Recently, the 1st and 2nd graders made self-portraits out of clay. We started the assignment by reading, "I'm Gonne Like Me!" by Jamie Lee Curtis. It is a book about self-esteem, and it is pictured below. Afterwards, we practiced sketching our faces while looking in the mirror. I told the students that they could draw themselves being silly or serious. The next time the students came into class, I demonstrated how to score and slip to attach facial features, as well as how to draw facial features onto the clay. After that, they began sculpting their faces out of clay. Over the course of this lesson they learned about the stages of clay, clay vocabulary and techniques, how the kiln works, and how to glaze. The students were fascinated when we got to glazing. They thought it was magical that the glaze became bright and glossy after being fired. Some samples of their faces are pictured below.
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