Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Clay Heads

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Sculpting can be a rewarding way to accent a lesson in any subject. This project requires learners to design and sculpt a head out of clay. The entire process is outlined in this resource; including photos and suggested materials. Tip:...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Starfish Project: Ceramics

For Teachers K - 6th
After exploring the wonders of ocean life found in tidal pools, explore ocean life through ceramic art. Kids use texturing and the pinch-and-pull technique to create starfish, just like the ones found at the seashore. Suggested...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Clay Gargoyles and Grotesques

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Grotesques or gargoyles are wonderful subjects for stories or art projects. Here is a simple "how to" for creating a lesson about sculpting clay gargoyles. Tip: Have learners research gargoyles throughout history.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Octopus Project: Ceramics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Kids make an octopus out of clay. They practice their sculpting and modeling skills such as pinch pot and slurry technique while sculpting an octopus. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pottery with Artist Kerry Moosman

For Teachers 9th - 12th
After watching a video of Native American artist Maria Martinez create art out of clay, learners will create burnished coil pots similar to those made by artist, Kerry Moosman. This lesson includes a supply list, web links, historical...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Who am I Mobile: Ceramics

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
A getting-to-know-you activity that is perfect for the beginning of the year! Kids craft their portrait out of clay, then make a mobile by dangling ceramic representations of things they love. This project builds self-awareness, motor...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning from the past: Ancient Mosaics

For Teachers 10th
Budding artists study the history and significance behind ancient mosaics and mosaic murals. They study multiple examples of ancient mosaics, sketch a design, and use clay tiles to create thoughtful mosaics of their own. 
Lesson Plan
Missoula Art Museum

Dance with Your Fingers, Draw with Your Toes

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Pair dancing, music, and art into one elementary lesson. Using the work of Henri Matisse and Rudy Autio as inspiration, kids spend a few days listening to music that fits the moods of various pieces of art, then work on their own...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Old Fisherman

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Sculpting is a lot of fun and it stimulates multiple senses at once. Learners observe and then create a fisherman (or any person) out of paper clay. They mold and sculpt their clay until they have shaped a person. They then paint and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lascaux Cave Art on Ceramic Stones

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Here is a great way to incorporate art into your next unit on prehistoric people. The class makes stones out of ceramic clay and then creates paintings like those found in the Lascaux Caves in France. A video link, full day-by-day...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Ain't No Tea Party!

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Create food-safe bowls with your class, then organize a meal for the community using the class's bowls to serve. This instructional activity is based on the Empty Bowels Project, where school kids gain an understanding of global hunger...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Homes of the World: Ceramic Lesson

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Kids consider the various dwellings humans inhabit all over the world. They choose a home from anywhere in the world. Then they research the type of materials, designs, and structures need to build that type of home. The project ends...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gargoyles: Ceramics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Study the symbolism and significance of Gargoyles throughout the Gothic era, and then make one. Kids visit three different websites to learn about these goolish protectors, then hone their sculpting skills while making one. They make...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Humourous Head Planter Spike: Ceramics Lesson

For Teachers K - 8th
What a great activity. Kids create humorous ceramic character (heads) spikes to enliven a planter. Modern art is full of expressive and exaggerated forms and your class gets to create them out of clay. This would be a lovely activity to...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Ready-Set-Tech: When a Volcano Erupts

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Wouldn't it be a blast to uncover the science behind volcanic eruptions? Explore, research, and examine the nature of volcanoes with three fun hands-on projects kids will love. First the class takes to the Internet to research volcanoes....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Make Play Dough

For Teachers K - 3rd
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus River, and Huang He Civilizations

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students develop a timeline of events associated with Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus River, and the Huang He. They prepare a clay, wood, or paper model of a representative artifact from one civilization. They write a description of their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Put on a Happy Face!

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students explore using recycled materials. In this ecology/art lesson, students use recycled materials to create a Halloween mask. Students view folk art made of natural and available resources, and discuss possible cultural uses for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

World Continents

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Students identify the continents of the world. In groups, students create a three-dimensional clay representation of their assigned continent. Using KidPix software, they draw and color their continent. Students research their continent...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Class Tales

For Teachers K - 1st
Students improve their reading comprehension by role-playing a bear hunt story. In this reading comprehension lesson, students pretend to go on a bear hunt and complete an art project for the story.
Lesson Plan
University of Virginia

It's Thanksgiving

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students complete a variety of activities related to poems from the book "It's Thanksgiving" by Jack Prelutsky. They create a Thanksgiving turkey using construction paper, identify what they are grateful for, and create a Thank You...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Toad Adobe

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students explore the importance of toads and the need for toad habitats in the environment. In this animal habitats lesson plan, students create an adobe habitat for toads by using a clay pot. Students paint their pots and place them in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Celebrate Diwali!

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Learners list prior knowledge of Diwali. They listen to books. Students compare and contrast Diwali to other celebrations. They create a project. Learners create a letter to parents explaining about Diwali and the Diya. They ask an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Feet Are Neat

For Teachers K - 6th
Young scholars describe several types of bird feet and explain how each type helps a bird survive in its habitat. Students then match birds to their feet and mold bird feet out of clay.