US Department of Agriculture
Agriculture Counts
Agricultural survey and the documentation of livestock or goods was the basis for the first written language. Youngsters discuss sorting and counting, and how these skills have been used for thousands of years. They accent their class...
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Nature - animals in environment
Seventh graders observe and draw animals in their environment. They also examine the work of other artists. They choose one animal and create a clay model of it in its environment.
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Minoan Pottery - A History Lesson
Accent your next ancient pottery art project with easy-to-follow background information. An article describes the background, significance, and history of Minoan Pottery. It includes links to images, sites and ideas. Tip: This is a great...
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Ceramic Handbuilding
Students are taught the three basic handbuilding techniques used in beginning pottery: pinch pot, coiling, and slab work. They complete 4 pieces of pottery. Students comprehend the basic pottery process from start to finish. They discuss...
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Petroglyphs and Pictographs
Fourth graders make necklaces out of petroglyphs that they stamp into clay. In this petroglyphs lesson plan, 4th graders draw designs and explain where they come from as well.
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Greek Vase Painting Project
Students identify the cultural context of ancient Greek, and especially Athenian, vase painting and the range of vase painting depictions of daily life and mythology. They experience the artistic and technical process of creating Greek...
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Let's Make Play Dough
Students create their own play dough to use for art projects. In this art lesson, students measure, pour and mix the ingredients to make their own play dough. Then, students use the clay to create their own sculptures.
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Protest Art in Pre-Revolutionary Russia
Students study the social class conflicts that existed during the Russian Revolution by reading the short stories of Anton Chekov and Leo Tolstoy. They analyze the stories to find criticisms of pre-Revolutionary Russia before designing...
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Magical Courtly Structure
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the creation of a model that is focused upon the theme of an imaginary world. They work in groups to create a magical and courtly structure using modeling clay. Then students talk about...
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The Importance of Place
Is art connected to geography? It sure is! Your class will find out how even clay that comes from a certain location can have deep symbolic meaning. The class will analyze the piece, Mud Woman Rolls On and then research how geographic...
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Accenting the Negative Space in Ceramics
Fourth graders apply knowledge of the elements of design and hand building techniques in clay to illustrate the concept of negative space by cutting shapes out of the form to create an intricate pattern.
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Ceramic Rattles
Young scholars create ceramic rattles using the pinch method of building with clay. They view a slide show of different types of rattles, draw designs of their rattles, and create them using clay and the pinch method. They create the...
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Translating African Masks
Students identify traits of African masks. In this multicultural art lesson, students view online examples of African masks and discuss the characteristics of the masks. Students create an original 2-D version of the African mask by...
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Little Oyster: Ceramic Lesson
Children will love researching and then creating a bottom dwelling mollusk of their own. They watch clips describing the ocean ecosystem and how oysters fit into their environment. Next, they research what oysters eat and how they look....
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"Architexture": Exploring Architecture Through Clay Tiles
Students explore and analyze the architecture of San Antonio, Texas. They watch a video about tiles created by Harding Black, and discuss pictures of architecture found in San Antonio, Texas. Students then design a clay tile...
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Go Fish! Fish or other Sea Creature from Recycled Materials
Students brainstorm what a fish looks like determining the parts from schema and research. They create a unique and interesting 3-d sculpture of fish or underwater creature mostly from recycled materials, then examine the aesthetics of...
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Talking Rocks
Third graders consider the differences between pictographs and petroglyphs. They create symbols from a story about their worlds. They make pottery art.
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Bowl of Love Lesson 6
Students study the concept of having a fundraiser to benefit a local soup kitchen. In this fundraising service project instructional activity, students participate in different activities that explain the history and making of clay...
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Montana Animal stacks
Students view Ode to Chief Seattle and create an animal sculpture. In this art lesson, students choose a variety of materials for creating an animal sculpture using flora and fauna and other environmental images. Students discuss the...
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Masks: History and Artistry
Students research masks and their purposes,. They listen to the teacher read books about masks. Students study techniques for working with clay, they create masks from clay. Students take pictures of the process and the finished project,...
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Lesson #23: Ceramic Self-Portrait as a Famous Artist
Students sculpt a bust out of clay using naturalistic features. In this sculpture lesson, students use themselves or classmates as models to ensure correct form and proportion of a hollow bust. This lesson includes pictures for each...
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African Power Figure Sculptures
Students develop character, write short narrative about how it got its powers, and create a clay figure using modeling and assembling techniques to explore the concepts relating their figure to the African power figures.
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Wanted- Dead or Alive
Students identify the characteristics of trickster tales. In this literary genres lesson, students read trickster tales from Africa and create a clay model of a trickster character. Students design a "wanted" poster with a description of...
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Animating a Historic Event
Research a historic event using textbooks, primary source documents, the Internet, and other library and media resources. Young historians will take the research they have gathered and write an attention-grabbing, historically accurate...