Ceramic Unit

3rd, 4th and 5th grade students LOVED the clay unit we did in December!  They learned about the basic hand-building techniques, slab, pinch and coil.  3rd grade students created coil hearts.  4th grade students created slab castles, and 5th grade students created gargoyles.  Check out their work in the pictures below! 

Turtles on a Lily Pad

For the Kindergarten Day 0 clay project, I decided to do mini ceramic turtles.  The first 3 classes just made the mini turtles.  But, by the end of the year I decided that the Kindergartens (almost 1st graders now) needed a little extra challenge.  So, they added a lily pad to their sculpture.  

I read a few different stories about turtles and where they live.  We talked about a pond habitat and other animals that live in the pond. (Science SOL!)  After much discussion and demonstration, students used a pinch pot technique to create the mini turtles.  They created a mini pinch pot and then turned it upside down to create the shell.  They used their fingers to pinch and pull the head, legs and tail. Next they used the slab method to create the lily pad.  Kindergarteners also used the "score and slip" method to attach the turtle to the lily pad. 

Once the scultpures were fired, I provided students with yellow, green, white, and brown tempera paint to decorate and add color to their final projects! 

Owls

Second graders learned about the different hand building techniques in their day 0 clay project.  They used the slab method of building to create these colorful owls.  We also discussed texture in art.  They used a variety of materials such as, forks, rubber texture plates, shells, rocks, and marker caps to create the wing & body textures.  After the owls were fired, they used colorful tempera paints to add a design and color.  Check out their ceramic owls below!