Department of Arts Administration, Education and Policy

UNIT PLAN OVERVIEW

(Revised 2017)

Teacher Candidate Jessica Bowlby

School Elementary, Grade 5

UNIT TITLE Minoan Pottery Coil Pots

Length of Class Period 45 minutes
Approximate Number of Students in Each class 25
Beginning Date for this Unit
Ending Date for this Unit

ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS (FROM ODE STANDARDS)

Personal Choice and Vision: Students construct and solve problems of personal relevance
and interest when expressing themselves through visual art.
Critical and Creative Thinking: Students combine and apply artistic and reasoning skills to
imagine, create, realize and refine artworks in conventional and innovative ways

PROGRESS POINTS (FROM ODE STANDARDS)

The student will at the appropriate developmental level:
A. Recognize that people from various times and cultures create works of art to be looked at,
valued and enjoyed.
C. Connect making art with individual choice and understanding personal cultural identity.
D. Produce artworks that express and represent their experiences, imagination and ideas using
a range of media including new technologies.

CRITICAL ISSUE / BIG IDEA

A).Anticipatory Set (what do the students already know)
B). Rationale (why is this lesson relevant?)
A). At the fifth-grade level, I assume that students have already worked with clay. They do not
need extensive knowledge about the material, but previous experience would be beneficial. I
also assume that they have experience using computers and doing research. This will help them
in knowing how to research the specific type of pottery that we are focusing on. By this age,
students should not have problems being able to use messier materials such as clay and slip.

B). This lesson is relevant because it introduces the students to a new type of art they may have
never heard of before. For most students, it will be their first time making an object from clay
that is utilitarian. This allows them to assess the difference between useful art and beautiful art,
and the ways in which they connect. They will create a small pot, or bowl, that they can take
home and use. Also, this project includes historical research. The students will need to use
technology to research the topic. This will introduce them to a specific group of people and their
culture and sense of community. This will allow them to get a bigger sense of the differences of
groups of people. It will force them to look outside of the community in which they were raised in

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and look outwards into other communities. It will offer them the opportunity to question the
similarities and differences of cultures that they do not know much about.
The students will also have to do some self reflection. They will look at the painting on the
Minoan pottery and realize how that painting is relevant to the people from that time period and
place. They will see how the artwork reflects the importance’s of that particular society. They will
then need to look deeply into their own personal society and what they find as being important.
This will allow them the opportunity to look inwardly and think deeply about what has shaped
them into who they are at this point in their lives. They will then carve this into their pot/bowl.
This will allow them to reflect on the importance’s of their own personal society.

Central Focus (creating, presenting, interpreting, responding, and/or relating art to context)
The central focus of this lesson plan is one’s own values. Students will research Minoan Pottery
and discover what was important to that particular society. They will then decide on something
that is important and meaningful to them and create a depiction on a ceramic bowl.

Essential Questions (provocative, engaging, critical)

How can we relate our community in which we live to those of others?
In what ways can something be both useful and beautiful?
How can we simplistically depict our values?

Possible Integration
This lesson could possibly be integrated to a History or English class by either learning about
the area or culture, or writing an essay about the topic.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ESSENTIAL EDUCATIONAL CONTENT OF THIS UNIT

Lesson One
Title Coil Pot
Lesson Description The students will research Minoan pottery during class. They will look
specifically into the designs that are painted onto the Minoan pots. I will
then explain the importance of the painting on the pots and how it reflects
relevant subjects to Minoan society. The students will then think of
something that they think is important to their own society. This will be
something that they think is so important that it has shaped them into who
they are at this point in their lives. They will need to think critically about
what has made them who they are today. This will be the design they will
later put on their pot/bowl. They will then create coil pots and use the
sgraffito technique to carve their design into their pot/bowl.

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Explain how technology has been used in this unit
I will use a PowerPoint presentation to introduce the new lesson. The students will use
computers to research the topic.
LESSON PLAN

Teacher Candidate Jessica Bowlby

School Elementary, Grade 5

LESSON NUMBER 1
Lesson Title Coil Pot
Length of Class Period 45 minutes
Approximate Number of Students in Each class 25
Beginning Date for this Lesson
Ending Date for this Lesson

CONTENT STATEMENT – PERCEIVING/KNOWING (FROM ODE STANDARDS)

2PE Identify and communicate how historical and cultural contexts influence ideas that inform
artists.
4PE Compare and contrast how form and style are influenced by social, environmental and
political views in artworks.

CONTENT STATEMENT – PRODUCING/PERFORMING (FROM ODE STANDARDS)

1PR Integrate observational and technical skills to strengthen artmaking.
2PR Use digital tools to explore ideas, create and refine works of art during the artmaking
process.
4PR Select and use the elements and principles of art and design to communicate
understanding of an interdisciplinary concept.

CONTENT STATEMENT – RESPONDING/REFLECTING (FROM ODE STANDARDS)

1RE Apply reasoning skills to analyze and interpret the meaning in artworks.
2RE Describe how personal experiences can influence artistic preferences.
4RE Communicate how personal artistic decisions are influenced by social, environmental and
political views.

Performance-based Assessment Objectives

1. Students will be able to compare and contrast how their piece relates to that of the historical
references.
2. Students will be able to use digital tools to research the historical topic.

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3. Students will be able to communicate through personal artistic decisions why their piece is
meaningful.

Performance-based Assessment Strategies

(attach assessment documents if applicable)
I will assess the students both orally and through a written quiz. To assess the students orally, I
will ask them each to describe and explain their pieces that they have created. They will
describe what they have depicted on their coil pot and why it is important to them. I will also
have a short vocabulary quiz for them to complete that relates to the lesson. The final product is
also a form of assessment because they may explain something that isn’t in the piece itself. A
rubric will be attached at the end of the lesson plan.

Academic Language
Vocabulary (define each)
Coil Pot: A ceramic vessel made from long circular pieces of clay.
Sgraffito: A ceramic design technique that uses carving through slip onto a leather hard surface.
Minoan Pottery: A historical form of pottery created on the island of Crete.
Needle Tool: A small pointy tool used for ceramics.
Slip: A liquid form of clay with pigment used for surface design.
Leather Hard: A state of clay where the clay body becomes rubbery hard.

Additional Language Demands (specific communication task)

I will create discussions within each class in order to test their understanding of the vocabulary
being used. I will also listen to conversations between students to see how they are using the
language learned in class. I will speak one on one with students to see if they are grasping the
vocabulary and being able to use it themselves.

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Accommodations for Special Populations
I will use universal design for my classroom to accommodate students with special needs. For
the Emotional Disturbance IEP, I may have to limit the materials that can be used depending on
the student’s behavior on that particular day. For example, I may have to assist them in using
the needle tool because of its possibility to be used as a weapon. Also, I will have an additional
table for students to sit at if they need to work alone.

Art/Visual Culture Examples (list all artists, artwork or media used)

Minoan potters (See PowerPoint)

Preparations
Materials/Resources for Teacher
Clay
Kiln
25 Needle tools
Slip
Projector
PowerPoint
25 Plastic Bags

Materials for Students

Clay
Needle tool
Slip

Safety Procedures
Students will be using dangerous materials, such as a needle tool. This could be used as a
weapon and the students will have to be very careful while using this tool. I will also remind the
students to be respectful of each other and the materials. I will demonstrate and discuss the
proper usage as well as watch the students carefully while they use the tools. If there are any

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signs that the students may want to use the tools dangerously, the tools will be taken away and
the students will sit at the extra table by themselves for the rest of the class.

LEARNING ACTIVITY
Getting the Classroom Environment Ready
The classroom will be set up with three large tables, each sitting ten students. Each student will
be assigned a seat so they know where to sit when they come in to class. There will be an
additional smaller table off to the side for any students that need to work alone. I will also have a
large rug in the classroom for students to sit at while introducing the project so they do not have
to be in their chairs the entire class period.
Day One:
On the first day, the students will be instructed to come into the classroom and sit on the rug
while I introduce the new lesson. After this, I will demonstrate how to create a coil pot and they
will go to their seats and we will get started. I will pass out clay to each student and they will get
started immediately.
Day Two:
Day two will be a work day of building the coil pot structure. Students will enter the classroom
and get their coil pots out of their cubby and get to work.
Day Three:
We will begin the day by meeting on the rug so I can demonstrate how to paint slip on to a coil
pot. The students will need to get their coil pots out of their cubby but I will already have slip and
paint brushes on the tables.
Day Four:
Day four will begin by meeting on the rug again so I can demonstrate how to glaze the coil pots.
There will be a small bucket of glaze at each table along with large paint brushes.

Procedures for the Teaching/Learning Structure (indicate approximate time for each step)
Day Duration Application Resources
The students will come in the
classroom and sit on the rug at the
front of the room and I will use a PowerPoint (attached at end of
1 10 mins PowerPoint presentation to introduce unit plan)
the new project. Essential questions Projector
are on PowerPoint that I will ask
them to start a conversation.
I will demonstrate how to create a
1 10 mins Clay
coil pot.
The students will go back to their
1 5 mins. seats and I will pass out clay to each Clay
student.
1 10 mins. Students will start creating their coil Clay
pots. These will not get completed
today and we will finish them in the

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 next class.
Clean up. Students will place their
coil pots in a plastic bag and place
them in their cubby. One student Plastic bags
1 10 mins.
from each table will get a wet sponge Sponges
and clean off the tables while the
other students wash their hands.
Students will come in the classroom
and get back to work immediately.
This day will be a full work day of
creating and finishing their coil pots.
While the students are working, I will
create a casual discussion about the
project by bringing up the essential
2
questions again. I will also stress
that they should begin to think about
35 mins. Clay
what is a defining characteristic of
who they are.
Questions include:
-What is important to your
personality?
-Did a particular person shape you
into becoming you?
-Are there certain places you go that
you feel help define you?
Clean up. Students will place their
coil pots back in their plastic bags.
One student from each table will use
sponges to clean the tables while the
rest of the students wash their
hands. Before the students leave, I
Plastic bags
2 10 mins. will prepare them for next class by
Sponges
thinking about something that is
important to them so they can use
that idea to carve into their coil pots
for next class. These will come from
the essential questions and the
discussion from earlier in class.

To begin this class, I will Clay coil pot

3 5 mins. demonstrate how to apply slip to the Slip
coil pots. Paint brush

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 The students will go back to their Clay coil pots
3 10 mins. seats and paint slip onto their coil Slip
pots. Paint brushes

I will demonstrate how to use the

Clay coil pot
3 5 mins. sgraffito technique to carve a design
Needle tool
into the coil pots.

The students will use a needle tool to

carve their design onto their coil pot.
Throughout the day, I will come
around to each student individually Clay coil pots
3 15 mins.
and allow them to explain the Needle tools
meaning and significance of their coil
pot for oral assessment of their
understanding of the project.
Clean up. Students will leave their
coil pots out to dry. One student from
each table will use a sponge to clean
Sponges
3 10 mins. their table while the rest of the
Kiln
students wash their hands. Once the
coil pots are all completely bone dry I
will fire them.

The students will come in the

Clear glaze
classroom and sit on the rug while I
4 10 mins. Coil pot
demonstrate how to glaze the coil
Paint brush
pots.

The students will go back to their Clear Glaze

4 15 mins. seats and paint on two coats of clear Coil pots
glaze onto their coil pots. Paint brushes

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 While the glaze is drying on the coil Quiz (attached at end of unit
4 10 mins. pots, the students will take a plan)
vocabulary quiz. Pencils

Clean up time. I will collect the

quizzes and one student from each
table will collect the paintbrushes
and place them in the sink. They will
leave their coil pots out so that I can
place them back in the kiln for the
4 10 mins. Wipes.
glaze firing. They will all get a wipe
to wipe off their hands and then their
desks since they were only applying
glaze today and would not be as
messy as previous days.

Clean-up Procedures (Room, Materials & Work Storage)

Students will be responsible for cleaning their own work area. Depending on the materials used
that day, I will pass out wipes to each student so they can wipe their hands and then wipe off
their desks. This will save time so that there isn’t a line at the sink to wash hands. Of course, if
messier materials are used, students will all have to wash their hands in the sink. Each month, a
different student from each table will be assigned to be the collector of artworks. If the projects
from the day do not need to be placed on the drying rack, the student will collect all of the
projects from their table and stack them at the front of the table for me to collect. I will have bins
for all materials used so that the students can place unused materials in the bins at the end of
class.

Closure, Review & Anticipation (what’s next?)

After collecting all projects and making sure cleanup is done, the students will be asked to
discuss what they learned in that day’s class. I will then hint at what we will be doing in the next
class to create anticipation to keep students excited about coming to art class.

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Supplemental Activity
If students get done with their project early, I will have paper and a bin with drawing supplies so
that the students can draw until class is over. They will be asked to draw something pertaining to
that day’s lesson, whether that be a main idea or something involving the vocabulary.

Teacher reflection focused on the lesson after it has been taught

n/a

Be sure to attach to the full instructional unit

Teacher Example
Bibliography in APA format
Any printed material that relates to the unit and/or the lessons

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