Pegasus, 6th Grade



History Comes Alive Through Art

   Fifth and sixth graders are currently working on a special project entitled,
History Comes Alive Through Art. This project was made possible by a grant from the
Syracuse City School District Educational Foundation. It is an interdisciplinary lesson connecting the fifth and sixth social studies curriculum with art. The cross-curricular connection encompasses both district curriculum and Common Core Standards. Students have researched history topics related to their curriculum content and are each  producing an approximately 6"x6" tile to contribute to two large tile murals; one for the fifth grade and one for the sixth. The theme for the fifth grade is United States history and the theme for the sixth grade is Ancient Greek history.

                                          Statue of Liberty, Grade 5

 
Students began by created a drawing on a paper the same size as their tile. This drawing was then transferred onto a ceramic clay tile.

                                         
                                         Greek Temple, Grade 6

   Sixth grade students are using terra cotta clay, the same type of clay used in ancient Greece. Some students worked in groups of two or four to create larger images such as this Greek temple. Sixth graders are creating tiles with themes such as Greek gods and goddesses, myths, historical figures and other aspects of ancient Greek life and culture.

                                          The Great Migration, Grade 5

   Fifth grade students have researched and are creating tiles depicting many different aspects of United States history such as the Civil War, Underground Railroad, the Great Migration, the Civil Rights Movement, the Westward Expansion and the Women's Rights Movement. Some of the tiles depict historical figures including Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony and Langston Hughes.

After transferring the drawing onto the clay tile, students created a relief sculpture of their image by adding pieces of clay. They learned that relief is a sculpture that stands out partially from the background.

   Next, glaze was added to the relief tile.

                                          Trojan Horse, Grade 6

                                         Minotaur,  Grade 6

                                        Greek Helmet, Grade 6