CLAY CAT Sculpture Art Project Visual Guide for slab building skills lesson
Hand-building CLAY lesson that suits Kindergarten to upper elementary. This Visual Guide for a ceramics art activity was inspired by cats as pets. Created for students to explore basic slab building skills, then a glaze or paint finish. With older students this is a great skill review or a self-directed bonus activity at your independent clay art station.
For younger students, run as a teacher guided lesson to develop knowledge and skills for modelling with clay, making slabs and moulding shapes, and attaching smaller elements. Bisque fire and use acrylic paints or glaze to finish the clay sculpture.
The final product makes a lovely keepsake as a shallow ornamental dish. Add a hole in the top when making, if you prefer a hanging display.
✅ Suitable for Early to Mid Elementary students in 1st - 4th grades.
Do you run exploratory art stations or fast finisher art centers (centres) in your classroom or art room? Then you are always needing new ideas for independent activities that students will enjoy. I started creating Visual Guides for my students to use independently, step-by-step for mini projects they work on at the clay station. Projects that build technical skills and media experience while allowing personal interpretation. These Visual Guides worked so well that I wanted to share them with you.
When students can independently work at a choosing center (centre), you can get on with supporting those students that need more help. Also fabulous when you have early finishers that need a bonus activity to go on with, while the rest of your class finishes the current class project. Or use as a filler activity for those extra sessions that happen when events mess with our timetables. Works well for a sub lesson too.
This is a new product so enjoy this review for another clay slab project in my store:
→ CLAY FISH art lesson sea theme ceramics project
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Thank you for creating this resource, it was helpful and engaging for my students."
How will this product add value to your art curriculum?
✅ Use to build independent prior knowledge before starting a whole class project for CLAY
✅ Guides new learning for students who have little experience with CLAY slab building techniques
✅ Consolidates knowledge for & extend students who have some experience with CLAY.
✅ Great early finishers activity in a choosing centre (center) between projects for older students
✅ Last minute filler activity for those extra lesson times
✅ Quick guided lesson with stunning outcomes for younger students
Print this art lesson Visual Guide's step-by-step thumbnail pages - full size and in color (colour), laminate back to back and add to the CLAY station for older students to use independently.
View the preview to fully understand the potential of this art lesson visual guide for your independent early finishers art centers (centres).
Introduce the art lesson to you students by sharing the PDF slides with full size photos, on your large screen, asking students to infer the steps, clarifying any misunderstandings and explaining your expectations. Then leave them to it and watch them grow in responsibility and self management. You can even put some students in charge of the clean up section on a rotation basis.
Select VIEW > enter full screen for presentation mode. Then use the arrow keys on your keyboard to drive a smooth slideshow experience, like a pro :)
❤️ Why should you trust my lessons?
I am both a general ed. classroom teacher and currently practising as a Visual Art and Digital Media specialist educator, teaching students from ages 4-12, at a primary school. I do this every day, just like you! My experience and knowledge are up to date with current practise.
❤️ How will this resource help busy teachers, who are nervous about teaching art?
No worries - I’ve got you covered.
This visual guide includes the materials list and teacher information, giving you the confidence to run the activity in your own classrooms.
❤️ So what is special about this resource?
This art activity introduces students to the media and techniques of Clay.
Students get to create a cat dish decorated in a personal way to express creativity, while developing or consolidating skills for slab building and glazing techniques.
❤️ Take the stress out of prepping activities for art stations,
❤️ Avoid endless hours of research and resource creation
❤️ Avoid possible frustrations for students working on your guided art projects, that result from not having time to explore a media or technique, beforehand, and build that crucial prior knowledge and confidence with this medium.
⏰ How long should I run an art station for?
If you are an art teacher, then you can make that call based on your programme. For classroom teachers, I recommend that an art center stays open for at least a week, prior to starting a guided, whole class art project with that medium.
Then for another week after completing that project, so that early finishers can further experiment independently.
This quick project will take 1 lessons to build, and 1-2 lessons to glaze / paint, depending on the age and skill level of your students.
You can also use playdough in your learning station before the class project, for students to practise.
❤️ Why should I run art centers (centres) in my classroom? Isn't that just for art teachers?
The short answer is NO.
We can no longer omit art explorations from our classrooms.
Art can make a powerful contribution to our students' mental health
In addition to helping students develop a number of important skills, free expression (like using art stations or art centers) is also good for overall health and well-being. Giving young children a creative outlet can help relieve stress and work through things happening in their lives. By encouraging artistic expression, you can help facilitate further learning and engagement. Making art can help children to deal with a wide range of mental health issues and psychological stress, like anxiety. View further information about this topic from Michigan State University HERE
View the previews above, then add to cart and smile, knowing you can set up & run your art station with confidence.
Praise from teachers who have used one of my comprehensive Guided CLAY Art Project plans:
CLAY sculpture art project for GNOMES ceramics lesson for holidays or Christmas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "This was a great addition to my art curriculum for my elementary art classes. I found the instructions to be helpful"
This Visual Guide is useful as a supporting activity for the following art station guide, available HERE...
→ What Is Clay Guide for Art Stations or Centers Elementary Grades which includes:
- The guide cover
- What is Clay
- Famous Clay artists
- Materials
- Making a Clay sculpture
- Can you make a Clay fish instruction card
- Clay clean-up
- Teacher Information x2
- Teacher instructions
- Blanks slides for you to add your own instructions x2
And a bonus slide with links to recommended, whole class, art projects for Clay.
More scaffolded Visual Guides are available for your clay art centres HERE, more being added all the time. Station themes include:
What is Clay - Art station set-up guide
- FRIDA'S FLOWERS Portrait Sculpture Art Activity Visual Guide Skills for CLAY
- DRAGON EYE model magic Art Activity Visual Guide for CLAY SKILLS Centre
- DRAGON EYE with PLAY DOUGH Art Activity Visual Guide Skills Builder for CLAY
- DRAGON EYES CLAY sculpture art project for ceramics lesson
- FESTIVE HOLLY Holiday Sculpture Art Activity Visual Guide Skills for CLAY
- CLAY Sculpture Art Activity FLAT OWL Visual Guide for slab building skills (TPT)
- CLAY Sculpture Art Activity FLAT LION Visual Guide for slab building skills (TPT)
- CLAY Sculpture Art Activity Flat Lambs Visual Guide for slab building skills (TPT)
View the Previews above, then add to cart and smile, knowing you have just saved yourself heaps of time and effort!
✅ Where can I find more art lessons like this one on this site?
Click the links in the description above, or...
→ You can browse all my Art Stations / Early Finishers / Sub support resources HERE
→ Browse all my comprehensive art lessons provided as PDF presentation lesson HERE: VISUAL ART STORE
→ If you would prefer the added support of guided video tutorials, browse my growing collection in this custom category HERE: ART LESSONS WITH VIDEO TUTORIALS
→ For my Elements of Art lessons, click HERE: ART ELEMENTS
✅ Is this product available on TPT?
Yes - you can find this product in my TPT store - One Teacher's Journey - HERE
Or Visit my TPT store - One Teacher's Journey - HERE Use the custom categories to browse or search the shop with key words.
⭐️ Save the One Teacher’s Journey store to your favourites - click HERE.
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View all the previews above before you buy. If you have any questions, contact me BEFORE you purchase.
⭐️ Would you recommend this lesson to your colleagues? Then please return to rate & comment as this helps to inform other teachers about how this product brought value to your teaching.
Every care is taken with editing this resource and at times, errors can still sneak through. If you have any questions, contact me first, and be specific in your request so that I can make those improvements and give you, and others the best quality lesson plans.
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➡️ TERMS OF USE
Review the TOUs in the PDF preview prior to purchasing.
Created by Timea Willemse, © One Teacher's Journey, © Help Me Learn
