Planning Our Mini House

Overview

In this second lesson of the six-part unit Clay Homes Through Time, students move from exploring homes and clay as a material to planning a small group clay house. They develop a labelled visual plan that considers form, function, scale, stability, materials, and how responsibilities will be shared.

Learning intentions

• WALT develop and communicate an idea through a labelled visual arts plan.
• WALT identify suitable shapes, materials, and construction methods for a stable mini house.
• WALT use scale and proportion to plan the house’s parts.
• WALT collaborate respectfully by sharing roles, resources, and decisions.

Success criteria

• I can draw a clear house plan showing the shape, walls, roof, interior, exterior, and landscape.
• I can add labels and notes explaining suitable clay or other materials.
• I can show approximate scale and identify features that will help the house stand.
• I can contribute an idea and agree on responsibilities with my group.

Curriculum links

• Visual Arts — developing and communicating ideas through drawing, design, and making.
• Visual Arts — exploring how materials, techniques, elements, and principles contribute to an artwork.
• Visual Arts — responding to and discussing artworks, designs, and artistic choices.
• Key competencies — managing self, relating to others, participating and contributing, and thinking.

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Reconnect and hook. Teacher displays photographs or drawings of different homes and opens with the hook and comparison slides, asking: “What makes a house look like a home, and what would make a clay house stay standing?” Students quietly sketch one quick house idea, then share one feature or construction concern with a partner.

2. 5–12 min · Model planning. Teacher uses the planning and vocabulary slides to demonstrate a simple plan, thinking aloud about a stable base, wall thickness, roof shape, door and window placement, and a manageable scale. Teacher shows how to include a top-down interior view and a side or front view, using arrows and labels such as “base,” “wall,” “roof,” “door,” “window,” “path,” and “garden.” Students identify one strong design choice and one possible stability problem in the example.

3. 12–17 min · Explain the group brief. Teacher forms five groups of six and distributes the mini-house planning sheet. Explain that each group will create one agreed plan, not six separate finished designs. Students allocate or negotiate roles such as lead drafter, detail designer, materials adviser, scale checker, recorder, and discussion facilitator; roles may be shared or rotated.

4. 17–32 min · Group planning. Teacher circulates, conferences with groups, and refers back to the group task and checklist slides. Prompt students to decide the house shape, approximate dimensions, wall and roof construction, interior layout, exterior details, landscape, suitable brought-in resources, and how materials will be shared. Students complete the worksheet and produce a clearly labelled plan with at least one top-down view and one outside view.

5. 32–39 min · Peer design check. Teacher pauses the class and displays the peer-feedback prompts. Each group places its plan where another group can view it; visiting students give two specific strengths and one question using the prompts: “I notice…”, “This may help the house to…”, and “Have you considered…?” Groups return to their plans and make one useful revision.

6. 39–45 min · Share and reflect. Teacher invites two or three groups to present one design decision and one compromise they made, then leads a brief review of the checklist on the plenary slides. Students complete the final reflection boxes on the worksheet, identifying their contribution, the group’s most stable feature, and one improvement to make before construction.

Resources

• the complete planning and discussion slide deck
• the mini-house planning sheet
• A3 paper or cartridge paper, one sheet per group
• Pencils, erasers, rulers, coloured pencils, and fine-tip pens
• Images or examples of clay houses and small shelters
• Measuring strips or rulers marked with the agreed planning scale
• Role cards or board space for recording group responsibilities
• Flat folders or trays for storing group plans

Assessment

• During modelling, check whether students can explain why a broad base, supported walls, or an appropriately scaled roof may improve stability.
• During group work, observe planning talk, equitable participation, use of labels, and whether decisions connect materials and construction methods to the design.
• Collect the group plans and use the criteria to check for all required views, labels, scale thinking, interior and exterior details, and a recorded materials-sharing plan.

Differentiation

• Provide a partially completed plan, a simple house outline, a labelled word bank, and sentence starters such as “We chose… because…” and “To make it stable, we will…”.
• Allow students who find drawing difficult to contribute through labelling, measuring, oral explanation, collage shapes, or having a peer scribe their ideas.
• Support EAL learners with photographs, gestures, paired rehearsal, and consistent visual labels; accept labelled diagrams with developing English.
• Challenge confident designers to show measurements using a consistent scale, include an elevation or cross-section, and justify how their material choices suit the house’s purpose.
• Intentionally group students so responsibilities can be shared. Model respectful disagreement and provide an adult check-in for students who need support with collaboration, fine-motor tasks, or sustained attention.