KS1 (ENG), KS2 (ENG), KS1 (NI), KS2 (NI), CfE L1 (SCO), CfE L2 (SCO), PS2 (WAL), PS3 (WAL)
How would you celebrate where you live in a plate design?
Ceramic plates, mugs and other objects are sometimes used to celebrate or commemorate important events, occasions and people. This resource invites students to design a plate to celebrate an aspect of your town, village or city. This could be a building or environment, a person, or an event that is important to your community.
Use this resource to:
This resource offers a series of activities that can be used together as a lesson plan or as individual components to integrate into your own scheme of work. It is mapped to the curriculum for Art and Design but provides opportunities for cross-curricular links with History. The resource is designed for KS 1/CfE level 1/PS 2 and KS 2/CfE level 2/PS 3 students. It is also an activity that families can try at home.
KS 1
Art and design
- Use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share their ideas and experiences
- Develop a wide range of art and design techniques in using colour, pattern, texture, line and shape
- Learn about artists and designers
History
- significant historical events, people and places in their own locality.
English
- Use spoken language to develop understanding through speculating, hypothesising, imagining and exploring ideas
- Participate in discussions, presentations, performances, role play, improvisations and debate
- Develop pleasure in vocabulary by discussing word meanings, linking new meanings to those already known
KS 2
Art and design
- Improve mastery of art and design techniques
- Learn about artists and designers
History
- a study of an aspect of history or a site dating from a period beyond 1066 that is
significant in the locality.
KS 1
Art and design
- Visualise experiences of the real world
- Talk about artists' work
- Use a range of processes
Language and literacy
- Participate in talking and listening in every area of learning
- Take turns at talking and listening in group and paired activities
- Take part in a range of drama activities to support activity-based learning across the curriculum
- Express thoughts, feelings and opinions in response to personal experiences, imaginary situations, literature, media and curricular topics and activities
The world around us
- Developing an awareness of aspects of the environment
KS 2
Art and design
- Visualise experiences of the real world
- Talk about artists' work
- Use a range of processes
History
- Explore how history has affected their personal identity, culture and lifestyle, for example, how location/birthplace, family history, religion, nationality, sport, language, traditions etc. have been shaped by the past.
Level 1
Expressive arts
- I have the opportunity to choose and explore a range of media and technologies to create images and objects, discovering their effects and suitability for specific tasks (EXA 1-02a)
- I can create and present work using the visual elements of line, shape, form, colour, tone, pattern and texture (EXA 1-03a)
- I can create a range of visual information through observing and recording from my experiences across the curriculum (EXA 1-04a)
- Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through activities within art and design (EXA 1-05a)
- I can respond to the work of artists and designers by discussing my thoughts and feelings. I can give and accept constructive comment on my own and others' work (EXA 1-07a)
- Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through drama (EXA 1-13a)
- I have developed confidence and skills in creating and presenting drama that explores real and imaginary situations (EXA 1-14a)
Social Studies
- By exploring places, investigating artefacts and locating them in time, I have developed an awareness of the ways we remember and preserve Scotland’s history. (SOC 1-02a)
- I can use evidence to recreate the story of a place or individual of local historical interest. (SOC 1-03a)
- Having selected a significant individual from the past, I can contribute to a discussion on the influence of their actions, then and since. (SOC 1-06a)
- I can describe and recreate the characteristics of my local environment by exploring the features of the landscape. (SOC 1-07a)
English and literacy
- When I engage with others, I know when and how to listen, when to talk, how much to say, when to ask questions and how to respond with respect (LIT 1-02a)
- I can show my understanding of what I listen to or watch by responding to and asking different kinds of questions (LIT 1-07a)
- When listening and talking with others for different purposes, I can exchange information, experiences, explanations, ideas and opinions, and clarify points by asking questions or by asking others to say more (LIT 1-09a)
Level 2
Art and design
– I have the opportunity to choose and explore an extended range of media and technologies to create images and objects, comparing and combining them for specific tasks (EXA 2-02a)
– I can create and present work that shows developing skill in using the visual elements and concepts (EXA 2-03a)
– Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through activities within art and design (EXA 2-05a)
– I can respond to the work of artists and designers by discussing my thoughts and feelings. I can give and accept constructive comment on my own and others’ work (EXA 2-07a)
Social studies
- I can discuss why people and events from a particular time in the past were important, placing them within a historical sequence. (SOC 2-06a)
- Having explored my local area, I can present information on different places to live, work and relax and interesting places to visit. (SOC 2-10a)
Progression step 2
Expressive Arts
Exploring the expressive arts is essential to developing artistic skills and knowledge and it enables learners to become curious and creative individuals.
- I can explore and experiment with and then select appropriate creative techniques, practices, materials, processes, resources, tools and technologies.
- I can explore how and why creative work is made by asking questions and developing my own answers.
- I can explore and describe how artists and creative work communicate mood, feelings and ideas.
Responding and reflecting, both as artist and audience, is a fundamental part of learning in the expressive arts.
- I can give and accept feedback as both artist and audience.
- I can consider, with guidance, how moods, emotions and ideas are communicated both in my own creative work and in the creative work of others.
Creating combines skills and knowledge, drawing on the senses, inspiration and imagination
- I am beginning to apply techniques in my creative work with guidance and direction.
- I can use creative materials safely and with some control under supervision.
Humanities
Enquiry, exploration and investigation inspire curiosity about the world, its past, present and future
- I have been curious and made suggestions for possible enquiries and have asked and responded to a range of questions during an enquiry.
- I have experienced a range of stimuli, and had opportunities to participate in enquiries, both collaboratively and with growing independence.
Events and human experiences are complex and are perceived, interpreted and represented, in different ways
- I can form and express opinions about something that is important to me, considering my own ideas, feelings and those of others.
- I can recognise and explain that my opinions and the opinions of others have value.
Our natural world is diverse and dynamic, influenced by processes and human actions
- I can recognise the distinct physical features of places, environments and landscapes in my locality and in Wales, as well as in the wider world.
Human societies are complex and diverse, and are shared by human actions and beliefs
- I have explored and am aware of diversity in communities.
- I can contribute actively and constructively to my community.
Progression step 3
Expressive Arts
Exploring the expressive arts is essential to developing artistic skills and knowledge and it enables learners to become curious and creative individuals.
- I can explore the effects that a range of creative techniques, materials, processes, resources, tools and technologies have on my own and others’ creative work.
- I can explore how creative work can represent, document, share and celebrate personal, social and cultural identities.
Responding and reflecting, both as artist and audience, is a fundamental part of learning in the expressive arts.
- I can apply knowledge and understanding of context, and make connections between my own creative work and creative work by other people and from other places and times.
- I can reflect upon how artists have achieved effects or communicated moods, emotions and ideas in their work.
Creating combines skills and knowledge, drawing on the senses, inspiration and imagination
- I can combine my knowledge, experience and understanding to plan and communicate my creative work for a range of different audiences, purposes and outcomes.
- I can draw upon my familiarity with a range of discipline-specific techniques in my creative work.
- I can draw upon my design knowledge and make connections with greater independence to modify and develop my creative designs.
- I can identify and respond creatively to challenges with resilience and flexibility.
Humanities
Enquiry, exploration and investigation inspire curiosity about the world, its past, present and future
- I can use my experiences, knowledge and beliefs to generate ideas and frame enquiries.
- I have actively engaged with a range of stimuli, and had opportunities to participate in enquiries, both collaboratively and independently.
- I can use appropriate methods to gather information related to my enquiries and I am able to interpret the information obtained in the context of the enquiry question
- I can present my findings in a variety of ways, drawing conclusions and making judgements based on the evidence used.
Events and human experiences are complex and are perceived, interpreted and represented, in different ways
- I can form, express and discuss my own opinions on a range of issues after considering evidence and the views of others.
- I can infer and compare people’s opinions, viewpoints and interpretations from sources and evidence.
- I can use evidence to explain how aspects of the past have been represented and interpreted in different ways.
- I can begin to understand that interpretations are influenced by identity, experiences, viewpoints and beliefs
Human societies are complex and diverse, and are shared by human actions and beliefs
- I can explore a range of ways in which identity is formed and some of the influences that impact upon diversity in society.
- I have an understanding of how factors in the past and present have shaped my communities.
Start by discussing as a class how we celebrate or remember people, places and events through objects. For example, you could discuss:
For hundreds of years, ceramic plates have been used to celebrate or remember important events or people. They are usually designed to be hung on the wall or displayed in a cabinet. Pictures and words on the plates tell us about what is being commemorated or celebrated.
As a class, discuss these two plates.
(Use the nudge questions below, if helpful.)
Queen Mary plate
This plate shows a portrait of a woman. She has curly hair around her head and shoulders. She wears a gold necklace and gold earrings, which tells us that she is wealthy.
The style of the portrait and the clothes she wears suggest that the plate dates from the seventeenth century. The letters 'Q' and 'M' on either side of the portrait help us to identify her as Mary II, queen of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1662 to 1694.
Blue-Rimmed Thames Tunnel Plate
This plate is decorated with a picture of a tunnel. Groups of people are at the entrance to the tunnel or are walking through it. There are also lots of people looking over a railing above the tunnel. If you look very carefully, you will see 'Thames Tunnel' written underneath the picture. This tells us about the event commemorated on the plate.
The rim of the plate is decorated with the alphabet. This type of pottery, decorated with the alphabet, is called 'ABC ware' and was made for children, to encourage them to learn to read.
The plate was produced to celebrate the opening of the Thames Tunnel and was made as a souvenir. Plates like this, along with other Thames Tunnel souvenirs, were sold in tourist shops that lined the tunnel.
The tunnel opened in 1843 and runs under the River Thames in London. The tunnel is 200 metres long and lies 23 metres below the river surface. Built by a celebrated civil engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel (who was famous for building bridges), it was the first tunnel in the world to be dug under a navigable river. The Thames Tunnel became a great tourist attraction, and people paid to walk through it.
Materials and techniques
Both plates are ceramic. They are made from clay that has been fired at a very high temperature in a kiln to make the clay hard. (Kilns are very hot ovens used specially to bake pottery.)
After firing, the plates were then covered with a coating called a glaze. The glaze protects and waterproofs the pottery. Coloured glazes are often painted over an initial plain layer of glaze to add pictures, patterns and textures. After adding the glaze, the plates would have been fired in the kiln again.
The painting below shows kilns in Stoke-on-Trent, a city famous for its pottery manufacture. These kilns are called 'bottle kilns' because they are shaped like bottles. The Thames Tunnel plate would have been fired in a kiln like this. Clay objects were stacked on the floor in the kiln and a coal fire was lit underneath the floor to fire the pottery. Smoke from the fire was released through the chimney at the top.
Coal-fired kilns aren't used anymore. They have been replaced with electric kilns that are more efficient and less polluting. But you can still see the distinctive shape of bottle kilns in towns and cities where ceramics were an important industry.
Explore more images of kilns in our Bottle ovens and pottery kilns Curation.
Decoration comparison
The decoration on each plate is very different.
The portrait of Mary looks simpler, and is more expressive and colourful. It was hand-painted onto the plate with blue, yellow and purple glazes.
Detail of 'Queen Mary', Brislington Pottery
The picture on the Thames Tunnel plate is a printed image and was added to the plate using a transfer technique. This is a cheaper technique than hand-painting and meant the plate could be mass-produced for the tourist market.
Detail of 'Blue-Rimmed Thames Tunnel Plate', Brislington Pottery
It isn't just famous people or events that are celebrated in ceramics.
The plate below was made for a street carnival in Cardiff, South Wales, where people come together to celebrate where they live and the people who live there. Plates were made every year for the carnival so people could have something to remind them of the special day and their community.
Look at the plate together, as a class.
This is another plate made to celebrate the carnival.
You will need:
Paper plates (or circular paper or cardboard templates)
Crayons or paint
Optional materials:
Letter stencils
Photos that relate to your town
Newspapers
Glue
Time:
30-45 minutes
Method:
Task students with designing a plate to celebrate or commemorate an aspect of your community. This could be your school community or the wider community of your town.
Step 1: What or who will you celebrate?
It might be helpful to initially discuss ideas as a class, and which aspects of your place they'd like to celebrate.
Alternatively, if they have been studying a person or event as part of the history curriculum, you could make this the focus of the activity.
Pottery Plate Marc Brunel (1769–1849)
19th C
Anthony Scott & Co. (active 1799–1896) (probably)
Step 2: How will you make your plate talk?
The designers of the plates we have explored in this resource used a combination of images and text to remember or celebrate events, places and people.
Ask students to decide what they will include in their plate design and the images and text they will use to commemorate their chosen theme.
Step 3: Plan your plate design
Encourage students to consider the colours they'll use and the composition of their design (how they arrange each element).
They are probably used to drawing or painting onto square sheets of paper. They will need to plan how their design will work on a circular shape.
Be inspired by plate designs. (To see bigger images and find out more, click a plate in the carousel to visit the artwork page.)
Fantastic Crowned Swans Plate 1888–1907
William De Morgan (1839–1917)
Gymnast 2012, No. 2* 2012
Jacqui Chanarin (active 2000–2018)
Bowl with Inscription 10th C
unknown artist
Charles Street Carnival Commemorative Plate, 1987 1987
Molly Curley (1929–2022)
Plate Design 1929–1939
Edith Gater (1902–1989)
Large Plate 1949
Michael Cardew (1901–1983)
Plate 1960–1990
Leonard John Davey (1913–1991)
Step 4: Create your plate design
Students could draw or paint their designs onto their paper plates or templates.
Design tips:
Step 5: Share your designs
Once students have finished their plates, discuss their designs as a class.
Encourage students to describe what they have included in their design and why.
Display your plate designs in your classroom or around the school.
