This class was a whirlwind from start to finish. The teacher wasted no time with putting me to work on setting up each table with the clay supplies in the short time before class started. Once the students were settled in, she set off right away with reminding students about how to work with clay and prompting them to answer questions about the process and why they have to do certain things such as slipping and scoring the clay before adhering another piece on to the slab. She also made wonderful use of the document camera for a slab rolling demonstration so that they student could see the process and know what to do.
Once the demonstration was finished, she called tables over one at a time to get their clay and place mats. Once they had those items they were able to get started.
I want to quickly talk about the set up of the room as it was a tad bit different today than normal. So since the classroom doesn't have a sink with actual running water, there was a wash bucket filled with water located in the back of the room that the students would wash their hands with at the end of class. It was also used to wet the washcloths and sponges used to wipe the tables with as well as the paper towels covering the clay to keep them moist. On the tables there were cups with clay tools in them and a small container of water to use as slip and to keep the clay from cracking. There were also sets of two rulers or cardboard rectangles around the room so that the students could roll out their clay slabs evenly with the rolling pins which were also placed out on the tables. Next to each table there were large white plastic bins for the students to put their slabs in for storage. Since the room is a small, shared space, projects can't be stored willy-nilly, so the teacher has a system in place for storing the clay projects that minimizes the amount of space taken up. The place mats that were given to the students were to minimize the mess made on the table while working with the clay
One more thing that I thought was note worthy that I would like to mention: The teacher is considering using some of the finished slabs at the end of the semester State College school district art show that is held in the HUB on Penn State's campus, so she stressed for the students to really think about what they are producing.
For the activity itself, the students were rolling out their clay and starting to build up the clay and draw into the slab to create their designs. I was very active in the class today going around and answering questions while the main teacher was going around and managing, as well as answering other questions and addressing behavioral concerns such as the overly loud clay pounding. Some of the students were wearing bracelets that would get stuck in the clay while they were working and they produced various imprints much to the surprise, and to the dismay of one girl who did not want her bracelet to get dirty. I advised these students to take off their bracelets so that it wouldn't happen again and potentially mess up their slabs. I noticed that everyone was excited and even the more unruly students were intensely focused on making sure their clay slabs were perfect squares and that their designs came out right.
Never underestimate how much students like clay!
At the end of the class, students were in charge of putting their slabs in the white boxes and covering them with the wet paper towels that I had laid out as well as for washing down the tables and returning any unused clay to the front of the room. There was a bit of a listening problem at this point in the time slot, most likely caused by the clay excitement, but the art teacher had their main teacher address it anyways.
Overall the students had a lot of fun and I am looking forward to next week!