Ceramics 2, 3, and 4 Syllabus
Instructor: Ashley Mims
Room: S131
Telephone: 281-920-8000 ext. 6160
Email: amims@houstonisd.org
Conference Period: 5th
CREDIT HOURS: 1 credit; ½ per semester
SUPPLY FEE $60.00 As stated in the Westside High School Course Catalog, students
are required to pay an art fee. If you have a financial hardship and cannot pay your fee,
please provide the teacher with a written note stating hardship and signed by a parent or
guardian and your teacher will make arrangements for your fee. Fees will be collected in
class, students name signed on a list, and the list and money will be turned in to the
school financial clerk. Special in class materials will be purchased from this fund. Tools
and most supplies will be provided in class; however, at times students might need to
bring in discarded or found objects to add to their art work.
COURSE DESCRIPTION/INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS- Ceramics 2 is designed to
familiarize students with the history of ceramics and the basic techniques used in all
ceramic work. Ceramics 3 and 4 will allow the student to elaborate on what they have
learned in the previous years by creating work that is personal, thought provoking, and
exquisitely crafted. Students will also learn how to critique their peers work as well as
their own - we learn from our successes and our mistakes, especially when we discuss
them.
Each 6 week period will include a class led critique.
Pre - AP students will be required to make one studio / museum visit each 6
weeks, and write a paper about it. AP students are required to do the same, but
they follow a different syllabus.
Topics to be covered during the year:
 Art history related to ceramics.
 Ceramic techniques including, but not limited to:
Pinching
Coil
Slab
Additive and Reductive
Underglazing and Glazing
Slip Casting/ Mold Building
Mixed Media
ATTENDANCE is very important in art studio classes. Demonstrations and
individual critiques are done on a routine basis and visual examples and
resources are provided for further understanding. Also, much of the art work is
done during class time. Missing days puts a student at a conceptual
disadvantage and, in many cases, makes it difficult to catch up.
ASSIGNMENTS - Work done in class on a specific assignment will have a
specific due date. At that time, we will move on to the next material to be given.
The student will have the opportunity to turn in work after the due date up to one
week. Exceptions to this will be work that falls in the week preceding Progress
Reports or Six Week Grades due for teachers.
GRADING - Daily Projects, Homework assignments, and Quizzes will carry the
same weight unless otherwise announced. Major Projects will be graded on a
rubric. The rubrics will be discussed before the projects begin and will be posted
in the classroom. Effort: The Rubric will include a grade for effort. Regardless
of skill level or degree of talent, the effort and commitment the student puts into
the work will always be considered. It is very possible for the student that
exhibits moderate talent but who possesses a strong work ethic, and shows
serious effort in the completion of a project, to receive a higher grade than a
student that possesses talent, but who puts in minimal time or effort.
CLASSROOM PROCEDURES - Students are required to clean their assigned
desk and shared working areas before they leave class. Leaving a messy desk
can have serious consequences for the next student that occupies that desk. As
proper use of the classroom materials factors into the grading rubric, failing to do
so could result in as much as a full letter grade drop in the assignment grade.
Students are responsible for positive classroom behavior. Students will comply
with HISD’s code of student conduct and Westside’s discipline management
system.
I have read and understand the syllabus for all Ceramics courses (except
AP).
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