Teaching Ideas for a Tartan Day

Try out some of these teaching and classroom activity ideas for Tartan Day, which takes place in Scotland on 6th April. Other countries may celebrate special tartan days at other times of the year.

If you have any other ideas for a tartan day or topic, let us know by adding a comment!

English:

• Read some Scottish Folk tales. Write and illustrate one of your own.
• Create a list of vocabulary that describes tartan, such as line, plaid, and pattern.
• Use our Scotland Fact Cards and Robert Burns Fact Cards for reading activities.
• Use persuasive language to create an advert for a garment or item with a tartan design.
• Download our Scotland Pack, which includes a comprehension text on the history of tartan.

• Write an acrostic poem about tartan.
• Collect books set in Scotland, such as the Katie Morag books* by Mairi Hedderwick.

Maths:

• Draw your own tartan using only straight lines and right angles.
• Give children examples of tartan and ask them to work out how much of the area of the fabric is covered by each colour.
• Count the number of right angles in a sample of tartan.
• Show children a few examples of tartan and pose the question, “Is tartan symmetrical”? Ask them to discuss and explain their thoughts.

Science:

• Find out about the earliest colour photograph, created by James Clark Maxwell. His image of a tartan ribbon was taken in 1861
• Learn how wool is made and explain why it is a good material for clothes.
• Experiment with natural dyes.

Computing:

• Use an art programme to design a tartan.
• Try this online tartan designer.

Design Technology:

• Try making a simple loom and weaving some fabric with this Oak National Academy lesson.
• Weave some paper tartan.
• Watch tartan being woven in a factory.

• Learn the names of the different garments and accessories that make up traditional Highland Dress. This page has lots of information. Draw and annotate the elements of Highland Dress.

Art:

• Create tartan patterns using different art materials.
• Try this idea from Crayola.
• Look at some paintings where the subjects are wearing tartan. This page has some good examples. Discuss why tartan appears in the image. Can you see any similarities between the paintings.

Music:

• Learn and perform a traditional Scottish song.
• Watch this video of a marching band, then compose your own marching rhythm on a drum.
• Watch this video about the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming to learn how to play the bagpipes.
• Research some facts about bagpipes and make a fact file.

Geography:

• Explore this map showing Scottish clans. Can you match it up to an atlas or Google maps? Choose a clan and find out where they lived in Scotland. This site is really useful for researching clans.
• Explore the geography of Scotland with this Oak National Academy lesson.

History:

• Create a timeline of key events in Tartan history. This page has some useful facts.
• Visit our Tartan Day Event page.

Physical Education:

• Learn and play a traditional Scottish game, such as shinty.
• Hold a mini Highland Games, including tug-of-war.
• Dance the Highland Fling.

• Learn a simple Scottish reel.

Languages:

• Learn basic Scottish Gaelic greetings or listen to Gaelic stories at Gaelic4Parents.
• Find the Scots or Gaelic words for some everyday items.
• Try this English to Scots. Have a go at using the random sentence generator.

PSHE:

• Talk about what it means to have a nationality. What symbols does your nationality have? Tartan is a symbol of being Scottish. What other national symbols can you think of?