Teacher: Graciela Palacios

Lesson Title: Egyptian, Aztec, and Incan Pottery

Grade/Subject: 8th Grade Social Studies
Central Focus:
This lesson will teach students the way in which ancient civilizations (such as Egyptians, Aztec, and Incan)
used clay as different tools for their society. Students will create their own version of a tool (whether it be
a pot, weapon, piece of art) and explain how it would have been used.

Essential Question: How can we learn about past cultures through art?

Visual Arts and/or Media Standard(s):

Students will learn the basic uses of clay. They will learn how to make sure there are no air bubbles. They
will also learn to use the tools that Mayans, Incan, and Egyptian people would have used to shape their
clay pots and tools. They will learn about the pinch and coil method to shape their pots.

Learning Objectives
Content Objectives
To understand the way that we can learn about ancient civilization through art.
To learn how ancient civilizations used the tools around them to create clay pots and tools.
To learn how these clay tools can have religious symbolism as well as practical use.

Process/Skill Objectives
Student will learn how to create a clay pot and the tools that ancient people would have had in order to
make them.

Academic Language (Language function, vocab, discourse overlap with each other....the most important thing is
for you recognize the language aspects of your lessons and explicitly write about it in your commentaries).
Students will be asked to pick from one of three ancient civilizations (Mayan, Incan or Egyptian)
Students will research the civilization they chose
Student will write an essay describing the use of the clay pot and the way it was created.
Student will then be asked to make a clay pot in the same fashion that the Mayan, Incan or Egyptians would
have.
Describe the way the ancient civilizations used art as their communication media
Compare and contrast Aztec art with Egyptian art.

Identify vocabulary that will be introduced in the lesson.

Vocab:
Mayas
Incas
Egyptians
Clay
Culture
Religious artifacts
Civilizations
Pinch
Slab
Coil
How will you utilize experiences with reading, writing, artmaking, and discussion within the lesson to
address academic language?
- Through research, students will be asked to look for and synthesize information about the civilization
they have chosen. They will also be asked to write a concise essay documenting their findings using the
new vocabulary they have learned.

Monitoring Student Learning: Formal & Informal Assessments prior to, during & after learning
Pre-Assessment: Students will be asked to list all they know about the Mayans, Incans, and Egyptians in
a five minute period
During the lesson: students will be asked to hand in rough drafts every week of their research thus far.
Students will be asked to describe the process they are using to create their pots.

How will you know at the end of the lesson what students learned? At the end, students will be placed in
jigsaw groups. They will then be asked to present their findings and pot to the members of their group,
explaining what they did and why they did it. The rest of the students will be tested on the material they
were presented with.

Instructional Resources and Materials: clay, water, carving tools, lesson notes, library books pertaining
to the subject, online research.

Connection to prior academic learning and requisite skills: Prior to this lesson, students will have
learned background information on each of these civilizations. They will have learned how these
civilizations used these tools, and any religious symbols (if any).

Connections to cultural/personal/community assets: This lesson will connect students to cultures that
may be different from their own. They will understand how people without modern-day technology
survived and invented from the nature that surrounded them. They will learn how people were able to
survive on what they had and move on from there. These are ideas that they can apply to their own lives.

Instructional Strategies & Learning Tasks that support diverse student needs

Procedure:
Time Teacher Action (include higher order Student Action
thinking questions, grouping
strategies)

Day 1
Students will receive a lecture on Incan
culture, Egyptian culture and Mayan culture

Day 2 Students will be asked to pick one from the For homework, students should look up at least 2
following: Incan, Egyptian, or Mayan sources with information of their particular civilization.
civilization
They will be asked to begin researching their
civilization.

Day 3 Students will go down to the library to Continue research

continue their research

Begin clay pot Start essay on your civilization

Day 4
 Day 7 Hand in 1st rough draft of essay
Finish clay pot

Finish essay
Day 8
Get students into groups with different Report your findings to your group, show your pot and
Day 9 civilizations explain why you did what you did.

Closure: how will you end the lesson? 5 minute check in to see if there are questions; a recap of what
was covered and whats coming next?
-At the end of the lesson, students will take a small quiz on all three civilizations. Once the quiz is
over, we will go over the answers and the civilizations in general.

How students will reflect on their own learning: will you have them keep sketchbooks? Write artist
statements? Grade each others work or their own work? Do in-process gallery walks or sharing?

Students will share their work in groups

Accommodation/Modification based on IEP or 504 plans (special needs students): Some of our
students need accommodations. When we teach, we need to make sure we organize our lessons to align
with their needs. You fill this in only if you are teaching in a class and have students with IEPs or 504
plans.

Differentiation strategies FOR ALL STUDENTS:

We all learn differently. Some of us are kinesthetic (movement-based) learners, others are visual or
listeners or readers How do you make sure that how you teach enables all of your students to access
the learning? HINT: most art lessons address multiple learning styles.

Technology integration to support learning: will you use a smartboard? Projected imagery? Or
perhaps one of your lessons will work with technology as an art material like the 3Doodler or Makey
Makey.