Cultural Bowls Teacher Resource

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Cultural Bowls Teacher Resource"

Augustine Winfred Ford
5 years ago
Views:

1 Grade Level 5-12 Objectives Cultural Bowls Teacher Resource 1. The student will study various ancient cultures by examining differences in pottery and the artwork on the pottery. 2. The student will recognize style differences between the arts of different cultures. 3. The student will createe a bowl in the style of a culture of their choice. 4. The student will demonstrate the use of 21 st century technology with a document camera. 5. The student will employ simple equipment and tools to gather data. National Standards NA-VA.5-8.1; NA-VA Understanding and applying Media, Techniques, and Processes. NA-VA Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas. NA-VA.5-8.4; NA-VA Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures. NSS-WH.5-12 NT.K-12.1 NT.K-12.3 NT.K-12.6 Any or all 9 eras could be covered dependent upon the age of the bowls or pictures of the bowls teacher is able to obtain. Basic Operations and Concepts Technology Productivity Tools Technology Problem-Solving & Decision-Making Tools Teacher Background Information This can be a study of art from any period throughout art history because pottery is one form of art that seems to last longer than any other. Though civilizations rise and fall, archeologists still find shards of pottery from which they can piece together and study the culture of ancient people. Paintings on the bowls reveal clues about the artistic styles and religious beliefs of the time while the shape and design of pottery itself can be studied to find 1

2 what the pottery was used for. Archeologists can even go so far as to find out what the people usually had for dinner in a particular bowl! With this exercise, teachers will be able to let students have the enjoyment of making their own copy of some ancient pottery piece. This exercise will also enrich and expand the students understanding and learning about a given period of cultural history. MATERIALS Document Camera Personal Computer Interactive White Board/Projector Art Images of bowls from different cultures Art classes, Anthropology classes, and various libraries: an internett search Some suggestions include: o o o o Bowl Forms (a variety of bowls found around the house or office) Paper Mache materials (see Appendix) Paint Brushes 2

3 PROCEDURE Teacher Preparation 1. Either from pictures, copies, or artifacts already on hand, or from images obtained from the internet, prepare the images of some pottery artifacts of one or two cultural periods or civilizations you wish to focus upon. For Example: New Stone Age red patterned clay cup ca bc., Sophades, Thessaly,Greece. A late Neolithic polished red bowl Sesklo, Thessaly, Greece ca.3000bc. Picture and labels from / by Victor Bryant. Activity 1 World History 2. Turn on the document camera, and take a picture of each of the artifacts you wish to compare or, import artwork from your collection or the web. 3. Compare the bowls of two cultures or civilization at one time by either aligning them side by side, or superimposing one bowl over another for comparison of structure or paintings. 4. Examples of comparisons that might be done -- a. Point out to the students how the Greeks from certain periods showed people in profile view in mythological scenes or from everyday scenes. b. Show how many African bowls create patterns from meaningful symbols that they repeat all around their bowls. Point out similarities and differences. Activity 2 Art Styles 1. Ask students to choose one culture in order to create a bowl in the style of that culture. 2. Have students create a list of several style issues they will incorporate into their bowls to make them look like the bowls of that culture. 3

4 3. This list makes students create a fairly detailed analysis of each bowl, enriching their understanding of the artistry. Activity 3 Art Cultural Bowls 1. Provide students with bowl forms of different shapes and sizes. 2. Apply cooking spray onto the bottoms of the bowls. 3. Hand out to each group of students. Use strips of paper to cover the bottom of the bowls to make paper mache bowls. 4. Make several layers of the paper mache to make the bowls strong. 5. When stiff and dry, pull the bowls off of the forms. 6. Let students paint the bowls in the style of the chosen culture. Activity 4 Presentation 1. Take pictures of the student s finished bowls with the document camera. 2. Create a slide show and have students use their new information about the cultural styles to call out the cultures these bowls hark back to. 3. Incorporate their pictures into written reports on other cultures. EXTENSION This activity, slightly modified, can be done with coins, clothing, baskets, dolls, or many other things common to many cultures. Student ceramic productions can be grouped together so that as a class an entire set of utensils might be assembled and these could be tied to a discussion of the kinds of meals that might have been common for this group. A study of the geography and likely weather conditions of the period might be undertaken to further refine what the diet and life style (nomadic, sedentary, hunter- gathers etc.) of the people under investigation might have been. 4

5 APPENDIX Paper Mache Mix Make a simple mixture of flour and water. Mix one part flour with about 2 parts of water until you get a consistency like thick glue. Add more water or flour as necessary. Mix well to get out all the bumps. Add a few tablespoons of salt to help prevent mold! Similar to the above recipe - Put 4 cups of water into a large pot. Place the pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, mix together 1 cup of flour with 2 cups of water, stir well to get out as many bumps as possible. Once the water is boiling, carefully add your flour and water mixture. Simmer this mixture for 2-3 minutes, until smooth. Add a few tablespoons of salt to help prevent mold. Allow to cool before you try to use it! You can use regular glue mixed with a bit of water. Mix using about 1 part water with 2 parts glue. Use wallpaper paste. Follow the directions from the manufacturer to mix this paste. 5

Sensory Paint Recipes

Sensory Paint Recipes 1. Rainbow Finger Paints 2. Weird Finger Paint 3. Popsicle Paint 4. Scratch and Sniff Paint 5. Scratch and Sniff Paint II 6. Cooked finger Paints 7. Ooey Gooey Finger Paint 8. Soap