BY Amy Dion
Wareham High School
Project Description
The goal of this project is to allow for Ceramics 2 students at the high school level to apply the techniques and skills that they have learned to teach 2nd grade students about the properties of clay through the construction of a pinch pot project. Since they do not have a kiln at the elementary school, and thus have not had the means to work with clay, we see this as an excellent learning experience for our students. It gives our students an opportunity to work together, and allows the High School students to teach and serve as good role models for the younger students.
Students at the high school will prepare a lesson for the 2nd grade students. They will discuss the vocabulary words, techniques and process that they will need to present to the 2nd grade students. In turn, the 2nd grade students will be introduced to a new material, clay, and make decisions in regard to 3 dimensional form. The following Massachusetts Visual Arts Frameworks will be of particular focus in this experience.
For 2nd grade:
Standard 1.1 – Use a variety of materials and media
Standard 2.4 – For shape and form, explore the use of shapes and forms in 3D works.
For high school:
Standard 1.9 – Demonstrate the ability to create 3D works that show knowledge of unique characteristics of particular media, materials, and tools.
Standard 7.6 – Describe the various roles artists serve and describe their activities and achievements.
How will the project be evaluated (e.g. how will you gauge its success)
At the end of the project elementary students will have a finished pinch pot. We will document the process with photos of the students working together, photos that can be shared on the WHS and Decas School websites.
The High School students will create a written reflection on the process to be shared during a future ceramics class, and can be included in their graduation portfolio.
The 2nd grade students will write a reflection on what they learned and their experience of working with clay and the High School students.
Benefit to the students and the school
The benefits of this experience to the students, in both age brackets, include the following: social awareness with the understanding for needs and feelings of others, the appreciation of the similarities and differences among individuals and groups, maintaining positive relationships with others and responsible decision making; all of which contributes to one’s school and one’s community.
Timeline of Project (when will you do the project, if applicable)
Once the project is approved, arrangements will be made between the principals and art teachers at both schools, and the project will be completed before the end of the 2017-18 school year.