JSS3 Cultural and Creative Arts: Lesson Note and Scheme of Work, Third Term (2026 Edition)

JSS3 Cultural and Creative Arts: Lesson Note and Scheme of Work, Third Term (2026 Edition)

Class: Junior Secondary School 3
Subject: Cultural and Creative Arts (CCA)
Term: Third Term
Duration: 11 weeks

A Note to the Teacher

Third term in JSS3 is short and heavy. Students are preparing for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), so the term has to do two jobs at once. It must strengthen the content students have met over the past three years, and it must train them to answer examination questions accurately and calmly. This edition therefore mixes topic teaching with past question practice, instead of leaving all the practice until the end. Please adjust the weekly plan to match your school’s calendar and the current national curriculum guide.

Scheme of Work

Teacher’s note: Where a past question paper for a particular year is not available in your school, use any recent BECE paper or a reliable question bank. What matters is the habit of practising under time pressure.

---

NIGERIAN TRADITIONAL ARTS AND CULTURE

Learning Objectives

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

1. Explain what Nigerian traditional art is and why it was produced.
2. State the locations where the major traditional art forms were found.
3. Name the materials (media) and techniques used by the artists.
4. List the main characteristics of each art tradition.
5. Match each art tradition to its people, state and typical works.

Introduction

Long before Europeans arrived, the peoples of what is now Nigeria were already producing some of the finest art in Africa. Their works were not made for decoration alone. Most of them served a purpose in religion, kingship, ancestor honour, burial, or community ceremony. An artist was often a respected member of society, and in many places the craft was passed from father to son within a guild.

Among the oldest surviving artworks in Nigeria are the terracotta sculptures of the Nok culture of central Nigeria. Older textbooks give the period as 500 BC to 500 AD. More recent archaeological research suggests the culture may be even older, with dates reaching back to about 1500 BC. When you teach this, tell students that dates in archaeology are revised as new evidence appears, so they should learn the range given in their approved textbook for examination purposes.

The major traditional art centres you must know are Nok, Ife, Benin, Igbo-Ukwu, Esie, Tsoede (Nupe), Mbari and Ibibio. Their works were made from materials such as clay (terracotta), bronze, brass, ivory, stone, wood and unbaked clay, using techniques like modelling, carving and casting.

Locations of the Major Traditional Art Forms

Nok Art

Nok is a small village in southern Kaduna State, and the culture is named after it. The first terracotta piece was found in 1928 during tin mining on the Jos Plateau, and the culture was later named and studied by the archaeologist Bernard Fagg. Nok works are mostly made of baked clay, which we call terracotta.

Characteristics of Nok art

1. They are made of terracotta.
2. The heads are usually conical, cylindrical or spherical in shape.
3. The eyes, nostrils, mouth and ears are usually hollow.
4. The pupils of the eyes are often pierced.
5. They are semi-naturalistic, meaning the features are stylised but still resemble human beings.
6. Hairstyles and jewellery are shown in great detail.

Medium: Terracotta

Igbo-Ukwu Art

Igbo-Ukwu is a town in Anambra State. In 1938 objects were found there by accident while a man was digging, and proper excavations were carried out later by the archaeologist Thurstan Shaw in 1959 and 1960. The finds were dated to about the 9th century AD, which makes them remarkably early for such advanced metalwork.

The objects were cast in bronze using the cire-perdue (lost wax) method. Hundreds of pieces were recovered, many of them covered in fine, intricate patterns of insects, snakes, beads and knots.

Characteristics of Igbo-Ukwu art

1. The works are made of metal (bronze alloy), with some pottery.
2. They are heavily decorated with delicate patterns and beads.
3. They combine stylised and naturalistic forms.
4. Many objects were found in a ritual or burial setting, linked to a priest or titled person.
5. Animal figures such as snakes, leopards and insects are common.

Medium: Bronze (alloy) and clay

Benin Art

Benin art is the famous art of the Edo people, known for its use of the lost wax casting process. It consists mainly of bronze and brass heads, figures, and relief plaques, together with carved ivory. It is often called court art because it was made for the Oba’s palace and served to record the history, ceremonies and power of the kingdom. The craft was controlled by a guild of casters, and it flourished especially between the 14th and 16th centuries.

Characteristics of Benin art

1. It is naturalistic and idealistic, showing people as dignified and noble.
2. It is symbolic and highly stylised in its details.
3. Figures are decorated with bracelets, anklets and coral beads to show royalty and rank.
4. The plaques record events, warriors, chiefs and Portuguese visitors.
5. It is court art, controlled by the Oba.

Medium: Bronze, brass and ivory

Discussion point for class: Many Benin objects were taken from Nigeria in 1897 and are now in museums abroad. In recent years there have been ongoing efforts to return some of them to Nigeria. Ask students why it matters for a people to have their cultural objects at home.

Ife Art

Ife art comes from Ile-Ife in Osun State, regarded by the Yoruba as their spiritual home. Ife artists were famous for lifelike bronze and terracotta heads, cast so skilfully that they look like portraits of real people. Many have fine parallel lines on the face, which may represent scarification or a covering worn on ceremonial occasions.

Characteristics: naturalistic, refined finish, made of bronze, brass or terracotta, and connected to royalty and religion.

Esie, Tsoede and Mbari Art

• Esie (Kwara State): Hundreds of soapstone figures, found in a grove. They show people in various poses and dress.
• Tsoede (Nupe) bronzes: Bronze figures and vessels found around Tada and Jebba, linked to the Nupe people.
• Mbari (Imo State): Mbari is an Igbo art form dedicated to the earth goddess, Ala. Whole houses filled with clay figures were built and then left to decay naturally, showing that the value of the art lay in the making and the offering.
• Ibibio (Akwa Ibom State): Known for wooden masks and carved figures used in masquerade and society ceremonies.

Class Activities

1. Use a labelled map of Nigeria and let students place each art tradition on its correct state.
2. Divide the class into groups. Each group presents one tradition to the class in three minutes.
3. Let students sketch a simple Nok head or a Benin plaque in their notebooks.

Evaluation Questions

1. Mention four Nigerian traditional art centres and one state where each is found.
2. What is terracotta?
3. Describe the lost wax method of casting in your own words.
4. Why is Benin art called court art?
5. Give three characteristics of Nok art.

Assignment

Write a short essay of not more than one page on “Why Nigerian traditional art is important today.”

---

TEXTILE AND DESIGN

Learning Objectives

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

1. Define textile design.
2. Name the major branches of textile design.
3. List the tools and equipment used in textile design.
4. Explain the techniques used to decorate fabric.
5. Identify at least three traditional Nigerian textiles.

What Is Textile Design?

Textile design is the process of planning and producing the look and structure of a fabric. A designer decides on the colour, pattern, texture and the way threads are put together, and then chooses how to produce it, by hand or by machine.

Textile design has three major branches:

1. Printed textile design: patterns are printed onto the surface of plain cloth.
2. Woven textile design: patterns come from the way threads are interlaced on a loom.
3. Mixed media textile design: several methods are combined, such as printing, stitching and appliqué.

Tools Used in Textile Design

• Sewing machines, needles and threads
• Fabrics of different types (plain, patterned and special fabrics)
• Pattern making tools such as rulers, tailor’s chalk and paper patterns
• Cutting mats

Equipment Used in Textile Design

• Thread
• Hand-sewing needles
• A thimble, which protects the finger when sewing
• Beeswax, used to strengthen and smooth thread
• A pair of fabric scissors (which should never be used to cut paper)
• An iron and ironing board

Techniques Used in Textile Design Production

The following techniques are used to produce designs on fabric:

1. Dyeing: colouring cloth with dye, including using several colours (polychromatic dyeing).
2. Printing: applying designs using blocks, stencils or screens.
3. Spraying: applying colour with a spray to create soft or blended effects.
4. Weaving: interlacing warp and weft threads to form cloth.
5. Embroidery: decorating cloth with needle and thread.
6. Chemical finishing: treatments such as resin finishing and mercerisation, which improve strength, shine or crease resistance.
7. Mechanical finishing: treatments such as raising and calendering, which change the feel and appearance of the surface.

Traditional Nigerian Textiles

Teacher’s note: Bring real samples to class if you can, even small pieces. Students learn textiles better by touching them than by reading about them.

Class Activities

1. Let students make a simple tie and dye piece using rubber bands and a safe dye.
2. Let students design a simple repeat pattern on paper using two colours.

Evaluation Questions

1. Define textile design.
2. Name the three branches of textile design.
3. List four tools used in textile design.
4. Mention any three techniques of decorating fabric.
5. Name two traditional Nigerian textiles and the people who produce them.

---

NIGERIAN CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS AND THEIR WORKS

Learning Objectives

Students should be able to name notable contemporary Nigerian artists, state the type of art each is known for, and explain how their work reflects Nigerian culture.

Introduction

Contemporary Nigerian art grew out of the meeting of traditional art and modern training. Many of today’s artists still draw on traditional symbols, folklore and proverbs, while using new media and ideas.

Teacher’s note: Choose a few artists and study them well rather than rushing through the whole list. For the BECE, students are more likely to be asked to match an artist to a work than to describe a career in detail.

Evaluation Questions

1. Name three contemporary Nigerian artists.
2. Who created the sculpture called Anyanwu?
3. What material is Jimoh Buraimoh known for?
4. Why do you think contemporary artists still use traditional symbols?

---

BECE PRACTICE GUIDE

For weeks 1 to 6, 8 and 9, set aside part of each lesson for past question practice. A workable routine:

1. Attempt: Students answer 10 to 15 objective questions in 15 minutes, without notes.
2. Mark: Students swap and mark, so that everyone sees the correct answers at once.
3. Correct: Go through every wrong answer and ask the class why the correct option is correct.
4. Record: Each student keeps an “error book” where they write down what they got wrong and the right answer. Review this book weekly.

Encourage students to read the whole question before answering, to eliminate options they know are wrong, and to manage their time. Point out that CCA questions often test the difference between things that look similar, such as terracotta and bronze, or printing and weaving.

---

Sample BECE-Style Questions

1. The oldest known art tradition in Nigeria is
   A. Benin B. Nok C. Ife D. Esie
2. The lost wax process of casting is also known as
   A. Cire-perdue B. Weaving C. Mercerisation D. Calendering
3. Benin art is often called court art because it
   A. was made in the market B. served the Oba’s palace C. was made from wood D. was made by women only
4. Which of the following is a traditional Nigerian textile?
   A. Denim B. Adire C. Nylon D. Felt
5. An artist known for bead paintings is
   A. Jimoh Buraimoh B. Ben Enwonwu C. Aina Onabolu D. Yusuf Grillo

Answers: 1 B, 2 A, 3 B, 4 B, 5 A

---

Closing thought for the teacher: A student who can only recite a list will struggle in the examination hall, but a student who understands why an art form was made, and who made it, will remember it. Let your classes talk, draw and handle real materials wherever possible.