Birth of a Book

A fascinating short film that shows a book being printed using traditional methods. ​

Watch this video with your children and then try some of our teaching and activity ideas below.

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

English

• Imagine that you could choose a book to be bound in this way. Which book would you choose and why?
• Write and produce a class book.
• Write an explanation of how the book was made.

Maths

• Try this paper folding investigation.​

Computing

• Make a list of all the different ways that text is presented today (e.g. in magazines, on posters, on phones etc.) Discuss what is the same and different in each instance.
• Research how printers work. What are the different types? Do they work in the same way as each other?

Design Technology

• Try one of these ways of binding your own book.
• Explore different techniques for printing.
• Compare a bound book to a modern paperback? What’s the same, what’s different?

Art

• Design a new cover for a favourite book.
• Try out some origami ideas.

Music

• Write a new soundtrack for the film. What instruments would you use? ​

History

• Create a timeline showing the history of printing. This site is really useful.​​

PSHE

• Watch out for all the different jobs people are doing in the film. How does each person contribute to the finished book? How do you think they organise themselves?