Here is this year's Ancient Greek projects for my 6th graders. I did this project two years ago and it was a huge success. Unfortunately, this year they aren't turning out as great as the first time I did them...and it's through no fault of the students! It really stinks only having elementary students once every six days! There is no possible way to keep clay projects wet enough in that 8 day period in between classes (because the weekends add even more time) to allow students two days to work with wet clay.
All things considering, they did a great job constructing these in a short amount of time, especially since I gave the demo all in the same class! I tried to cut down on time for them by having slabs pre-rolled using my slab roller instead of having the students roll their own slabs. Elementary students tend to take a longer time to roll out their own slabs. Most students also chose to do Ionic and Doric columns...very few Corinthian.
When I look at the quality of work I was able to get done in the last three years and then compare it to artwork from this year, it makes me a little sad! If I had my way, I would be 5th-12th grade art so I could really enjoy those students...those are really my favorite grade levels (well, sometimes minus the 7th graders). My 6th grade curriculum is BY FAR my favorite curriculum...anything that combines art and history makes me giddy with excitement!
I am currently in the process of firing the columns from this year's 6th graders, but I figured that I would share some of the columns from this project when I did it two years ago. Students had two days to work in wet clay to score and slip, and then a third day to fine tune and smooth out their project. We then glazed them with clear glaze, and some opted to add a little bit of a green to give it a mossy look. I will share this years' projects once they are completed!
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