4th Grade Clay – Lesson Plan

CLAY MASKS

Materials:

• Clay (1 1/2  to 1 3/4 pounds) or 24 oz to 28 oz
• Freezer paper or newspaper ad papers
• Rolling pin (large dowel)
• Various cookie cutter shapes
• Variety of kitchen utensils for making textures in the clay
• Tag board templates in different face shapes (square, round oval and heart)
• Paper Bowls
• Paper and Pencils (for designing the mask)
• Slip
• 1/4″ Leveling Boards

Making Clay Project: (Day one)

1. Demonstrate the project for the students, telling them to draw their mask first on a sheet of white paper.  They need to choose from heart, oval, round, or square shaped face.
2. Have them trace the shape template of their choice on the piece of drawing paper.
3. Now, the students need to choose an emotion that they would want to portray.  Have examples of these emotions and what they might look like on the white board or chalkboard.  Have them fill in the face on the drawing paper using the cookie cutters to trace or they can use freehand.
4. Have the students add details they may want such as ears, hair, beards, hats (small), nose style, designs, etc.  Encourage creativity, but not too much detail!
5. Once they have finished their sketch, have them start making the mask out of clay.  First, flatten the clay enough with the heel of their hand, or like pizza dough in the air. Place to clay between two leveling boards and use the rolling pin to make a slab about ¼ inch thick and big enough to fit the face template.
6. When the slab is big enough, have the student trace the template onto the clay slab with a toothpick.  They can continue to go over the trace marks with the toothpick until they are down to the work board, or use a plastic knife to cut on the trace marks.  (I think the toothpick is easier to use.) 
7. Have the students put their first name, teacher’s initial, and date on the back of the slab at this point.
8. When the face is cut out, the students can start to create the emotion or face of their choice by using caps, cookie cutters, toothpicks or other Utensils.
9. The students can either cut away from the clay face to create the eyes, nose, and mouth, or they can add these things using extra clay.  If they add to the mask, the students need to score (roughen up) the piece they are adding and the place they are attaching it to.  Between these two scored areas (usually on one side) they need to gently add the slip and secure the section to the mask using a push and twist method being careful not to warp the piece they are adding to the mask.  When the piece is secure, have the students use a little more of the slip around the edges if needed, or use their finger or a tool to smooth out the area so it looks like they would like it to look.
10. Make sure the pieces the students are attaching are not too thin and do not extend too far from the main structure of the face.  If the pieces are too long or extend out too far, they are more likely to break off.  (I believe there is a good example of this with the girl that used to have longer braids.)
11. When the masks are finished, have the volunteers poke 2 holes near the top of the mask with a pencil for hanging when the mask is finished. 
12. Have the students or volunteers gently pick up the mask and gently drape it over a newspaper covered bowl to give it a curved shape.  First, confirm you can see the students name on the back.  Once they are leather hard they can be removed.  Some masks are better left flat to dry; you may have to make that decision by looking at the mask.

Glazing Project: (Day two)

The Grade Level Coordinator and the Clay Coordinator will Fire all the clay masks and have them ready for the glazing class. They should not use any glaze on the back side of their mask.

1. Grade Level Coordinators will schedule all classes to glaze on the same date. Each class will come in for 30 minutes with a 15 minute turnover time between classes.  Have each teacher request extra volunteers on this day.
2. Cover tables with plastic. 
3. Put a small amount of glaze in a plastic bowl.   Have colors available on each table for the students to choose from.  Have 2 or 3 brushes at each color.  The brushes should stay with only one color.  Switch to the next color’s brush if adding another color.  Apply 2 layers of glaze.  
4. Glaze over the name and date
5. If a clay piece is cracked, use extra glaze in that location to strengthen it.
6. Please return any extra glaze to its container.
7. After the students complete their glazing, the adults will coat the projects with a clear glaze.