overview of craft unit, dive into the full secondary art and design curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.