What Is A Coil Pot?

By: Candace Sturdevant

5
th
Grade
http://scoreandslip.fles.wordpress.com/2010/03/art21lnavao!coil!pot!mad".p#
Overview
This unit is designed for fifth grade students. During the lessons in this unit, the
teacher will describe what a coil pot is, demonstrate different techniques used to create
a large coil pot, show different styles of coil pots, and provide instruction in different
hand building techniques. Students will understand that coil pots have been used
previously for gathering drinking water from wells, carrying items from place to place,
and for holding food items. Coil pots were used more frequently than pinch pots
because they were able to carry larger items and quantities.
In this unit the students will practice social skills and fine motor skills while
working with clay. The students will also learn about concepts related to creativity and
functionality and the role these concepts play in designing a clay piece. The students
will also review a brief history of clay hand building and ceramics. They will also learn
how to manipulate clay to create pinch pots, bases for coil pots, and coils. The students
will attach coils together to create their own unique coil pots. Then students will eplore
decorative techniques for designing their pieces.
In the first lesson, the students will eplore clay by building a small maquette and
building a simple pinch pot. They will learn how to write their names in the clay and
briefly learn about the use of pinch pots. The students will also learn about the health
risks of working with clay, safety tips on working with clay, and social epectations such
as how to clean up their workspace properly after handling the clay.
In the second lesson, the students will look at photographs of coil pots while
listening to facts about the use of coil pots and pinch pots. They will learn how to create
a slab that will function as a base of a coil pot. Students may create special shapes for
their bases. !lso, they will learn how to make clay coils properly and the different
options for coils, including combining coils and using decorative coils.
In the third lesson, the students will look at the artwork created by their
classmates to get new ideas. They will learn about different types of sculptures that can
be created using the coil technique. !fter, they will either recreate their first coil pot or
make another coil pot or sculpture using new techniques they have learned or want to
eperiment with further.
In the fourth lesson, the students will create another coil pot and practice the
technique to smooth the coils of a coil pot to create a smooth surface. the students will
practice different decorating techniques with tools at their desks on the smooth coil pot..
The students will eperiment techniques by decorating their piece using multiple tools
like their pencils, cotton swabs, or marker caps.
During the final lesson, The students will draw a picture of their favorite art piece
and eplain why it is their favorite piece they made and how they created it. "ave them
answer questions that relate to the the cumulative techniques they have learned over
the lessons in this unit and ask them to comment to how they felt about their artwork.
The students will gather their favorite piece they created and place it on the art
walk table with their drawing and description of their coil pot. The students will do an art
walk and look at the #favorite# artwork that was made by their classmates and fill out a
chart that describes the different techniques, decorations, and shapes that were
created by their peers that they particularly like and be encouraged to draw a simple
picture of the technique.
$astly, recap the unit techniques, materials, safety tips, and brief history.
The ob%ective of this unit is to provide the opportunity for students to& develop
and use the fine motor skills required for working with coils, use their imagination and
creativity to create an original work of art with coils, learn about the history of clay and
ceramics, engage in a hands on activity and learn that clay is pliable, and build social
skills by helping, working with, and encouraging other classmates. The students'
essential learning is not only to learn about ceramics and techniques, but about
themselves, their classmates, and logical problem solving and eperimentation with a
new medium.
Hawaii Teacher Performance Standards
Standard (& $earner Development
()b* The teacher carefully designs their instruction to accommodate each
students' learning abilities.
I am meeting this standard as a professional educator in this unit of study because each
student is able to work with clay at their own pace to create an original work of art using
the coil technique.
Standard +& $earning ,nvironment
+)o* The teacher establishes positive peer activities to create healthy relationships.
+)p* The teacher supports students in class engagement and participation.
I am meeting standards +)o* and +)p* in this unit of study because I have designed the
eperiences for students to demonstrate cooperation, collaboration, and respect. This is
valuable to the students' social and academic skills. This unit will also help students to
participate in fun fulfilled learning activities they can share with their classmates.
Standard -& Instructional Strategies
The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage
learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to
build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.
-)f* The teacher engages all learners in developing higher order questioning skills and
metacognitive processes.
I am meeting this standard by designing this unit of study to focus on the students.
creative problem solving in making a coil piece and reflecting on what they are learning
about clay and working with clay.
General Learner Outcomes
Quality Producer: The ability to recogni/e and produce quality performance and quality
products.
Students will be quality producers as they learn how to create coil pots and eperience
the reasons and strategies that create a well0built coil pot. The students will learn about
the features of coil pots and the important uses for clay throughout history.
Community Contributor: The understanding that it is essential for human beings to
work together.
Students will be community contributors by sharing tools and providing assistance and
feedback to their classmates The students will be working closely together and be able
to use peer conversation to enhance their learning and communication skills.
Hawaii Content and Performance Standard in the Visual rts
Standard (& 1IS2!$ !3TS& 2nderstand and apply art materials, techniques, and
processes in the creation of works of art and understand how the visual arts
communicate a variety of ideas, feelings, and eperiences
4enchmark 5! 6.(.7 ,plain how an original artwork demonstrates a concept or idea
from another discipline
The student will create an original coil pot and be able to describe their ideas about the
techniques and strategies they used. The students will also understand more about
history through their study of coil posts and how they were used in other cultures in
other times.
dditional Ob!ectives
The students will be able to0
Complete a coil pot.
8ive positive feedback about each other.s artwork.
Communicate effectively with classmates to complete their artwork.
!dapt new techniques and formulate changes.
4uild an understanding of the importance of hand0building in clay.
ssessment Strate"ies
ssessment Tas#s
The students will engage in an art walk near the end of this unit of study. During
the art walk one student will start and choose a piece they like displayed on the table.
That student will describe what they appreciate about techniques used The creator of
the piece will then talk about their art piece. ,ach student will describe their piece of art,
the techniques used, the decisions they made and the tools they used.
ssessment Tools
$%avorite Piece$ rt &al# 'ubric
(eets )*ceedin"ly (eets +eeds ,m-rovement
"as a drawn picture of
their favorite art piece
they created and why
using vocabulary,
techniques, and materials
learned.
"as a drawn
picture of their
favorite art piece
they created and
gives a short
description of
how they created
that artwork.
,planation is vague or
does not include picture.
$&hat , +oticed$ rt &al# 'ubric
(eets )*ceedin"ly (eets +eeds ,m-rovement
,plains in detail a
variety of techniques that
were noticed and relates
why they are more
,plains about a
couple favored
techniques in
detail.
,planation is vague and
doesn't clearly state
techniques noticed..
favorable to student with
a picture.
,ndividual Lessons
,n the first lesson, the students will learn the health risks of working with clay,
how to clean0up the classroom after working with clay, and various safety tips. They will
work with the clay and build a small maquette and pinch pot.
,plain to students that you will show a slideshow and after play a game
based on what they learned and remember from the slide show. She will
then show the slide show of different types of pottery and talk about a brief
history of ceramics, the do's and don'ts with clay, and clean up strategies.
Then, play a memory game with the students.
!ssign tables as colors. 9ut a question on the board and give the
students (6 seconds to discuss with their group and guess the answer.
Start with one table and If the that table guesses incorrectly, the net table
gets a chance to steal the points by answering correctly. The questions will
review the topics that were discussed during the slideshow.
,ach question is worth (:: points.
Stolen questions are worth ;:: points.
<uestions are, but not limited to&
0=hat is pottery made out of> )Clay*
0=hat is the number one rule to cleaning up dry clay> )8et it very wet*
0=hat is the technique called when you roll out a piece of clay> )slab*
0=hat is dry clay called> )8reen ware*
0=hat is the name of the pot that uses coils to make it> )Coil 9ot*
0=hat is the name of the machine that fires the clay> )?iln0pronounced
?hil*
0 @ame two stages of clay> )wet, leather hard, green ware, bisque,
ceramic*
4A@2S <2,STIA@ T3I9$, 9AI@TS0=hy do you need to get the clay
wet when you clean it> answers vary depending on how thorough this was
taught )4ecause it is smallBfine and you don't want to ingest or get into
lungs*
,plain to the students what a maquette is. ! maquette is basically
building a small solid form. This could be an animal or thing. The idea is to
have the students #play# structurally with the clay by manipulating it and
getting their wiggles and giggles out.
"ave each group leader pass out a piece of newspaper to each person at
their table. 9ass out a small amount of clay and the students will be given
6 minutes to create a maquette. If more practice is needed and time
permits, have the students make a second maquette.
"ave the students initial their maquette with a pencil and place in a bo.
,plain how to create a pinch pot briefly. Then, pass out a small ball of
clay for the students to practice making a pinch pot.
8ive the students tips like using the table to flatten the rim and bottom of
the pot.
If time permits, allow the students to make another or decorate their first
pinch pot.
!ssign one student at each table to get the supplies to clean and have the
students clean up using the learned clean0up tips.
,n the second lesson, the students will view pictures of coil pots, learn how to
create a slab as a base for a coil pot, and make coils.
9ass out various pictures of coil pots and pinch pots.
The students will be told to look for differences in the pictures and try to
figure out which are coil pots and which are pinch pots.
,plain the differences in making a coil pot compared to a pinch pot.
9ass out a medium si/e ball of clay and ask the students to pull a handful
off and make it flat like a thick pancake the si/e of their pinky. ,plain that
this pancake they %ust made is called a slab.
The students will then take their pencils and a yogurt container and cut the
clay like a cookie cutter.
Describe that this will be the base of their coil pot.
@et, ask the students to pull another handful off their clay ball and roll it
lightly on the table making a spaghetti noodle. ,plain that this can be a
fat or thin noodle and is properly called a coil.
The students will then place their clay coil on the top of their slab base and
press it firmly, without destroying the coil. The students will then lightly
smear the coil into the slab to seal any cracks at the base.
The students will make more coils and add layers on top of the eisting
coils. !fter the students get a few coils on. 9ause them at what they are
doing and show them how to make decorative coils by curling the coil into
a spiral or making circles. !llow the students to eperiment with decorative
coils on their coil pots.
=hen the students finish, have them write their names with a pencil at the
bottom of their coil pot.
Students will clean up properly as done in the first lesson.
,n the third lesson. the students will look at the artwork created by their
classmates to get new ideas and create a second coil pot.
"ave the artwork from the second lesson on the table with #DA @AT
TA2C"# labels all around. The students will walk around the table looking
at the artwork.
!sk the students to quietly %ust look and get new ideas from what they
see in their classmates' artwork.
The students will have a seat and receive a fresh medium ball of clay to
create another coil pot.
Tell the students to try to do something different than what they did the first
time or to recreate their first coil pot using more techniques and strategies
to decorate their coil pot.
=hen the students finish, have them name their pot with a pencil and
place in a bo.
"ave students clean up properly.
,n the fourth lesson, The students will create another small coil pot and practice
smoothing it out. They will then decorate the piece using multiple tools like their pencils,
plastic spoons, or marker caps.
"ave the students sit down with a ball of clay and tell them you want them
to create a smooth coil pot. ,plain that this can be done by simply
rubbing the coils together after you've created the small coil pot or after
each coil is placed on the pot.
8ive the students an idea of how to use everyday tools to decorate their
smooth coil pot by pressing marker caps as indentations, drawing with
pencils, or even using plastic spoons.
!fter the students finish, have them initial and place their piece in the bo.
"ave students clean up properly.
/urin" the final lesson the students will draw a picture of their favorite piece of
art they created and eplain in detail the techniques they used, materials needed to
make it, and why it was their favorite creation. The students will engage in an art walk of
the #favorite# pieces and fill out a chart based on what they see in their peers' artwork..
"ave the students get their favorite piece of art they created and place it
on the table by the #DA @AT TA2C"# labels.
Tell the students that they will be walking around with a chart and writing
down all the different techniques, decorations, and shapes that were
created by their peers. ,plain to them that they are not writing down
about each classmates' coil pot, but the overall strategies that are different
that they notice.
"ave the students turn in their #=hat I notice# papers with their #Cy
5avorite 9iece# paper. Tell them to put their pieces back into the bo it
came from.
$astly, do a recap with the students using open ended questions as a
summative assessment about the various techniques, materials, safety
tips, and brief history.
)*hibition ,dea
Due to the etreme fragility of ceramics and clay, the art work will be displayed in a case
if available. If no case is available, artwork can be show cased in the library, or on a
high shelf in the classroom, across from the entry way, with each students' name printed
below their art work for parents, faculty, and classmates to see.
(aterials
Caterials needed include, but are not limited to&
0!ir Dried Clay
0@ewspaper
0Spray bottles or small cups with water
09encils
0,quipment for slideshow or printed pictures to pass around
0(; yogurt containers.
0#Cy 5avorite 9iece# worksheet
0#=hat I @oticed#
'esources
http&BBwww.htsb.orgBstandardsBteacherB
http&BBwww.hawaiipublicschools.orgBTeaching!nd$earningBStudent$earningB$earnerAutc
omesB9agesBhome.asp
http&BBstandardstoolkit.k(;.hi.usB