1.Clay 2.Clay Slip (mix of water a small clay scraps) NOTE: Docents can pre mix or teach students as part of lesson 3.Brushes 4.Roller 5.Canvas mat (to cover tables) 6.Clay tools (rollers, plastic Knife, fork, straw, etc.) 7.Tissues, newspaper or scrap paper Part 2: Clay glazes in small quantities Paint brush Material List: Clay Maracas

Give each student: 1 piece of clay, 1 pencil Give each table : Clay tools (plastic knife, straw, set of texture plates, rollers etc.) 1/3 box of Tissues Water Clay slip (mixture of water and clay) -> docents to make up or students as part of lesson In part 2: Clay glazes in small quantities at each table Paint brushes Docent Setup List: Docent Clean up List: Make sure names are on back of clay Place completed in the clay drying blue trays and leave along back of room to dry. Wipe down tables, refill any items and return to bins as you found them – thanks for doing this and leading the lesson! Clay Maracas

Lesson 6 – Fourth Grade Clay Maracas

Today’s Lesson Today is a ceramic art lesson you are going to create your own clay maracas, combining art and music. In part 2, you will glaze your maraca. Skill Development: An opportunity to use a new material clay, build texture and create a three-dimensional form. To build upon the different methods of molding clay, in this case, pinch-and-pull building or organic free form sculpting with score and slip.

Forming (i.e. shaping) Firing (baking in a kiln) Glazing/decorating (coating the object with a glaze, or applying to it various decorative techniques) Refiring (rebaking) to harden the glaze. What is Ceramic Art? Known as an important art ‘ceramics’ (derived from Keramos, Greek for potters clay) refers to items made from clay bodies and fired in a kiln (or oven) to obtain the finished art form. It requires a 4 step creative process of:

The moisture from the slip will be absorbed by the drier scored area and will help the piece stay together. After attaching use a tool or finger to smooth the seam so that you cannot see the line where the two pieces were attached. If the seam is not smoothing away, the clay is too dry. Dip your finger in some slip and smooth again to fix. What is Slip and Score technique? Score and slip is a method of joining two pieces of clay together. First, score the clay; this means that you make scratches in the surfaces that will be sticking together. Then you slip it; that is you wet the surface with some slip, using it like glue. Next, you press the two pieces together. This will allow the rough "scored" edges to meld with each other

Pottery is our oldest handicraft. Fired clay is one of the few materials on earth that does not change with time, and clay has always been an abundant resource. The earliest function of clay was to line baskets as a way to waterproof them. Baskets were often used to carry water to crops, and the clay lining prevented leakage. Why is clay so important? The loss of moisture caused the shape to shrink and separate from the sides of the basket. When the clay, now shaped like a pot, was removed, it retained the basket pattern and, eventually, early men and women discovered that they could harden the molded pottery in hot ashes and make sturdy containers.

Examples of Ceramic vessels

Venus of Dolni Vestonice The Czech prehistoric sculpture (Vestonicka Venuse) is one of the earliest examples of fired clay sculptures in the world (c. 28,000– 24,000 BC). It is a ceramic statuette and has four holes in the head, the function of which is unknown.

Chinese Pottery Chinese Pottery belonging to the era of Neolithic Art. Ever since the Stone Age, China has led the world in ceramic art and design. Its porcelain remains the finest ever made.

Greek Red-Figure Style Pottery. Greek potters produced a wide range of ancient pottery in all shapes and sizes. They decorated it with abstract, historical and mythological designs. The most important styles included: geometric, black- figure, red-figure and white ground.

Let’s get started.. Supplies Needed for Part One: 1 ball of clay Clay tools Tissues Roller Texture plates Slip Clay glue

Process (Part one): 1.Using clay, roll your clay into a flat area. 2.Create small balls of clay in differing sizes and, wrap these in small bits of tissue or newspaper. 1.Cut out a shape in clay 2.Using a fork slip and score the clay around all the edges, put slip all around edges with fingers 3.Fill the form with the paper covered balls 4.Mold into the form of your animal 5.To shape the form, by pinch and pull GENTLY into an animal, traditional maraca shape or freeform abstract shape 6.Use your tools to mark animal characteristics (whiskers, scales etc.) 7.Poke a hole in the pinch pot & put name on piece

Let’s get started.. Supplies Needed for Part two: Paint or glaze Paint brush Clay pencil

Next Steps: Let the clay completely dry before firing. If it is not dry it will crack when fired Fire Clay: Our maracas will be fired in a kiln, make it so the clay will not soften up with water. Glaze Clay: Glaze is a paint made of glass. It is foggy and dull when put on. When it is fired the glass melts, becoming glossy, and revealing the true color Process (Part two):

LESSON PLAN ADAPTED FROM MRSBROWNART.COM By Tara Button and Lisa Pelgrim wrote slide 7 and 9 – thank you! Updated January 2016