Topic/ Activity Theme: American Indians and Archaeology
Name of the Lesson: Native American Pottery
Grade Level/ Correlating SOL Addressed: 3rd
Art or Arts Involved: Clay Sculpting
What are some of the big ideas that students will walk away with after participating in this
activity?
After the provided activity, students should have a basic understanding of Native
American lifestyle, tools, and history. The lesson will also focus on archaeology and the methods
in which we’ve found artifacts that enlighten us about Native Americans in history.
What art- specific techniques would you emphasize/ expect to see in this lesson to raise the
rigor of the activity?
We will go over the use of clay and sculpture as a class, focusing on warming clay with
our hands or wetting it to make it more malleable. There are also various techniques that can be
taught to get desired shape and texture for clay. Children can learn that clay can be rolled into
thin strands, round balls, pushed down and stretched to be thinner, marked finely using a pencil
or other pointy object, etc.
List ALL materials necessary to carry out this activity.
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Clay
Water
Paper Towels
Hand Soap
Rolling pins and other tools if available
Paint optional
Aprons optional
Briefly list the teaching steps in order of actual instruction in a classroom.
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Have a powerpoint presentation available to introduce Native Americans to students that
lightly covers their culture, tools, lifestyle, and how archaeology has helped us learn
about them. Have an open discussion about their pottery including types of pottery and
what the children think these artifacts were used for
Introduce the activity, letting students know they will be making bowls
Go over behavioral expectations, how we handle clay, etc.
Cover art specific techniques, modeling visually with clay for students
Address cleaning expectations
What classroom management techniques are necessary throughout the lesson to make it a
success?
Students should be sitting either at their own desks or tables. Allow students to only put a
minimal amount of water into cups or bowls to use in sculpting the clay, this will prevent large
messes in the case of a spill. If at all possible, allow children to sculpt at a table near the sink in
case they need to wash their hands. Be sure to make sure every child cleans their area well
afterwards, including wiping desks down.
How would you assess student learning to ensure mastery of the correlating SOL?
Since this a third grade activity dealing with Native Americans, students should be able
to write a well-thought paragraph about their work. This paragraph should include the type of
sculpture they made, what type of Native American would have used it (men, women, children,
etc.), what it would be used for, where it could have potentially been found by archaeologists,
and why it’s important to study Native Americans and their culture in Virginia. This is not the
only activity focusing on Native Americans that students should see in a unit, but can help them
gain understanding of an artifacts usage, and importance in studying history.