Project Options
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Large Scale Projects

Projects such as the one described below are comprehensive in their coverage of the elements detailed in Options A - H. Large scale projects need not include all these elements and will be designed and organised to suit the schools' requirements.

Primary School Design and Weave Project (sample)

Design and weave a communal woven tapestry for the school to celebrate the existence of the school and it's community at the turn of the century. All the pupils in the school will take part in the project and a separate composite wall mounted work will be made from the individual weaving that the children do on the project.

Aims

Develop the childrens awareness and understanding of their place in the world and in the local community.
Enhance their knowledge of design, weave and IT.
Provide the school with a new resource for learning in the future.
Strengthen links between the school and the community.

Objectives

The objectives of the project will be to achieve the aims set out above through running a series of workshops that will incorporate the following elements :-

Training
Community involvement
Class workshops

Training - through Inset sessions after school all teachers will learn the skills necessary to use the techniques again in the future.

Community involvement - All pupils will be involved in researching the subject and in providing the information on which the design of the communal tapestry will be based. This will immediately activate the interest of parents and families who will be encouraged to join in and learn from the workshops and assist in overseeing the weaving of the tapestry.

Class workshops - All pupils will produce their own individual pieces of weaving. Two classes will also concentrate on the design and weaving of the communal tapestry. The individual weaving done by other classes will develop a more general theme using colour and texture to allow cohesion in the finished composite work.

The organisation of the project and the theme for the communal tapestry and composite wall hanging will be discussed in detail with the staff in the term previous to the project. They will be asked to focus the childrens research on the themes for the work in certain areas and this research work will be used to develop the design of the tapestries with the children of one class. All the children in the school will be take part in the research work.

The class workshops will cover a number of other areas of the curriculum:

All classes will be given an introduction to weaving and its relevance to our lives - this will be illustrated with examples of the artists own work.

Individual design development work will be carried out during the workshops to help both the children and teachers learn to use the computer efficiently as a design tool (Inset will also be done in this area).

Language work will be discussed with the children and their teachers and a range of creative and documentary writing produced based on the experiences of the children during the project.

Web pages will be created to present the work done on the project which will allow other outside bodies to assess and criticise what is being achieved. With the inclusion on the site of the research and language work done by the pupils, these web pages will become a valuable resource for the school in the future.

Illustrated notes including suppliers, books and welsh language equivalents for technical terms and other words used in the workshops will be provided for the school.

Equipment for weaving will be left with the school for use in future.

Outcomes for assessment and planning

The children will :-

See and discuss a contemporary artist's work.
Discover the relevance of weaving in our lives today and in the past.
Learn about the structures of yarn and weaving.
Develop language - common words, technical terms and creative use. Investigate the properties of different materials.
Learn about symbols and how one thing can be used to represent another.
Experience using their hands and fingers in different ways by using a range of equipment and tools.
Develop spacial awareness.
Develop their observation skills.
Use mathematics as a part of the process of work (measuring, counting, addition, division, shape/balance, symmetry).
Criticise and assess their own work and that of others.
Develop their understanding of the design concept.
Experience working as a team.

ICT

Learn about pixels.
Discuss the relevance of computer design in our lives today.
Develop language - common words, technical terms and creative use.
Learn about symbols and how one thing can be used to represent another - as above, different context.
Use check lists as part of a plan to clarify how best to use the software.
Considering the structure of their intended design/picture.
Appropriate use of tools in the software.
Keyboard shortcuts.
Special effects using standard tools and some options.
Gain better control of the mouse.
Develop their observation skills.
Criticise and assess their own work and that of others.