Section 2: Organising practical craft activities

Key Focus Question: How can you help pupils ask questions about and produce local crafts?

Keywords: crafts; research; presentations; practical; culture

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this section, you will have:

  • found out what pupils already know about local crafts;
  • organised your pupils into small groups to undertake research activities;
  • planned practical activities to help pupils produce and evaluate their own craft items.

Introduction

The majority of pupils will already have knowledge about local crafts and some pupils may even be very skilled at doing some of them. The range of crafts in your local area may include such things as beadwork, pottery, sculpture, painting and fabrics.

It is important to find out what pupils already know, and use this as the base for planning activities around local crafts. In this section, you will encourage pupils to share and develop their understanding of the value and uses of these traditional crafts. One important way is to allow pupils to make their own craft items; this provides opportunities for them to plan and evaluate their work.

Resource 3: An African mask

1. Exploring local crafts in groups