This document outlines tasks for a ceramics unit focused on craftsmanship and shelter building. Students will: 1) Describe their home and research housing through history, focusing on materials and factors influencing shelter design. 2) Study Aboriginal shelters and build a miniature shelter collaboratively for a scenario. 3) Learn clay techniques like slab building and use them to create a decorated shelter blending into an environment. 4) Be inspired by Indigenous artist Gloria Thanacoupie's techniques in creating their shelter.

1. Ceramics Unit
-”craftsmanship”-

2. Statement of Inquiry:
“Craftsmanship”, medium and tools must change along with
the times to build communities and shelter.
• Starting point of our inquiry will be your place: “what is it like”. What
can you tell about your house.
• We will be looking at houses through history in the world and closer
to home, in Australia and try to find out what factors influence the
creation of a shelter
• We will also collaborate and investigate how ancient techniques are
still useful to build a shelter using either natural or man-made
materials.
• Finally, we will explore clay and use the slab building technique to
create a mini shelter. The shelters from one class will represent a
community.

3. Task 1a. Create a title page and
describe your place.
• Old house (100 yr)/ renovated/ 50 years old/
modern house
• House/ townhouse/ double story/ single story/
apartment/…
• Roof: metal plates, stone slates, ceramic
tiles/wood
• Outer walls: brick, wood/weather board, plaster
• Floors inside: tiles, wood, cork, concrete,
linoleum….
• In our house there live ……people and …animals

4. Task 1b. Housing through the centuries
• Watch video: “Housing though the centuries”.
1. While watching the video write down 3 old building materials and 3
modern building materials.
2. What is the difference between housing and a shelter?
3. Mention 3 reasons why people build shelters.
4. Write down what environmental factors which impact how a shelter
is built.
5. Write down what social/cultural factors impact the shape of a
shelter.

5. Task 1c. Class discussion: Shelters in Victoria
What is the story of these
shelters?
1. Find a word to go with
the shelter. Choose
from: Classic, retro,
poverty, hope, posh,
back to basics…
2. What is the function of
the shelter/ who uses
the shelter?
3. What materials are used
to create the shelter?
A. Under bridge in Melbourne… B. Heidelberg road, Alphington
C. Early settlers, 1880 Ballarat D. St.Kilda pier

6. Task 1d. Find out about Aboriginal
shelters (home learning questions)
• What materials do Aboriginal people use to
construct their shelters?
• What is the function of their shelters?
• Find out 3 different words Aboriginal
people have for their shelters.
• Find an image of a famous shelter which
shows Indigenous art.
• Explain how an Aboriginal shelter in
Tasmania would look different compared to
a shelter in the desert near Alice Springs?

7. Aboriginal shelters
A native wurley, 1886. Roof is made with
overlapping sheets of paper bark.

8. • Example of Mer Island (or Murray Island)
architecture (Torres Strait Islands). Round form
covered with dried banana leaves with sleeping
platforms placed inside. Lithograph with hand
colouring by Melville, c. 1849
• Australian Aborigines were nomadic
people, hunting and food gathering as they
travelled within their tribal boundaries.
They made semi-permanent stops,
camping for days or weeks in one place,
depending on the availability of food and
water. In the well-watered tropical north of
Australia, particularly during the wet
season, people often camped at one
location for several months at a time.
•

9. Group-task 2.Create a sturdy miniature shelter
for a family in a specific environment
• Your group has a specific task to build
a shelter.
Step 1: discuss everyone’s ideas
based on this task. Look at the
Aboriginal construction sheets for
ideas
Step 2: Collaborate and each student
takes responsibilities. Brainstorm on
an A3 sheet: What tasks are there?
Construction sketch, gathering
materials, set up workspace,
constructing, presentation.
Step 3: Start constructing (materials
cardboard piece, super tac glue,
scissor, glue brush, natural materials,
and man-made materials
• Natural materials: branches, leaves,
grass, hey, bark, stones, raffia, clay
and sand
• Man made materials: fabric,
cardboard, plastic, skewers, pegs,
rope, tape, blue tack

10. Groups scenarios
• 1. NT, grassland, family of 2
• 2. WA, Desert, family of 2
• 3. NSW, Beach, family of 3
• 4. VIC, Mountains, family of 5
• 5. TAS, Forrest, family of 3
• 6. SA, desert, family of 4
• 7. ACT, grasslands, family of 2
• 8. TSI, beach, family of 3
• 9. QLD, Tropical Rainforest,
family of 4

11. Task 2: part two: Presentation of shelter
• Second lesson: each group will get to do a 3-minute presentation of
their shelter: Discuss: in your presentation:
-Scenario (location/ climate/family size) and idea of the group: explain
chosen shape, protection, function, used materials
-Task division, collaboration
-Problems/ideas
Step 1: prepare presentation: 30 minutes.
Step 2: Presentation of the shelters in class, 3 minutes per group (40
minutes total)
• All groups will participate in a peer assessment (use a scoring sheet):
collaboration and presentation.

12. Task 3:Discover clay
and record
techniques
• Slab technique, coil technique and pinchpot/ mould
• Joining technique
• Decoration: adding relief and carving
You will be taking photos of the techniques you have
explored and present this in a pic collage with descriptions
of the techniques

13. Coil technique and pinch-pot technique

14. Task 4a. Artist inspiration: Indigenous artist:
Gloria Thanacoupie (1937-2011)
• Sgraffito: carved lines to create
decoration on sphere.
• Mosaic: slab technique and mini
coils to create relief lines

15. Task 4b. Moodboard:
Thinking, sketching and annotating
• Step 1: Choose an environment:
mountains/water/ forest/desert/grassland
you can collaborate with partner for ideas.
Brainstorm your ideas in a mindmap
• Step 2: Create one or more design sketches for
a shelter for either an animal or miniature
human in the chosen environment.
• Annotate your designs to explain your ideas: -
Who/what will use the shelter?
-What is the function of the shelter?
-What is the environment like?
-What textures will you show on the shelter to
make it blend in with the environment?
-How will you construct the shelter?
-How will you make the decorations?

16. Moodboard with mindmap, sketches and researched
images

17. Task 5: Creation and
decoration of your shelter
• Restrictions:
• Use the slab building technique
• It must have an opening
• Use decorations to make shelter blend in
with environment
• You add things such as
animal/human/furniture/food
• You will get two lessons to create and
decorate your shelter.
• Depending on time you will glaze or paint
the shelter

18. Task 6 Steampunk cardboard collage shack
• Drawing/ rubbing/ collage