High School

Art by Xai V., grade ten.

The Essential Question
How do objects and places shape lives and communities?

Objective
Students will create a three-dimensional clay building to contribute to a larger clay city.

Materials
sketchbooks, pencils, erasers, rulers, tagboard, scissors, masking tape, clay, clay boards, rolling pins, dowels, fettling knives, sponges, plastic bags for storing, paper towels, pottery glaze

Procedures
1. Students use their sketchbooks to plan and draw an ideal business of their choosing. Students determine the height, length, and width of their building and label their sketch.
2. Based on their measurements, students draw the various parts of their building on a sheet of tagboard. Students cut their shapes out and assemble them with masking tape.
3. After the teacher approves the 3D paper form, students deconstruct it and use the parts as templates to cut the shapes for their clay slabs.
4. Students assemble their structure with the score and slip method, reinforcing their structure with coils when the clay is in the leather-hard phase.
5. Students use various tools to add details, textures, and extra parts to their architectural forms.
6. Students glaze the pieces after they are bisque fired.

Assessment
Through discussion and collaboration, students will curate their ideal community with an array of three-dimensional ceramic architecture. Each group will write a rationale for their community and present it to the class.

Frank Juárez is an art teacher at Sheboygan North High School in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.