GRADE LEVEL: Middle School

TIME REQUIRED: One 45 minute class period

Description

Make silly or crazy creatures within the guidelines that will live on your pencil and really erase!

Purpose

A simple lesson that lets students express their creativity with a bit of guidance and direction to get them going. It fosters problem-solving in creative ways, on a number of levels.

Objective

• The Learner Will (TLW) gain exposure and practice working with Eraser Clay.
• TLW use the given characteristic and add their own ideas to make a creature.
• TLW use problem-solving skills and search for creative solutions to their requirements.

Goal

A baked eraser, which is a creature no more than 2 inches in any direction, no shorter than 1 inch, must fit on the end of a pencil, and must include the individual characteristic.

Materials

• Sculpey Eraser Clay
• Index cards
• Pencils
• Other modeling tools:
  • toothpicks
  • clay tools
  • other

Art Concepts

3d sculpture, addition method of sculpting, working within specific requirements and still being individual, shape, form, detail

Scope and Sequence

Prepare before hand: Have the pieces of clay divided up per group in a container on the table. Prepare enough index cards with a characteristic idea on them. Some examples might include: has pigtails, is showing it's bellybutton, has a big body and a small head, wears glasses, has two noses, has hair down to it's toes, wears a bow tie, wears a top hat, has wings, has horns, has spikes, has webbed feet, etc. Each card will have one of these ideas on it that students will be required to use. Other supplies you might want are: toothpicks for detail work, paper over the work surface, and dish soap for cleanup.

When the students arrive, give an introduction to the lesson, telling them about the material, and outlining the requirements.

Requirements:

• It must use the given characteristic.
• It must be no larger than 2 inches in any direction.
• It cannot be any shorter than 1 inch.
• It must fit on the end of a pencil.

Some things to say about the material are: Don't attach any small pieces because they will probably break off; Connect parts thoroughly to prevent them from breaking; Prepare the clay by warming it and softening it in your hands, but don't overwork it.

Have students draw a card as if from a deck, making their selections random. Have students put their name on the card (in pencil). They will then create their creature using the idea on their card. When they are finished sculpting, the creature will go back on the same card, name side up.

Have students test them to make sure they stay on the pencils. The holes must be tight and at least 3/4 of an inch deep. If they put them on the pencil and they get stuck, twisting slowly helps to take them apart. This should only take about 45 minutes total.

The creatures can be baked right on the cards, and then returned to the students without confusion and missing pieces. Bake them for 10 minutes at 275 degrees F. They display very nicely on a new set of pencils in a nice cup. Now they can never complain about not having an eraser!

Other Notes and Ideas

This project can be adapted for use with non-eraser clays. One could still make the creatures without them being pencil toppers.

If the students are going to use these as erasers, they need to remember not to have small or thin parts sticking out too far, because they can't take to pressure of being rubbed on paper.

This idea of handing out requirements and making creatures could also be done in two dimensions, and rolled flat and made into a bookmark, using Sculpey Flex.