8th Grade: Playing With Mud: Clay, Ceramics and Chemistry
Amount of time for this lesson = 45 minutes
1. Standards and Safety and Materials:
A. Standards – NGSS: MS-PS1-1 Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended
structures. MS-PS1.B Chemical Reactions MS-ESS2-1 Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and
the flow of energy that drives this process.
B. Safety Concerns: Minimal safety concerns with regular class activity
C. Materials: clay, microwave
2. Objectives:
A. SWBAT… list and describe process of clay composition and chemical change
3. Connections, Misconceptions, and Crosscutting Concepts:
A. Real world connections: Ceramicist, Materials Engineer, Glass-Ceramics Researcher
B. Student connections: Chemical changes
C. Misconceptions: Firing is not baking
D. Crosscutting Concepts: Chemistry, Geology, Art
4. Catch/Engagement: Display stages of clay from wet, green, fired, glazed
5. Pre-test: Same as post-test
6. Activity/Exploration:
Part 1: Lecture: See below
Part 2: Lab: See below
Part 3: Reading: See links below
Part 4: Discussion: Students will list and describe parts and process of clay composition and changes
7. Review/Essential Questions/Explanation:
A. Low Level – Clay is composed mainly of kaolin (silicates and alumina)
B. Middle Level – Kaolin molecules bond forming new crystal forms
C. High Level – Ceramic materials change structure and properties when exposed to different levels of heat
8. Assessments (Post-test)/Evaluation:
A. Formative: Teacher will check for understanding by conferring with students individually.
B. Post-test: Same as pre-test
C. Summative: Students will list and describe properties of clay in various stages between wet, greenware, bisque and glazed
D. The class post-test average must be a 80% or the next class will begin with a 10 minute review/discussion of today’s
material followed by another post-test of the same material.
9. Timeline:
A. Catch
B. Pre-test
C. Activity – 4 parts
D. Review and Post-test
2 min
3 min
30 min
10 min (Put as many sections as you need)
10. Enrichment/Elaboration: Research and list industrial and home uses of ceramics.
11. IEP Accommodations/Differentiation/Diversity: What accommodations will you use to support struggling learners?
Playing With Mud: Clay, Ceramics and Chemistry: Pre/Post Test
1. The primary mineral in clay is ______________________________.
2. Clay is a product of what geological process? _______________________
3. The oldest clay object found is:
a) hundreds of years old
b) thousands of years old
c) millions of years old
4. Clay consists of which three components?
______________________ _____________________
____________________
5. What are you curious about regarding clay and how it works or what it’s made of?
Playing With Mud: Clay, Ceramics and Chemistry: Pre/Post Test
1. The primary mineral in clay is ______________________________.
2. Clay is a product of what geological process? _______________________
3. The oldest clay object found is:
a) hundreds of years old
b) thousands of years old
c) millions of years old
4. Clay consists of which three components?
______________________ _____________________
____________________
5. What are you curious about regarding clay and how it works or what it’s made of?
Playing With Mud: Clay, Ceramics and Chemistry: Pre/Post Test
1. The primary mineral in clay is ______________________________.
2. Clay is a product of what geological process? _______________________
3. The oldest clay object found is:
a) hundreds of years old
b) thousands of years old
c) millions of years old
4. Clay consists of which three components?
______________________ _____________________
____________________
5. What are you curious about regarding clay and how it works or what it’s made of?
Introduction/Lecture
Humans have made objects with clay for thousands of years. The oldest found clay object is about 30,000 years
old – a figurine found in the Czech Republic. Similarly, for thousands of years, humans have made clay pots for
cooking and food storage.
Today, ceramics made from clay and some mixtures of ceramics and glass are used for many industrial
applications. Tiles on the space shuttle, cooktop stoves, body armor, telescope lenses, glass displays on smart
phones, and electronics substrates are just some of the uses for ceramic materials. And of course, many of the
dishes and cups used at home are made from ceramic material.
Clay is present all over the world. It is a product of weathered rock. Clay is a combination of alumina, silica and
water. The predominant mineral in clay is kaolinite:
image: http://virtual-museum.soils.wisc.edu/kaolinite/
Kaolinite is composed of silicon dioxide (SiO2) tetrahedral layers and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) octahedral layers
forming a crystal with O - H – O bonds. These molecules form sheets with water in between bonded weakly by
hydrogen. This allows the sheets to slide over each other and allow the clay to be shaped. As the clay dries,
water escapes and the layers are bonded by hydrogen. When clay is fired in bisque firing (1940º F), water is
eliminated bonding the silicates and alumina. During the second glaze firing (1830º F), crystals are further
melted to form hardened stoneware. If any air pockets are present within the clay body during firing, the clay
object will likely break.
Lab/Investigation
In this lab, we will explore the stages of clay as it goes from wet to dry to fired in the kiln. You have an
understanding of the chemical structure of clay and will use this knowledge to make predictions and draw
conclusions about the changes that occur in the clay building process.
Wet
1. Can you scratch the
clay in this form?
Yes
Greenware (dry)
No
Yes
No
Bisque fired
Yes
No
Glaze Fired
Yes
No
2. If you squeeze the
clay with your hands,
what happens?
3. What happens to the
molecules of clay as you
squeeze it?
4. If you drop the clay in
this form, what happens
to it?
5. How does the
chemical structure of the
clay affect this result?
6. Why do you think it’s important to eliminate air pockets in clay when construction? What happens to the air during firing? Is there a
similar occurrence in Earth’s geology?
7. What would happen to wet clay if fired before being completely dry? Why would this happen?
8. Now that you have an idea about how clay changes structure during bisque firing, what do you think happens to glaze during the
second firing process?
Research online and list 10 home, industrial or scientific uses for clay and ceramic materials.
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What are you curious about concerning clay and ceramics?
Reading
http://ceramics.org/learn-about-ceramics/ceramics-optical-materials
http://ceramics.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/bulletin_oct-nov2010.pdf
http://ceramics.org/knowledge-center/learn-about-ceramics
http://www.rsc.org/education/eic/issues/2012July/chemistry-pottery-clay-glaze.asp