Example · Art and design · Year 3 · England

Clay Tiles for Stoke

Priya, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

Built by ALF Studio from exactly what each teacher typed, then changed the way that teacher teaches.

What she typed · word for word

“What should the tiles by our front door say about Stoke? Pupils sketch Victorian tiles and bottle kilns at Gladstone Pottery Museum, learn to roll, cut and decorate clay slabs with slip and sgraffito, and each make a tile for a fired panel the governors will mount in our hall.”

On the form: England (National Curriculum) · Year 3 · Art and design · 4 weeks · 1 lesson a week, 60 minutes · Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

Why it is here

The children's work is fired, mounted and permanent, in the city that made the world's tiles.

What a school would ask first

Kiln access (the museum workshop or a community pottery); wet wiping for clay dust.

Example teacher

Priya

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

Teaches: Year 3 Art and design, England (National Curriculum).
Her lessons: 1 a week, 60 minutes.

Standards on the form

KS2 Art and design: to create sketch books to…: to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideasSuggested by ALF, kept
KS2 Art and design: to improve their mastery of…: to improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay]Suggested by ALF, kept
KS2 Art and design: about great artists, architects and…: about great artists, architects and designers in historyChosen with Choose your own

The unit as she left it

Drafted Oct 8 in 18 seconds · 4 changes since

Art and design · Year 3 · 4 weeks

Clay Tiles for Stoke

Driving question

How can our clay tiles tell visitors the true story of Stoke-on-Trent?

Standards

KS2 Art and design: to create sketch books to…

to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas

TAUGHT IN Week 1, activity 1; Week 3, activity 1; Week 4, activity 1ASSESSED BY Sketchbook Recording

KS2 Art and design: to improve their mastery of…

to improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay]

TAUGHT IN Week 2, activity 1; Week 3, activity 1ASSESSED BY Clay and Slip Technique

KS2 Art and design: about great artists, architects and…

about great artists, architects and designers in history

TAUGHT IN Week 1, activity 1; Week 4, activity 1ASSESSED BY Historical Design Awareness

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Overview

Pupils explore Victorian ceramic tiles and bottle kilns from local history, recording visual ideas in their sketchbooks. They learn key clay techniques including slab building, coloured slip application, and sgraffito carving. Each pupil designs and carves an individual clay tile, which are then fired and assembled into a collaborative wall panel mounted in the school entrance hall.

Entry event

The teacher places four real pottery tiles and a miniature model of a bottle kiln on each table. Pupils handle the objects with magnifying glasses to feel the grooves and patterns. The teacher asks what visitors would think about our city if they saw these by the main school entrance.

Need to know

What are bottle kilns and why were they built in Stoke?
How did Victorian potters make patterns on flat clay tiles?
How do we use slip and carving tools without breaking the clay?
What symbol of our city should go on my tile?

Week by week

Your lessons: 1 a week, 60 minutes.

Week 1

Observe historic pottery designs and record ideas in sketchbooks.

Examine photos of local bottle kilns and Victorian tile designs, draw observational sketches in sketchbooks, and annotate favourite patterns. Walk to the bottle kilns at Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton for the sketching lesson instead of using photographs.
· 1 lesson

Supports

Provide picture word mats showing pottery features for EAL pupils; offer pre-drawn tile outline templates for pupils with SEND; challenge advanced pupils to sketch two contrasting border motifs.

Deliverable

Sketchbook page with at least two labelled pencil studies of local tile patterns and kilns.

Week 2

Practise clay slab building and trial sgraffito techniques on test pieces.

Roll out a clay slab using guide sticks, cut a square tile base, coat with coloured slip, and test sgraffito marks using wooden tools. Drop the lesson on glaze chemistry; we will decorate with coloured slips only and let the kiln do the rest.
· 1 lesson

Supports

Provide visual step-by-step rolling cards for EAL pupils; use roller guide rails and easy-grip wooden styluses for pupils with SEND; encourage advanced pupils to test varied line depths.

Deliverable

A small clay test slab demonstrating slip application and trial carved marks.

Week 3

Review sketchbook designs with peers and carve the final clay tile.

Select a final tile design from sketchbooks, transfer the design onto a freshly rolled clay tile coated in slip, and carve the sgraffito details. Let each pupil choose between a Stoke landmark, a pattern copied from a Victorian tile, or a word in their own handwriting.
· 1 lesson

Supports

Provide bilingual ceramic term prompt cards for EAL pupils; offer guided hand-over-hand tool positioning for pupils with SEND; prompt advanced pupils to incorporate fine textures into their background; model a carving demonstration and provide card templates so pupils practise clean edges on card before touching clay.

Deliverable

Completed damp clay tile carved with a personal design representing Stoke.

Week 4

Evaluate the fired tiles, assemble the panel, and write an exhibition caption.

Inspect fired tiles, arrange them into the collective panel layout, and write a two-sentence museum caption card explaining the imagery.
· 1 lesson

Supports

Provide a sentence starter bank for caption writing for EAL pupils; offer a fill-in-the-blank caption card for pupils with SEND; encourage advanced pupils to write about the historical influence behind their pattern.

Deliverable

A finished fired tile arranged in the panel frame alongside a completed caption card.

Critique and revision

Beginning of lesson 3

Pupils complete a two-minute partner swap using 'praise and polish' prompts to check whether their sketchbook design will carve clearly into clay.

Student reflection

Pupils look at the assembled wall panel and complete a three-question reflection sheet about how their clay skills improved from the test piece to the final tile.

Final product

What they make

A collaborative ceramic wall panel formed of individual decorated terracotta tiles, accompanied by pupil-written captions.

Options

Pupils choose their own central motif (such as a bottle kiln, canal scene, or floral Victorian pattern) and pick either light or dark contrasting slip.

Who sees it

School governors and visiting families see the panel mounted in the entrance hall during the final week of the unit.

Teams

Individual tile makers who work in mixed-ability table pairs to share rolling pins, clay boards, and slip pots.

Rubric3 rows · 4 levels

Criterion	beginning	developing	proficient	advanced
Sketchbook Recording KS2 Art and design: to create sketch books to… · individual	Sketches show incomplete outlines with few details or labels from the source objects.	Sketches show basic shapes of kilns or tiles with simple labels.	Sketches clearly record patterns and shapes from historical examples and include notes to plan clay work.	Sketches show detailed patterns, clear notes on line depth, and evidence of refining ideas between sketches.
Clay and Slip Technique KS2 Art and design: to improve their mastery of… · individual	Tile slab is uneven in thickness and carved lines tear through the base clay.	Tile slab is mostly even, but slip is patchy or carving lines are shallow.	Tile slab is rolled to an even thickness, slip is smooth, and carved lines cleanly reveal the clay underneath.	Tile slab is uniform, with smooth slip and confident variations in line thickness and texture.
Historical Design Awareness KS2 Art and design: about great artists, architects and… · individual	Tile imagery does not link clearly to the pottery heritage studied.	Tile imagery includes a recognisable local feature but caption lacks explanation.	Tile imagery and caption clearly show how local Victorian pottery history informed the design.	Tile imagery skilfully combines historic pottery features, and caption explains exact design links to Stoke's heritage.

Sketchbook Recording

KS2 Art and design: to create sketch books to… · individual

beginning

Sketches show incomplete outlines with few details or labels from the source objects.

developing

Sketches show basic shapes of kilns or tiles with simple labels.

proficient

Sketches clearly record patterns and shapes from historical examples and include notes to plan clay work.

advanced

Sketches show detailed patterns, clear notes on line depth, and evidence of refining ideas between sketches.

Clay and Slip Technique

KS2 Art and design: to improve their mastery of… · individual

beginning

Tile slab is uneven in thickness and carved lines tear through the base clay.

developing

Tile slab is mostly even, but slip is patchy or carving lines are shallow.

proficient

Tile slab is rolled to an even thickness, slip is smooth, and carved lines cleanly reveal the clay underneath.

advanced

Tile slab is uniform, with smooth slip and confident variations in line thickness and texture.

Historical Design Awareness

KS2 Art and design: about great artists, architects and… · individual

beginning

Tile imagery does not link clearly to the pottery heritage studied.

developing

Tile imagery includes a recognisable local feature but caption lacks explanation.

proficient

Tile imagery and caption clearly show how local Victorian pottery history informed the design.

advanced

Tile imagery skilfully combines historic pottery features, and caption explains exact design links to Stoke's heritage.

Materials

Photographs of Victorian decorative tiles and historic bottle kilns from local pottery works
Red earthenware clay, rolling pins, wooden thickness guide battens, and clay cutting wire
White liquid clay slip and flat application brushes
Wooden sgraffito styluses and ribbon carving tools
Access to a ceramic kiln for firing pupil tiles
check before use

Week 4, ready to teach

1 lesson · Built Oct 8 in 49 seconds

The week card on her unit reads: "Started from your changes to weeks 1, 2 and 3: Made it local, Cut, Gave students a choice." Each lesson is a page for her, the task sheet is for the class, and ALF wrote the attachments the lessons hand out.

Week 4 · Lesson 1 of 1

Assembling the Heritage Panel

Minutes60

Prep10 minutes

Parts5

BuiltOct 8

Checkpoint

Each pupil inspects their fired terracotta tile and completes an exhibition caption card for the panel frame.

Learning objective

To improve their mastery of art and design techniques with clay and evaluate ceramic work against local Victorian tile traditions.

I can describe how kiln firing transformed my clay tile into ceramic

I can decide the placement of my tile in the collaborative frame to balance patterns

I can write a caption explaining how my design represents Stoke-on-Trent

Need to know

How do our finished ceramic tiles come together to tell visitors the story of Stoke?

Sequence, 60 minutes45 of 60 minutes planned. The rest is yours.

Starter · 5 min

Welcome the class and display the cooled kiln shelves holding the fired terracotta tiles from last week. Individual tile makers observe the colour shift from grey damp clay to warm orange ceramic.

Main · 7 min

Explain that firing terracotta clay in a kiln at over nine hundred degrees Celsius causes permanent chemical change, turning soft clay into hard, brittle ceramic ware. Show how Victorian tile panels in Stoke-on-Trent, such as those made by Minton in 1870, balanced contrasting individual patterns to create harmonious collective architectural displays. Worked example, with example figures: demonstrate writing a caption with a target caption sentence count of 2 sentences, stating 'My carved kiln pattern represents the bottle kilns of Longton. I used deep sgraffito lines to show how smoke once filled our local skyline.'

Work time · 24 min

The teacher supervises the kiln collection station where pupils collect their fired terracotta tile one pair at a time, while the rest of the class drafts sentences in their sketchbooks. Working as individual tile makers in table pairs, each pupil inspects their fired tile, tests colour contrast, and writes their completed exhibition caption card. Each pupil brings their tile to the wooden display frame, and together they decide where to arrange each tile to balance bold landmarks and geometric patterns, creating the assembled ceramic wall panel.

Check · 6 min

Each pupil hands in their completed exhibition caption card alongside their placed tile in the wooden display frame. The teacher checks each card against the criteria, prompting any pupil who missed the historical link to orally name their local landmark before writing it down. Next week governors and families view the panel.

Plenary · 3 min

Tidy-up: chemical waste disposed of as the school's procedures require, equipment rinsed and returned, and surfaces wiped.

Resources

havethe fired terracotta tile

havethe wooden display frame

makethe exhibition caption card

makethe caption sentence prompt sheet

Misconceptions

Pupils may assume the tiles are painted rather than chemically changed by heat; tap a biscuit tile gently to demonstrate the ringing ceramic sound.

Safety

Ceramic biscuit ware has sharp edges if chipped; the teacher supervises the kiln collection station and handles any cracked tiles.

Adaptive teaching

Scaffold.Writing load: provide the caption sentence prompt sheet with vocabulary lists in home languages where the school has them, with pictures where it does not, and a fill-in-the-blank caption card.

Challenge.Pupils explain how their sgraffito line depth mimics Minton tile relief work.

Next lesson

The project concludes as school governors and families view the assembled ceramic wall panel in the entrance hall.

Her three edits

Each labeled by ALF after the save

What Priya changed in the draft, in her own words, with the label ALF gave each change and the reason it suggested.

Made it localWeek 1 · Activity 1Probably: local context
Examine photos of local bottle kilns and Victorian tile designs, draw observational sketches in sketchbooks, and annotate favourite patterns. Walk to the bottle kilns at Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton for the sketching lesson instead of using photographs.
CutWeek 2 · Activity 1Maybe: time
Roll out a clay slab using guide sticks, cut a square tile base, coat with coloured slip, and test sgraffito marks using wooden tools. Drop the lesson on glaze chemistry; we will decorate with coloured slips only and let the kiln do the rest.
The catalogue expected Trimmed it; ALF read it as Cut and that label stands.
Gave students a choiceWeek 3 · Activity 1Maybe: fits my students
Select a final tile design from sketchbooks, transfer the design onto a freshly rolled clay tile coated in slip, and carve the sgraffito details. Let each pupil choose between a Stoke landmark, a pattern copied from a Victorian tile, or a word in their own handwriting.

Then she pressed Adapt this week

Week 3 · Needs more support

Her note, with Needs more support picked

“Half the class could not cut clean edges last week. Add a carving demo and card templates to the supports, so they practise on card before anyone touches the clay.”

ALF suggested. Add a carving demonstration and card templates to Week 3 supports.

Kept · ChangedAdded a scaffold
Provide bilingual ceramic term prompt cards for EAL pupils; offer guided hand-over-hand tool positioning for pupils with SEND; prompt advanced pupils to incorporate fine textures into their background.
Provide bilingual ceramic term prompt cards for EAL pupils; offer guided hand-over-hand tool positioning for pupils with SEND; prompt advanced pupils to incorporate fine textures into their background; model a carving demonstration and provide card templates so pupils practise clean edges on card before touching clay.
Practising on card with templates helps pupils cut clean edges before carving their real clay tiles.

She kept 1 of 1.

ALF had built week 4 before this. The week card reads “Started from your changes to weeks 1, 2 and 3: Made it local, Cut, Gave students a choice.” Read the lessons.

Build one from your own idea

Type what you want to teach the way Priya did. ALF drafts the unit, and you change whatever does not fit your class.

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