UNIT TITLE: Down to Earth: The Art of Nature LESSON TITLE: Double Take: Creatures Here, There, and

Everywhere GRADE LEVEL(S): 6-12 STANDARDS OF LEARNING: Visual Communication and Production 6.8 The student will use modeling, assembling, or carving to create three-dimensional works of art. Art History and Cultural Context AII.13 The student will examine and discuss social, political, economic, and cultural factors that influence works of art and design. Analysis, Evaluation, and Critique 8.18 The student will critique personal work and the work of others. Aesthetics 7.18 The student will analyze and reflect on the purposes and meaning of art.

GENERAL UNIT GOAL: Down to Earth: Students will gain an understanding as to why its important to preserve the earth and its creatures through learning about Chinese/Asian culture and the importance of different animals. GENERAL LESSON OBJECTIVE: The student will learn about natures influence on Asian art and mythology. The students will create three dimensional creatures from clay. The creature will be a combination of 2 or more animals from nature or mythology that are representative of their personalities. Students will use a variety of clay hand building techniques in order to complete this project. They will understand meanings behind animals and mythological creatures in Asian culture as well as contemporary culture.

MATERIALS: Teacher Materials

Powerpoint with Zodiac/Chinese New Year Animal Information and Artist Examples Animal Image Handouts Crossword Puzzle with Vocabulary (second day) Examples of Clay Creatures Clay Demonstration Materials

Student Materials

Earthenware Clay (Pre-wedged) Day 1 Clay Tools (Regular and Found) Day 1 Newspaper Covered Tables Day 2 Water in Buckets for Easy Cleanup Day 1 Slip in Cup Day 1 Plywood for Building On/Drying Day 1&2

Acrylic Paints Day 2 Foam Paper Plates (Palette) Day 2 Paint Brushes Day 2 Fired Clay Creatures Day 2

VOCABULARY:

Earthenware Clay - Porous clay that is fired at relatively low temperatures. It is found at lower elevations in nature. Earthenware has lots of organic materials mixed in. Greenware - Clay that has not been fired. Bone-Dry - Clay that has completely dried out and is ready to be bisque fired Leather-Hard - clay that is dried to the point that it feels like leather. It is still workable but not as pliable as wet clay. Hand-building - The process of building clay sculptures or pottery using only your hands and simple tools and various techniques. Kiln an oven used for heating ceramic pieces to specific temperatures to cause a change in the makeup of the clay or the surface. Low-Fire - Typically cones 09-02. Clay that is fired to a temperature between 1600 and 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. Slab - A flat plane of clay with an even thickness that has been rolled out with a slab roller or a rolling pin. Coil - A method of hand building with clay where clay coils are slipped and scored together to build sculptures or pottery. Slip/Score - Scoring is when you scratch the surface of the clay. Slip is clay at a muddy consistency. Clay should be scored and then slip should be applied over the score marks before joining two pieces of clay together. Pinch-Pot - A method of hand building with clay where simple pots or formed by poking a hole in a ball of clay and pinching it outward to form a pot shape. Wedging - The process of kneading clay to force air pockets out of it that could cause problems and cracks during firing.

Hollow Out to create holes in your clay piece so that it does not explode in the kiln from air pockets Ai Wei Wei Chinese contemporary artist who created sculptures of the Zodiac Heads Kimberly Cook contemporary ceramics artist in California who creates sculptures of animals Jeff Koons American artist known for his large metallic sculptures of everyday objects 18th Century Chinese Artwork terracotta and jade pieces found in the Hermitage Museum of Norfolk, VA which feature many animals and mythological Chinese creatures

MOTIVATIONAL ACTIVITY: Day 1 We will discuss what animals students see that represent meanings or are symbols for brands. What animals might they see on TV commercials or on advertisements? What animals are significant to them? Do they have any pets? This will lead us into our tour of the museum and PowerPoint presentation. Day 2 We will recap what we learned on Day 1 and end with a word search with the vocabulary that they learned. We will ask a few students what habitat they may find their creatures in. This will lead into a nature walk around the trail of the Hermitage in which they will discuss habitats for their creatures in their artist statements. ADVANCED ORGANIZER: Before the lesson (Day 1): All clay demo materials must be prepared, clay for each child should be wedged, tables should be covered in newspaper, slip should be made, clean up rules should be listed, and the classroom must be decorated. Before the lesson (Day 2): All creatures must be fired in the kiln and cooled, tables should be covered in newspaper, supplies should be distributed (plates, brushes, water), and clean up rules must be listed. LESSON SEQUENCE: Day 1

1. The students will enter the classroom and take a seat. The rules for the classroom will be explained. A short introduction of the project will be given to students and then they will tour the Hermitage to view Chinese Sculptures. (15 minutes) 2. We will return to the classroom so the students can view a brief PowerPoint on the meanings of animals in Chinese and American culture and look at examples from a couple of artists. We will also discuss native wildlife to the area. (10 minutes) 3. The project will then be explained fully and the students will be shown clay building technique demonstrations in smaller groups where they will also learn the vocabulary needed for the day. Students will be asked if they have any questions. (20 minutes) 4. Students will be given handouts of pictures of animals to guide them in their building by classroom volunteers, as well as drawing paper and a pencil to sketch out ideas before they begin building (if needed). (5 minutes) 5. Be sure students label their pieces on their plywood! Students may then begin building their animals and must finish at least 10 minutes before the end of class. (1 hour) 6. Students will clean up their areas and the lesson will be wrapped up with a brief overview of the lesson for the day as well as a summary of what we will be doing next class. Students may also ask questions if needed. (10 minutes) Day 2

1. Students will be asked to tell everyone what we did last class and what they learned. Students will then be guided through a recap of what we did last class, todays goals will be explained, and their fired pieces will be given back to them. (5 minutes) 2. Students will then go on a nature walk around the hermitage to discuss their creatures habitats. (20 minutes) 3. We will return to the classroom and paints will be distributed to the students so that they can begin painting their creatures. They will be reminded that they can mix paints to create new colors! (5 minutes) 4. Students will paint their creatures with acrylic paints. As a couple of students begin to finish, a word search will be distributed as an early finisher activity. (50 minutes) 5. Once students have finished painting, we will pass out artist statements to them and describe the meanings behind their creature. Students should try and figure out what each others creatures represent. (20 minutes)

6. Students will now clean up their areas and the classroom and class will be concluded with a brief conclusion statement from the teacher. They will be told about the exhibition that is happening at the hermitage on December 7th at 1:30 pm. (10 minutes) CLOSURE: Clean Up Students will have 10 minutes to clean up their areas each day. Recap/Questions Students will be given a summary of the day and goals for the next day. They will be asked questions and can ask the teachers questions if needed. Critique/Evaluation At the end of Day 2, students will critique each others artwork and try to determine the meaning of each others creatures.

TRANSITION (DAY 1 -- DAY 2) : Students will be told at the end of Day 1 that we will go on a nature walk and paint their creatures next class. Students will transition from Day 1 to Day 2 with a summary of what they last learned (clay vocabulary and history), as well as a description of their next activity, which will be painting their creature creations and possibly building a habitat for them if time permits. EVALUATION: Student Did they properly use clay hand building techniques? Did they combine two or more animals? Did they paint their creatures? Teacher/Lesson Did students have enough time to complete all of the activity? Do students need more examples or a different explanation to allow them to understand? MODIFICATIONS:

If time is an issue, students may add additional accessories to their creature. REFERENCES, BIBLIOGRAPHY, RESOURCES: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/1d/50/39/1d5039f8803ac2ea18c10eb99e8097e3.jpg http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/Chinese_Customs/animals_symbolism.htm http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/WordSearchSetupForm.asp

REPRODUCTIONS: Teacher examples Ai Wei Wei Zodiac Heads Walnut inro with monkey motif. Japan, 19th century (The Hermitage Museum) Kimberly Cook The Acts of St. Blaise Jeff Koons Elephant