UKS2: Britain since World War 2
Theme 2: Media World
Session 8: From clothes rationing to fashion design History/DT
Session 8a: Designs into creation
Range and Breadth: His: 11b Study changes since WW2. DT: 5c Design & make.
Range and Breadth: DT: 5c Design and make. ICT: 5b Explore ICT tools.
PoS
PoS
History: Knowledge, skills & understanding
DT/ICT
DT: Working with tools, materials & components [Main]
Objectives Explore changes in fashion during the decades since WW2. 2a Study
Objectives Produce a 1960s fashion outfit for a fashion doll using their own design.
PoS
PoS
characteristic features of the period studied. 5c Communicate their
knowledge of history in a variety of ways. 2d Describe changes across
the period studied.
DT: Developing, planning and communicating
[Main]
2a Select techniques/materials for making their product. 2d Measure,
mark out, cut and shape materials, and assemble, join and combine
materials. 2e Use simple finishing techniques to improve appearance.
ICT: Knowledge, skills & understanding
Objectives Design a 1960s outfit for a fashion doll. 1a Generate ideas. 1b Develop
Objectives Use a digital camera & a word processor to present their article. 3b Be
Whole class teaching Explain that after the war people were delighted when
Whole class teaching
Easy/Medium/Hard
Easy/Medium/Hard
In pairs or small groups chn design & make a 1960s outfit for a fashion doll (e.g. Barbie,
Ken, Cindy, etc). Barbie first appeared in 1959 & Cindy was the UK equivalent launched in
1963 (see pics in 1960s Scrapbook of miniskirts, Mary Quant, trouser suits, hot pants,
mods & rockers, wide ties, etc). Chn need to talk to a partner about the type of outfit
they will design. Is it for a party, for normal day wear, for a special occasion of some
type…? The design is drawn on paper using lead and coloured pencils and chn should aim
to show front, back, some enlarged details, colours or patterns on their outfit (session
resources).
Display the outfits. Explain that in the next session chn are going to
Plenary
create a version of their outfits using a variety of materials.
Chn will be working in groups to turn their designs into real clothes for their dollmodels. They can use fabric remnants (often available from local markets – end of rolls),
plastic bags, different papers or paper with patterns drawn on. Plain white fabric (old
sheets, etc.) can be coloured using fabric pens. Chn make accessories from playdough,
plasticine, junk, etc. Sew, glue, tape or staple clothes together. Grps take it in turns to
photograph their 1960s outfits with a digital camera. Download these onto the school
network so that chn can access them from their computers and add captions and title.
ideas by shaping materials. 1c/d Talk & communicate ideas by drawing.
clothing rations no longer existed. Rationing had begun in 1941 because of a shortage of
raw materials & to allow workers to concentrate on making items needed for the war
effort. See session resources for a list of coupons required to buy different clothes.
Second hand clothes weren’t rationed & chn’s clothes were handed down within families
or sold to other families. The government had a poster campaign ‘Make Do and Mend’
(session resources) & women altered clothes, mended clothes & unpicked knitted
jumpers & reused the wool, so it is easy to understand why they were so pleased when
clothes were no longer rationed. Knitting & making your own clothes did remain popular
for many years as it was of course a cheaper way to have new clothes. People do still
make their own clothes today, but it is not so popular & skills are being lost. Look at
fashion through the decades since World War 2. Highlight some particular fashions such
as A-line, mini skirt, hot pants, maxi skirt, kipper ties, drain-pipe trousers, winkle
pickers, punk, gothic, flares, etc. Show chn session resources and pages from 1950s,
1960s & 1970s Scrapbooks. Concentrate on the 1960s. If possible get hold of some 60s
clothes to show chn (ask their grandparents or local museum, etc).
sensitive to needs of audience. 2a Organise & reorganise text & images.
Today chn are going to work in small groups to create the the fashion outfits they
created in S8. They will be using a variety of scrap materials such as fabric off-cuts,
plain fabric, old sheeting, fabric pens, paints, felt-tips, paper and modelling stuff such
as plasticine and playdough for the accessories. Discuss the difficulties chn may face in
going from their drawings to the real outfits. Have some chn designed features that will
be difficult to make. Will they need to adapt their designs? Do they think that real
fashion designers sometimes have these difficulties and have to modify their designs on
paper to make them more easy to make in real life? Show some pictures of some of the
famous designers of the 60s with one of their designs (see resources). Point out that
the actual outfit has probably involved several stages of paper design, creating a mockup and then changing the paper design, etc. Explain that once we have made our outfits,
we will need to take photgraphs of the outfits – both on & off a model. Have a number of
fashion dolls available to act as models for chn to dress in their outfits (some doll
accessories may be available to enhance the photos or chn may be making their own.)
These photos will go in our very own fashion magazine.
Plenary
Make a fashion magazine containing pictures of the outfits. Give the
magazine a title – what will it be called?
© Hamilton Trust 2010. This activity may be adapted for use by a teacher in his/her own class. It may not be reproduced for any other purpose.
UKS2_BSWW2_S8_8a Media World