Coil Clay Pots

This lesson, created by Michael Alberts, introduced us to 3D sculpture with clay. We were inspired in this lesson by looking at old clay pots and what they were used for. He also told us about different clay preparing techniques such as kneading and rolling. We then made the bottom of our pots by cutting out a circle from our rolled out flat clay using a template. We then were told to make rolls to start our pot. We then were told to build our clay pots up by adding layer and layers of coils on top of each other. We then smoothed the inside of the pot to make a connected solid pot that would not come apart when picked up. We were also given the option to paint our pots if we wanted but told not to pain the inside of the pot if we planned to use it to drink or eat out of. This lesson might be a student’s first exposure to clay and was mad easily enough for a student to have success.

An extension activity of this lesson would be to explore into other use of clay throughout history. The lesson could start with exploring more about clay coil pots then move up to more modern pots and their uses. This lesson would expand students knowledge of ancient civilizations and their knowledge about clay and ways they can use it in their everyday life.