LESSON PLAN # 1 Days: 5

Teacher:​ Kristin Thomas and Dana Katz

Lesson Title: ​Clay Vessels
Grade Level: ​Fifth and Sixth Grade

Central Focus: ​Using clay, students will explore pinch pots and slab making by creating a clay
vessel.

IL Art Learning Standards:

CREATING: Anchor Standard 1 and 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work.
Investigate, Plan, Make: VA:Cr1.1.6 ​Combine ideas to generate an innovative idea for art
making.
● In this lesson, students will meet this standard by planning out various ideas for creating
a clay vessel and considering how to combine them to create a final piece.

Investigate: VA:Cr2.1.6 ​Demonstrate openness in trying new ideas, materials, methods, and
approaches in making works of art and design.
● In this lesson, students will meet this standard by practicing creating clay vessels using
model magic.

PRESENTING: Anchor Standard 5: Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for
presentation.
Select: VVA:Cr3.1.6 ​Reflect on whether personal artwork conveys the intended meaning and
revise accordingly
● In this lesson, students will meet this standard by reflecting on their clay vessel
creations and deciding whether to continue building, adding on to it, or starting over
during the next day.

Select: VA:Pr4.1.5 ​Develop a logical argument for safe and effective use of materials and
techniques for preparing and presenting artwork.
● In this lesson, students will meet this standard by effectively adding glaze to their clay
vessel so that they can safely use it for its intended purpose.

Objectives: Illinois Fine

Art Standards
 Objective I: VA:Cr1.1.6
Given a brainstorming sheet, students will thoughtfully select three ideas
for their clay vessels.

Objective II: VA:Cr2.1.6

Given model magic, students will practice creating pinch pots and slabs.

Objective III: VA:Cr3.1.6

Given clay, students will create a final clay vessel that is developed
using pinch pots or slabs and incorporates texture.

Objective IV: VA:Pr4.1.5

Given a variety of glaze colors, students will creatively select different
glaze colors for their clay vessel and intentionally add three layers to
create even surface color.

Instructional Resources and Materials:

Brainstorming sheet, How to Join Clay sheet, and ladybug projector to demonstrate pinch pot
creation.

Art Materials for the Lesson:

Pencils, model magic, clay, texture tools, glaze, paint brushes.

Management and Safety Issues:

This lesson will require basic management of students and their behavior. Students should be
carefully observed to ensure that they are using their materials appropriately.

Vocabulary:
● Day One
○ Brainstorm:​ produce an idea or way of solving a problem.
○ Plan: ​typically any diagram or list of steps with timing and resources, used to
achieve an objective to do something.
○ Vessel:​ a hollow container, especially one used to hold liquid, such as a bowl or
cask.
● Day Two
○ Pinch pot: ​Simple clay vessels such as bowls and cups of various sizes can be
formed and shaped by hand using a methodical pinching process in which the
clay walls are thinned by pinching them with thumb and forefinger.
○ Slab: ​a large, thick, flat piece of stone, concrete, or wood, typically rectangular.
○ Texture: ​the feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface or a substance.
○ Model Magic:​ on-toxic modeling material that is easily manipulated and joined to
make any form or shape.
 ● Day Three and Four
○ Clay: ​a stiff, sticky fine-grained earth, typically yellow, red, or bluish-gray in color
and often forming an impermeable layer in the soil.
○ Kiln: ​a furnace or oven for burning, baking, or drying, especially one for calcining
lime or firing pottery.
○ Slip:​ liquid mixture or slurry of clay and/or other materials suspended in water.
○ Greenware: ​Unfired pottery.
○ Score:​ Score: scratch hatch marks into it as part of joining clay pieces together.
○ Layer: ​Working in layers is a system for creating artistic paintings that involve the
use of more than one layer of paint or glaze.
● Day Five
○ Bisqueware: ​Pottery that has been fired once
○ Glaze: ​overlay or cover (food, fabric, etc.) with a smooth, shiny coating or finish.
○ Glazeware: ​Ceramic pottery that has been glazed and fired.

In-Class Activities:
Time Learning Activities Purpose

5 Day 1: Orientation/Engagement/Motivation​: Students will be

min Put up imagery of different types of pinch pots and tell presented with different
them that they will be creating their own. imagery of pinch pots to
provide motivation for the
lesson.

10 min Day 1: Presentation/Explicit Instruction​: This activity will give

Move into the powerpoint showing them different instruction about the
ideas for their creation. activity for the day.
Talk about the worksheet that they will be filling out.
● Should use it to brainstorm and draw three
ideas for their pinch pots.
● Think about thinks you like.

35 Day 2: Independent Practice/Exploration​: Students will begin

min Students should fill worksheets out. participating in the
activity.

10 min Day 1: Closure Students should learn

Students should put their pencils back in the bins and to be independent and
add their sheets of paper to their class folders. in charge of their own
clean up.
Pick an artist of the week and let them pick between
● Three blue tickets
 ● Prize box
● Sit by a friend next week

Call quiet tables to line up.

5 min Day 2: Orientation/Engagement/Motivation​: During this introduction,

Today we will be practicing creating our pinch pots students will be
using model magic. This will be a good day for us to provided with a
just play and get used to the type of material we will description for day two’s
be working with. activities.
● For this material, we can actually use scissors
to cut different pieces.
○ We cannot do this with the clay though.

20 min Day 2: Presentation/Explicit Instruction​: Students will use this

Demonstrate how to create a pinch pot using the demonstration to learn
clay. Have students follow along with their own piece. how to begin creating
● Start by getting the air bubbles out of clay. pinch pots and slabs.
● Toss clay back and forth in hand with hands
close together.
● Mold clay into a ball.
● Stick thumb about midway through the clay.
● Use thumb to press the clay sides out to start
creating a bowl like structure.
● Don’t want to make the walls too thin though.
○ Should be no thinner than the size of a
finger.
● Can press the bottom to make a standing
bowl.
● Now can add different parts to our pinch pot to
make it look like your brainstorm drawing.

25 Day 2: Independent Practice/Exploration​: Students will begin

min Students can practice and play with model magic participating in the
clay. activity.

10 min Day 2: Closure Students should learn

Students should clean up by returning the model to be independent and
magic to the teacher, and wiping down areas. in charge of their own
● Turn timer on. clean up.

Select two artists of the week.

 Have students line up.

10 min Day 3: Orientation/Engagement/Motivation​: During this initial

Today we will be turning our brainstorm into our final introduction, students
clay creations. However, we will be doing this over the will discuss how to turn
next two days, so if by the end of today, you have not their brainstorming
made something you like, then it’s ok because you ideas into three
can do it next class. dimensional objects. A
● We will not be saving what we make today if discussion will be
we don’t finish though, so you either have to provided about the
finish it today, or start over next class. difference between
model magic and clay.

10 min Day 3: Presentation/Explicit Instruction​: Students will learn and

Do a quick demonstration on how to create a pinch practice using clay to
pot. create a pinch pot.
● Have students call out the steps.

30 Day 3: Independent Practice/Exploration​: Students will begin

min Pass out clay and have students create their own participating in the
version of a clay pinch pot. activity.

10 min Day 3: Closure Students should learn

Students who are finished should put completed to be independent and
pinch pots on the cart to dry. in charge of their own
Students should then clean up by returning unwanted clean up.
clay creations to teacher and wiping down tables.
● Turn timer on.

Select two artists of the week.

Have students line up.

10 min Day 4: Orientation/Engagement/Motivation​: Students will be

This will be the final day to create a pinch pot. Should informed that this will be
have something completed by the end of class. the final day for creating
a pinch pot.

40 Day 4: Independent Practice/Exploration​: Students will begin

min Students should use the class time to create a pinch participating in the
pot. activity.
 Finishes students can create a second pinch pot or
something that compliments their first pinch pot.

10 min Day 4: Closure Students should learn

Students who are finished should put completed to be independent and
pinch pots on the cart to dry. in charge of their own
Students should then clean up by returning unwanted clean up.
clay creations to teacher and wiping down tables.
● Turn timer on.

Select two artists of the week.

Have students line up.

10 min Day 5: Orientation/Engagement/Motivation​: This activity will give

Today we will be adding color to our pinch pots as a students an
final step. Show students the examples of the different understanding of glaze,
pinch pots and talk about how they used color to add and how they should be
to their creations. applying it to safely seal
● How many layers of glaze do you think we their pots.
need to have? Show me with your fingers.

10 min Day 5: Presentation/Explicit Instruction​: Students will refer back

Demonstrate for students how to glaze pinch pots, to this demonstration
and what it looks like when there is one layer, two during their
layers and three. independent practice.

30 Day 5: Independent Practice/Exploration​: Students will begin

min Have students use glaze to paint their pinch pots. participating in the
activity.

10 min Day 5: Closure Students should learn

Students should then clean up by returning unwanted to be independent and
clay creations to teacher and wiping down tables. in charge of their own
● Turn timer on. clean up.

Select two artists of the week.

Have students line up.

PowerPoint
Expert Clay Maker Coil Pots 

 
Examples of Final Pieces