Farm Fair Day

Overview

Students plan and run a class Farm Fair Day to showcase what they know about farms. They will create a simple visual display, write short fair invitations/captions, and solve maths problems linked to fair items and games, connecting learning to real-world purposes.

Learning intentions

• Students will make artworks and explain how artists use materials/techniques to show ideas about farms.
• Students will plan and write short texts (e.g., invitations and captions) for a purpose and audience.
• Students will use number bonds and addition/subtraction to solve “fair” problems.
• Students will share fair ideas clearly when organising roles and talking about their artworks/games.

Success criteria

• I can make a farm-themed artwork using chosen materials and describe what it shows.
• I can write a short invitation or caption with a clear purpose and correct sentence structure.
• I can solve fair number problems using addition and subtraction (I can explain my thinking).
• I can help run a fair-day activity by using simple ideas and respectful communication.

Curriculum links

• Creative Arts — CA1-VIS-01: making artworks to represent subject matter and ideas; describing how artists convey ideas.
• English — EN1-CWT-01: planning, creating and revising short texts for different purposes using vocabulary, text features and sentence structure.
• Mathematics — MA1-CSQ-01: using number bonds and the relationship between addition and subtraction to solve partitioning problems.
• Creative Arts (Drama link for fairness roles) — students enact and communicate ideas through performance and describing how drama communicates ideas (teacher-led role prompts).

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome & goal. Teacher explains: “Today we will organise our Farm Fair Day—games, crafts and farm food—so others can learn from us.” Students repeat the goal and share one idea of what a fair needs.
2. 5–15 min · Quick fair planning (history focus: farms as places of work). Teacher shows 3 fair stations on the board: “Games”, “Crafts/Art”, “Food display”. Students in small groups choose a station role (set-up, artist, game helper, sign maker). Teacher uses prompts: “What do farm workers do?” Students sort ideas into “work on the farm” vs “things we make for the fair”.
3. 15–25 min · Direct teach: farm artwork that communicates an idea. Teacher demonstrates making a simple farm collage or drawing using 2–3 techniques (e.g., cut-and-paste shapes, crayons for texture, collage for a field/animal). Teacher models describing it using sentence starters: “My artwork shows… I used… because…”. Students create their artwork for the fair display (e.g., a cow on a farm, a tractor, a vegetable patch).
4. 25–33 min · Share and write: invitations/captions (short text). Teacher briefly models planning a 1–2 sentence invitation/caption:

• “You are invited to…”
• “It is on…”
• “Come and see…” Students choose one: write an invitation or a caption for their artwork. Teacher circulates using sentence stems and word bank (farm, animal, tractor, field, play, craft, fair).

5. 33–45 min · Maths at the fair (number bonds & partitioning). Teacher sets up “Fair Bags” using paper counters/real objects (e.g., 10 seeds/cotton balls total). Students solve a teacher-stated problem such as: “We have 10 seeds. 6 go in the game and the rest go on the display. How many are left?” Teacher reinforces: “You can think addition and subtraction are related.” Students record using drawings and number sentences (10 = 6 + __). Repeat once with a different total (e.g., 8 or 12) ensuring each student has a chance to answer.
6. 45–55 min · Run the stations mini-test. Teacher organises a short “practice fair” rotation:

• Crafts/Art: students show artwork and use one sentence to explain the idea.
• Games: students try a simple farm game for 2–3 minutes (e.g., “Plant the seeds” target toss; “Match the farm animal” picture cards).
• Food display (no cooking; simple display only): students present what they brought/imagined (e.g., fruit/veg picture cards labelled with a caption). Teacher prompts polite fair language: “Welcome”, “Here you can…”, “Thank you”.

7. 55–60 min · Exit ticket & pack-up. Students complete an oral or quick written check:

• One sentence: “My artwork shows…”
• One number fact: “If we have ___ and we take away/take __, we have __ left.” Teacher thanks students and sets up next session: finalising signs and preparing the full fair arrangement.

Resources

• Farm-themed picture cards (animals, tractor, crops, fence, barn)
• Art materials: paper, crayons/colour pencils, glue sticks, scissors (supervised), pre-cut shapes, scrap paper, textured materials
• Sentence starter strips for invitations/captions
• Word bank cards (farm, animal, field, tractor, see, fair, invited)
• Paper counters/cotton balls/buttons and small containers (seed bag maths)
• Display board or large paper for class “Farm Fair Day” signage
• Simple game items (beanbags or paper balls, target sheet, animal matching cards)
• Timer and station labels (“Games”, “Crafts/Art”, “Food display”)

Assessment

• Formative checks during art: teacher listens for explanation using “My artwork shows… I used… because…”.
• Formative checks in writing: teacher reviews captions/invitations for purpose, clear sentence structure, and appropriate vocabulary.
• Maths check: teacher observes students using drawings or number sentences to show a correct partitioning relationship.

Differentiation

• Support: provide cut-and-glue templates for younger learners; give sentence starters and word banks; allow oral writing (teacher scribe) for invitations/captions where needed.
• Support for maths: use totals on a number line or ten-frame; reduce numbers (e.g., 8) and increase to 10–12 for those ready.
• Extension: students add an extra sentence to their invitation/caption (e.g., “We will have…”), and solve a second fair problem with a different partition.
• EAL/SEN: allow responses with images (label cards) and structured turn-taking during the mini-test; maintain consistent routines for stations and clean-up.