Year 5 - Art and design
Build a clay celebration cake
Ceramics: cake culture
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
Cake is a central part of many cultures and celebrations, with a rich history and symbolic meaning. Pupils will use the subject matter of cakes to develop their drawing and painting skills before designing and making a cake of their own invention in clay.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to sculpt and decorate a clay celebration cake using different techniques.
Key Notes
- Understand that clay can be molded and shaped into forms like celebration cakes.
- Demonstrate how to join pieces of clay together using slip and scoring to build a three-dimensional structure.
- Apply knowledge of textures and patterns in clay to enhance the design of their cake.
Vocabulary To Learn
- sculpting: the process of creating three-dimensional works by shaping or combining materials
- slip: a liquid mixture of clay and water used to join pieces of clay
- coiling: a technique of shaping clay by rolling it into long, snake-like pieces and stacking them to create shapes
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- If the clay is wet, it will stick together and hold without needing to apply slip.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Understand that clay can be molded and shaped into forms like celebration cakes. Demonstrate how to join pieces of clay together using slip and scoring to build a three-dimensional structure.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'sculpting'
the process of creating three-dimensional works by shaping or combining materials.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: If the clay is wet, it will stick together and hold without needing to apply slip. Correction: Clay must be wet enough to join properly. Without slip, dry clay won't bond effectively, leading to cracks. The best way to stick together different pieces of clay is to score each side and use slip to ensure a secure connection.
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