Designing Event Posters

Overview

This 45-minute lesson is the 10th session in the "Celebrating UK Sports Stars" unit for Year 5 students. The lesson focuses on collaboratively designing eye-catching posters to promote chosen sporting events, integrating Welsh language elements to support bilingual awareness. Students will engage in a creative workshop, consolidating their learning about UK sports stars and applying their digital and artistic skills in line with the Curriculum for Wales.

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Curriculum for Wales Alignment

Areas of Learning and Experience (AoLE):

• Expressive Arts – Skills development through communication, creativity, and imagination using various media and technologies
• Languages, Literacy and Communication – Welsh language integration, bilingual awareness, presentation, and writing skills
• Health & Well-being – Collaboration, confidence building, and self-expression

Cross-Curricular Skills:

• Literacy: Writing persuasive and descriptive text for posters
• Digital Competence: Using design software or hand-drawing posters effectively
• Personal and Social Development: Collaborative teamwork and peer feedback

Relevant Learning Objectives from Curriculum for Wales:

• Expressive Arts Yr5:
  • "Use different media to express ideas and feelings in creative ways."
  • "Use their growing awareness of their place in different communities to develop their work meaningfully."
• Languages, Literacy, and Communication Yr5:
  • "Create texts for different purposes and audiences, some in Welsh, showing knowledge of Welsh language and culture."
  • "Use talk and writing to organise, explore and communicate ideas."
• Health & Well-being Yr5:
  • "Make connections with others and express opinions clearly and respectfully."

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Collaboratively design a visually engaging poster to promote a UK sporting event, incorporating text and imagery.
2. Integrate Welsh language phrases or slogans into their poster to support bilingual literacy.
3. Demonstrate creativity, effective communication, and teamwork during the design process.
4. Reflect on their creative choices and present their poster ideas confidently to the class.

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Success Criteria

• I can contribute ideas during the poster design brainstorming session.
• I can include at least one Welsh phrase or slogan on my poster.
• My poster clearly promotes a chosen UK sporting event with eye-catching visuals.
• I work respectfully and cooperatively with my group members.
• I am able to explain the design choices I made in my poster.

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Resources Needed

• Large sheets of paper or card for poster creation
• Colouring materials: pencils, markers, crayons
• Optional: Tablets or computers with simple design software/apps (e.g., Paint, Canva for Education or Word)
• Printed examples of UK sports posters (preferably with bilingual elements)
• Welsh phrase list relevant to sports and event promotion (e.g., "Croeso i’r gêm!" — Welcome to the game!)
• Projector/screen for presentations
• Timer or stopwatch

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Lesson Structure (45 minutes)

1. Starter Activity: Poster Exploration & Discussion (5 minutes)

• Show a selection of existing sports event posters from the UK, highlighting those with bilingual English/Welsh text.
• Ask students: "What makes these posters eye-catching? What Welsh words or phrases can you spot?"
• Briefly discuss how posters communicate excitement and important information clearly.

2. Introduction & Group Formation (3 minutes)

• Remind students of their chosen UK sporting event from previous lessons.
• Organise students into groups of 4-5 to collaborate on designing one poster per group.

3. Creative Workshop & Brainstorming (10 minutes)

• Groups brainstorm content and visual ideas: images, slogans, layout, and Welsh phrases to include.
• Encourage students to plan which group members will handle writing, drawing, and digital tasks.
• Provide the Welsh phrase list and assist in integrating simple Welsh language into their poster.
• Teacher circulates to support ideas, check Welsh usage accuracy and scaffold design decisions.

4. Poster Design & Creation (20 minutes)

• Groups create their posters on paper or using digital tools available.
• Promote creativity — students can draw, colour, or type text using technology.
• Teacher supports groups needing help with spelling, vocabulary, or design techniques.

5. Gallery Walk & Group Presentations (5 minutes)

• Groups display or project their posters.
• Each group presents key design features and the Welsh phrase(s) they included.
• Class offers positive feedback and notices effective use of language and creativity.

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Differentiation Strategies

Learner Type	Strategies
Emerging Learners / Additional Learning Needs	Provide sentence starters in English and Welsh for slogans; limit group tasks to one or two roles (e.g., just colouring or cutting); encourage peer support; offer stencil templates for shapes.
English/Welsh Second Language Learners	Highlight cognates and related vocabulary from Welsh phrase lists; pair with bilingual peers; use visual aids demonstrating vocabulary; provide audio examples of Welsh phrases.
Advanced Learners	Challenge to create bilingual slogans with original Welsh phrases; incorporate persuasive language techniques (e.g., alliteration); explore digital poster design tools; critique and improve poster drafts with evidence-based choices.

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Extension Activities

• Digital Poster Challenge: Use simple graphic design software to create a digital version of the poster at home or in a future lesson — adding animations or QR codes linking to more information.
• Welsh Language Expansion: Research and write a short promotional speech in Welsh advertising the sporting event for a class video or assembly presentation.
• Marketing Campaign: Develop additional promotional materials such as social media posts or flyers incorporating Welsh and English text alongside the poster.

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Assessment

Formative assessment will occur through:

• Observation of group collaboration and participation in brainstorming.
• Anecdotal notes evaluating the inclusion and correct use of Welsh language phrases.
• Reviewing completed posters against the success criteria for clear event promotion and bilingual components.
• Listening to group presentations assessing their ability to articulate their design choices and use of language appropriately.

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Reflection and Next Steps

At the end of the lesson, invite students to reflect briefly on what was easy or challenging about including Welsh language on their poster and which design choices they enjoyed the most. Use these insights to guide planning for the next (11th) lesson focused on media promotion and peer feedback.

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This creative, bilingual-focused workshop-style lesson empowers Year 5 learners to develop literacy, digital competence, and Welsh language skills while celebrating UK sporting culture through meaningful collaboration and artistic expression.