Sixth graders determine the physical properties of clay by examining ceramic works of art. They evaluate local soil samples for suitability for sculpting and compare clay taken from soil to manufactured clay.

After studying the plant or flower life cycle, have the class create a basket of flowers out of clay. They hone their ceramics skills while they push, pull, then paint clay to look like flowers they've seen in nature. There are several...

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...

Young scholars compare the characteristics of a fired porcelain sculpture to the clay used to create it. They discuss the physical and chemical changes that occur in the clay as it is heated and then create their own clay sculpture. ...

Students make ceramic sculptures to understand how clay works. In this sculpture instructional activity, students learn about porcelain sculptures to understand how heat can turn clay into a hard ceramic surface. They then experiment...

This is a truly amazing project. Perfect to use during your next dinosaur unit. Second and fifth graders work together to draw and make a relief sculpture of a nine foot-long stegosaurus. They discuss what paleontologists do and then...

Students create low-fire ceramic relief sculptures of dinosaur bones. They incorporate art history, aesthetics, and criticism with hands on activity. Students work together to draw an enlarged skeleton on butcher paper. The Stegosaurus...

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...

Students reconstruct and make drawings of vessels in the same manner as an archaeologist. For this archaeologist lesson plan, students each get a piece of a broken pot and they have to work together to put it back together. Once it is...

Students identify animals in ecosystem depicted on 16th Century ceramic basin and classify them as herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores based on physical characteristics and prior knowledge, determine which life forms in ecosystem are...

Students classify animals based on their physical characteristics and eating habits.  In this animal identification lesson plan, students investigate the life forms shown on a Parisian ceramic basin, and discover ecosystem the...

Students use examples of Joseph Raffael's art of nature to create an all-school mosaic of a tree in spring using clay.