Ceramics unit for year 6 about shelters

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. 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?

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

7. • 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.
•

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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 using a rubric about
collaboration and presentation.

11. 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

12. Coil technique and pinch-pot technique

13. 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

14. 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?

15. Moodboard with mindmap, sketches and researched
images

16. Task 5: Creation
and decoration of
your shelter
• Restrictions:
• Use the taught techniques.
• It must have an opening
• Add decorations to let 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

17. Task 6a: Observational drawing
• Choose either your indigenous
shelter or your clay shelter. Take
a good photo of it.
• Draw the basic structure of the
shelter in your visual diary with a
greylid pencil.
• Don’t fill in the outlines

18. Aboriginal Art
•Art is based on stories
and symbols of the
dreamtime, the history of
the ancestors
•The stories teach about
moral, good and bad
•You need permission
from the storyteller to use
their story
•First artworks were made
in sand, on rocks and
bark. They use ochre to
make paint.
• Later artworks were made
on canvas and board. Dots in
artwork are like a secret
language
• Different language groups
have their own style
• Aboriginals can earn money
and get more respected
with their art.
• Aboriginal Art can only be
called that if made by an
Aboriginal artist.

19. Aboriginal
symbols

20. What are zentangles?
A drawing created using repetitive patterns within a defined space
• A tangle is a pattern that is drawn within the areas created by
the strings.
• A string is a random line which creates a space in which to draw
your tangles
• Strings and tangles together make a “Zentangle”
• Use Aboriginal symbols as zentangles in task 2:
• use a black fineliner

21. Task 6b: Indigenous zentangle shelter
• Use Aboriginal symbols to fill the
shelter drawing you made in task
1.

22. Task 6c: Who lives in your shelter?
Draw a creature and use other
zentangle inspiration.