Alexa Buchin 2nd Grade: Grounding through Clay Objects

I. Topic:

a. Content area: Creating clay objects that help you feel calm and secure b. Content Statement: Making grounding objects out of clay representing something

that makes you feel safe and calm when you’re worried

II. Objectives: a. The students will practice grounding themselves when feeling intense emotions

by creating a clay object, practicing texture and painting techniques, representing something that makes them feel safe and secure.

III. Standards of Education:

Visual Communication and Production

2.3 The student will depict imaginary experiences in works of art.

2.4 The student will create works of art inspired by a variety of concepts, themes, and literary sources.

2.5 The student will identify and use the following in works of art:

1. Color—secondary 2. Form—three-dimensional (cube, cylinder, sphere, pyramid, cone) 3. Shape—geometric, organic

2.10 The student will create three-dimensional works of art, using a variety of materials to include clay.

Art History and Cultural Context

2.11 The student will identify symbols from various cultures.

Analysis, Evaluation, and Critique

2.17 The student will interpret ideas and feelings expressed in personal and others’ works of art.

Aesthetics

2.20 The student will describe the meanings communicated and feelings evoked by works of art. 2.21 The student will explain ways that the art of a culture reflects its people’s attitudes and beliefs.

National Standards:

VA:Cr1.2.2a: Make art or design with various materials and tools to explore personal interests, questions, and curiosity.

VA:Cn11.1.2a: Compare and contrast cultural uses of artwork from different times and places.

IV. Student Group Targeted: a. Grade Level: 2nd grade b. Prerequisite skills: some experience with clay or 3D materials

V. Time Required:

a. 4 classes, 40 minutes each

VI. Materials and Resources: a. Paper and pencils, colored pencils b. Clay c. Clay tools, texture tools d. Acrylic/tempera paint and brushes e. PowerPoint with vocabulary f. http://www.tc.umn.edu/~mcdo0151/legend.html g. http://peopleof.oureverydaylife.com/history-worry-stones-8210.html h. https://youtu.be/4ICTEa3BPUQ (grounding meditation)

VII. Itinerary and Instructional Strategies:

Day one:

• Read “Visiting Feelings” o Point out pleasant vs. unpleasant feelings o What do you do when you feel unpleasant feelings? o Point to examples in the book (welcoming feeling in and feeling it fully) o Grounding: helps you stay in the moment when feeling unpleasant emotions o Grounding object: physical and visual reminder to stay in the moment, helps you

calm down and feel safe and secure • Cultural examples of grounding objects:

o American stress ball § Inspired by traditions in different cultures

o East Asian Traditions § Use natural objects, such as rocks, to connect the body to the earth during

meditation

o Native American worry stones § “Stones have been sacred in various cultures for their ability to take away

negativity. Worry stones are smooth stones that are rubbed between the fingers to calm away worries. Many of these stones can be found today in spiritual stores and contain one word affirmations.”

§ “Native Americans kept stones in sacred bundles, and the stones were believed to hold the power to heal. These stones were passed to each generation as a link to their ancestors. They were also rubbed between fingers to cast away worries. Quartz was believed to have the ability to absorb negativity.”

§ http://peopleof.oureverydaylife.com/history-worry-stones-8210.html

o Guatemalan worry dolls § “The indigenous people from the Highlands in Guatemala created Worry

Dolls many generations ago as a remedy for worrying. According to the Mayan legend, when worrying keeps a person awake, he or she tells a worry to as many dolls as necessary. Then the worrier places the dolls under his or her pillow. The dolls take over the worrying for the person who then sleeps peacefully through the night. When morning breaks, the person awakens without the worries that the dolls took away during the night.”

§ http://www.tc.umn.edu/~mcdo0151/legend.html

• Sketching out your own grounding object answering these questions o What helps you feel positive? o What makes you feel safe and secure? o What helps you when you feel stressed? o What helps you feel connected to the earth?

• Draw out with pencils and colored pencils, talk about how we will be making it with clay o Small and able to fit in a pocket o What kinds of objects can you make out of clay? Talk to the students about how

their designs will transfer to clay • Closure:

o Come together and share designs o Talk about how these designs will transfer into the medium of clay

Day two:

• Come in with lights off and calm music playing • Have everyone sit on the carpet and begin grounding meditation/video

o https://youtu.be/4ICTEa3BPUQ • Afterwards: ask the students about their experience

o What parts made sense to you? Was there anything you were confused about? o What was the goal of the meditation? o What feelings came up while you were doing the meditation and how did you deal

with them? • Bring conversation to “Visiting Feelings” and grounding objects

o How did this meditation relate to the book we read last week? o Did this meditation make you think of the objects you designed?

§ How could you use these objects in a meditation like this to help you feel grounded?

• Clay demo! o Get everyone around in a group at a table and bring out clay o Show how to wedge the clay and get it ready to work with (only need a little bit at

a time) o Show cutting tools for how to make the clay into shapes you want

o Remind students: these will be objects we’re able to keep in our pockets and we want to make sure the shapes are simple so they won’t break (tree is bad example, Chamblin’s heart is good example)

o After you have the clay into the shape you want, you can add designs and textures using different tools

o Take some time to experiment with different tools before you decide what you’ll use on your project

o Use alphabet pasta! • Begin sculpting grounding objects

o Walk around and help with questions o Wrap clay in plastic if they’re not done before the end of class

• Closing: o Come together and talk about some of the texture-making tools we used

Day three:

• Intro: o Today we will be finishing our clay objects so we can leave them out to dry and

paint them next class o I want to give you all enough time to work so I wanted to get started; does anyone

have any questions about texture-making tools or how to make different shapes? o Reminder: we’re making our own personal grounding objects inspired by

something that makes us feel calm and peaceful when we’re upset • Work time

o Put on calming music to help students focus and feel grounded o Walk around and help the students with their personal objects o Remember not to make anything too thin so it won’t break off when dry o Think about adding designs and textures o Think about how this object will feel when it’s dry (rubbing it as a way to calm

you down) • 10 minutes before class ends: Cleanup

o Turn off music and lights to signal time for cleanup

Day four:

• Intro: o Who remembers what we did last class? o What did we make out of clay and what are these objects for? o Can someone share the object they made and how it makes them feel grounded? o How can we add color to our objects to make them more personal and

meaningful? • Work time:

o Pass out acrylic paint to tables with brushes o Make sure the students cover all sides of the object using different colors and

patterns o Practice mixing colors to get desired appearance

o How can color make your object more calming? • Closure:

o Does anyone want to share his or her painted clay object? o Assessment questions:

§ What book did we read and what was it about? How did it tell us to treat our feelings?

§ What is a grounding object and how is it used? § What makes you feel grounded, safe, and calm? § Why is it important to stay grounded and in the moment, even when

experiencing hard emotions? § How do different cultures practice grounding and use grounding objects?

VIII. Evaluation Strategies:

a. Using questions to show understanding of concepts i. What book did we read and what was it about? How did it tell us to treat

our feelings? ii. What is a grounding object and how is it used?

iii. What makes you feel grounded, safe, and calm? iv. Why is it important to stay grounded and in the moment, even when

experiencing hard emotions? v. How do different cultures practice grounding and use grounding objects?

IX. Suggested Supplemental Activities:

a. Continuing with ideas of mindfulness by focusing on grounding in nature, including nature walks and using rocks in nature as grounding objects

b. Practicing breathing/calming techniques and meditation throughout other classes