Title of Project: Firing Up Interest in History

Grade Level: 6-8

Number of Students Participating:

Contributed by:

Teacher: Debby Jones and Jamie Carroll

School: Estill County Middle School

District or County: Estill County Schools

Overview/Description of Project: Students will be exposed to historical perspectives on the subject of pottery pieces, which will be displayed around the community and given to senior citizens in a nursing home. For this service learning project, students make pottery, display their pieces, sell them to raise money to continue the project, and share their pottery with senior citizens in the community.

Goals:

To help students understand:

                        → basic pottery techniques of coil, slab and throw

                        → basic history of pottery in their community

                        → how to operate a home-based business

                        → an appreciation for the fine arts

                        → how to raise money from the sale of the pottery in order to continue the

                            project in the future

Core Content Areas:

Communication/Math Skills: 1.1, 1.11, 1.13 Student research the history of pottery in different cultures. They write about their experiences with the project. They learn to communicate through visual arts.

Math: 2.8, 2.9 Students learn how to calculate profit and loss based on the sale of their pottery items.

Science: 2.2 Students learn about the properties of clay.

Social Studies: 2.17, 2.18, 2.20 This project provides many opportunities fro the students to learn about different cultures and their history. They learn about the economics of operating a home-based business.

Art and Humanities: 2.22, 2.23, 2.24, 2.25, 2.26 This project provides many ways for the students to develop an appreciation for the art from other cultures and time periods. They learn the art of working with clay to create sellable products.

Practical Living: 2.30, 2.33 Students learn about product quality and how to price their pottery for sale. They learn about various services in their community related to the arts.

Vocational Studies: 2.36 Students learn about careers in the arts, as well how to start their own home-based business.

Self-Sufficiency: 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.7 This project helps students learn independently. As they produce and sell their pottery, they develop better self-concepts. They exhibit resourcefulness and creativity through this project.

Responsible Group Membership: 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.6 Students work cooperatively to set up booths to sell their products. They learn about responsibility as they work on the project.

Thinking and Problem-Solving: 5.4 Students learn to solve problems related to their project.

Integration of Knowledge: 6.2, 6.3 Students use their existing knowledge throughout the project and continually develop new knowledge about the subject matter they are studying.

PARC MODEL STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

PREPARATION:

STEP ONE:

1)      Set meetings between the social studies and art departments to collaborate on this unit.

2)      In art class, have students learn basic pottery skills such as coil, slab and throwing techniques.

3)      Have each student produce pottery pieces throughout the unit as they study different cultures.

4)      For each piece of pottery, have students write a product information sheet that will be included with the sale of each item.

STEP TWO:

1)      Invite a person in the community knowledgeable about home-based businesses to speak to the classes. Provide opportunities for the students to ask questions about how to establish home-based businesses.

2)      On field trips, expose students to in-home studios and art careers of people within the county.

3)      Take a field trip to a craft fair or a college with an arts program.

STEP THREE:

1)      Study ancient Mesopotamia in social studies class. Have each student make and bake a clay tablet with cuneiform writing on it. Insert leather thongs through holes the tablets in order to make a hanging ornament to sell at various functions.

2)      Construct a ziggurat (a tall Mesopotamian religious structure shaped like a pyramid) from clay bricks and bake in the kiln.

3)      Invite a guest speaker to talk about colors and mosaics.

STEP FOUR:

1)      Study and research colonial American pottery.

2)      Have students make samples and display them at the local library around Thanksgiving. From the display, people can order pottery pieces from the students.

3)      Make Christmas gifts, ornaments, and trinkets for personal use and to sell.

4)      Display and sell products at a student-run Christmas bazaar.

STEP FIVE:

1)      In social studies, spend time learning about Ancient Greece and Greek pottery styles.

2)      Teach glazing techniques.

3)      Have students make Greek vases.

4)      Invite a guest speaker to talk about advertising and self-promotion of products to the public.

STEP SIX:

1)      Prepare products to be sold at local festivals.

2)      Have students set up a booth to sell and exhibit their products. These products will be signed and include a product information sheet.

ACTION:

STEP ONE:

Arrange a visit to a local nursing home. During their visit, students will present pieces of pottery to the senior citizens as gifts

STEP TWO:

Develop a campaign against drugs using the students’ pottery. Use the slogan “Make a Pot, Don’t Smoke It.”

REFLECTION:

1)      Have students write about what they learned about history through the project.

2)      Have students write about the reactions of the senior citizens to their pottery gifts.

3)      Have students elaborate on whether they would like to begin a home-based business based on making and selling pottery.

4)      Have students answer the following prompt:
You own a small pottery business in your community. Describe the basic pottery techniques of coiling, throwing and slabbing. Explain the basics of operating your home-based business. Illustrate and describe one pottery style from a different culture that you make and sell as part of your business.

CELEBRATION: