Year 3 - Art and design
Clay landscapes: hand building towers together
Imagined spaces and shared stories
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
Made in collaboration with October Gallery, the unit looks at how materials can be transformed into imagined and shared stories. Pupils create new worlds and think about how art can shape and celebrate real ones. They investigate how public art holds stories of pride, memory, and transformation.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to work collaboratively to build a clay coil structure.
Key Notes
- Simon Rodia built the Watts Towers alone, using recycled materials and no machines.
- Artists might use a continuous line drawing to explore different drawing materials.
- Clay can be used with an armature to construct an imagined place.
- Public art can symbolise pride, memory and provide a gathering place for protest and celebration.
Vocabulary To Learn
- tower: a tall building or structure that stands up high above the ground
- continuous line: a line that never stops or lifts off the page
- armature: a strong frame or shape inside that helps hold the sculpture up
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Once a sculpture is built, it should always stay the same.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Simon Rodia built the Watts Towers alone, using recycled materials and no machines. Artists might use a continuous line drawing to explore different drawing materials.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'tower'
a tall building or structure that stands up high above the ground.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: Once a sculpture is built, it should always stay the same. Correction: Some sculptures are meant to change over time. Artists might add to them, reuse parts or let nature affect them. Change can tell new stories and show that art is alive.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 3 Art and design guide library.