January 29, 2013

Clay Days: 4th Grade Facades


I have a love hate relationship with this project. . In every class I have several lovely facades...but it is the rectangles that are way too small...too thin...and have no defining characteristics that make me crazy.  How can you spend at least 40 min with the clay in your hands and end the class with something the size & appearance of a saltine?!?!  Demo-check...teacher examples-check...reinforcement throughout-check...self checking devices-check!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    ......Sigh......

(these are the ones that turned out pretty well)

8 comments:

  1. No matter how hard we try, there will still be that student that just wants to make a pizza.....

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  2. Sometime I will post the clay projects that mine have done.....pinch pots and pencil holders. These are wonderful!

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  3. I feel your pain! Sometimes it seems like I could actually do the project for the student, and they will still manage to find a way to not follow directions...whether on purpose because they just don't care, or because they actually don't get it (but nod their head and say, "Yes! I understand Mrs. Impey."). That's how I felt with my last 6th grade project. I'll be posting more about it once I glaze fire my kiln, but they had to create an Egyptian artifact out of clay. In the last two years, I have done multiple clay projects using all three of the hand-building skills with these students. I also have a majority of them in an after school program where we have done clay projects. I STILL had students asking which hand-building technique I thought they should use...or how do I score and slip?

    We reviewed each skill in depth...I had numerous visuals hanging around the room, as well as physical visual rubrics for each of the three hand-building skills and the students STILL struggled. Needless to say, I won't be giving them a project like this again, where they have the freedom to work with the clay like this. I wasted so much clay that I now have to dig through my reclaim buckets so that I have enough clay to make it through the school year!

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  4. Do you have your kids draw one first? I always give them a half of a 9x12 paper the day before clay day, and have them draw a "stencil" as big as the paper, either sideways or vertical. Then, they cut the paper house out, lay it on top of the slab, and cut off spare clay- this helps me at least control size and shape- although there is always someone who basically turns in the house shape, because they spent the whole time messin' around. (I ask students to donate their paper house stencils for the sick kids who do not have a stencil- it's at least a starting point).

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  5. I like Mrs. Fritz's idea, above. Planning is a good thing! I was going to say to either offer rectangles or square templates to trace in clay to use as a starting point or use a square or rectangle cookie cutter the size you want--if you give them a slab to work with as the starting point, at least you'd know that the base is correct--then they could add the roof, details, etc. You could have them create the slab themselves if you set up place for it (maybe rollers that rode on top of 1/4" spacers to make a nice, consistent slab), then they could take their cut slab to their places and start adding their details...or you could have little laminated squares/rectangles taped to the tables like a work mat and their house base needs to fit within the rectangle/square you have drawn on the work mat. I think you're gonna have to experiment with this one! :-) Good luck, and keep us posted! Mrs. P @ createartwithme.blogspot.com

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  6. Have you thought about making it a multiple day project? Could some of the quality issues be that the kids are a little rushed? My 4th graders make slab castles every year that take 4-5 classes of clay work. I have cafeteria trays that I put all of the work on. I then cover the clay with damp paper towels and put the whole tray inside of a trash bag. They stay perfectly moist for the next class. Like Mrs P suggested, I also have my students use rolling pins on top of 1/4" spacers. The spacers are just 80 cent square dowels I cut down.

    Here are some examples from the last few years on my blog of the results. --> http://thomaselementaryart.blogspot.com/search?q=clay+castles
    Of course these are the best, but the average castle is still pretty good. The kids go nuts for the project, too.
    -Zach @ thomaselementaryart.blogspot.com

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  7. @ Zach Stoller - It is hard to make something multiple day when you only see the kids once a week...or once every other week & you have to cover 3 or 4 projects in a given nine weeks based on the district curriculum. I'm not sure how many kids you see...but I see about 120 4th graders ....how do you store mass amounts like that on trays in bags?

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  8. I'm working with about 115 4th graders this year and I see them once a week. The castles will just take up about 4 trays per class. It is a lot to store, but the project is a favorite for the grade. When I'm working on the project, I end up having trays of clay all over the room. As long as the clay has the wet paper towels on it and it is sealed relatively well in a garbage bag, the clay will stay wet indefinitely. If, for some reason, I'm going to miss a class, I just squirt a little water into the bag so it will be good for the next week. Good luck!

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