Perfect Plans

This is one of a set of resources developed to support the teaching of the primary national curriculum. They are designed to support the delivery of key topics within design and technology and maths. This resource focusses on drawing a plan view of a classroom.

Different types of drawing are used to communicate different types of information. Plan views see a section of an object as projected on a horizontal plane. In effect, a plan view is a 2D section drawing viewed from the top – this is different from a top view, which would see all of the features looking down from above. In the case of a room, for example, a plan view may show table tops, chairs, doors etc., whereas a top view would also show the legs of the tables, light fittings etc.

Plan views are widely used to show rooms or buildings from above. They may include measurements, furniture, appliances, or anything else necessary to the purpose of the plan. Plan views may be used to see how furniture will fit in a room, for example when designing a new kitchen, to show the builders the layout of a new building, or on estate agent’s literature to give potential buyers an indication of what a house is like.

Producing a plan view develops drawing skills, whilst simultaneously allowing concepts such as dimensions, proportion and scale to be introduced in a practical context.

In this activity learners will produce a plan view drawing of their classroom, working in proportion and ideally to scale.