For the 2014/2015 school year at KCS, all the Arts Ed 9 outcomes were intergraded into all the grade 9 courses. I was given 4 outcomes to cover in my Science 9 course. My ongoing goal in all my science classes is to relate science to the student’s lives and the real world as much as possible. Having to cover the specific arts outcome gave me the opportunity to teach my students about the science behind ceramics, an art form that relies heavily on chemistry, specifically the properties of the elements from the periodic table. I utilized the expertise of Devon Coles, who runs the local art gallery, the Garden Gallery, in Kindersley where he produces ceramics, to give the students insight into his ceramics process and the chemistry involved. Students then created their own ceramics pieces at the art gallery and used their knowledge of the properties of elements from the periodic table to predict which glaze Devon put on their piece before it was cured in the kiln.

This is the first lesson in a sequential unit. Students view ceramic vessels from different time periods and cultures and discuss their meanings, functions, and original contexts. They develop criteria for value and meaning of these objects, and create a timeline to situate the objects in history.

This lesson is part of a sequential unit. Students are tested on what they learned about the history of ceramic forms in "Ceramics: A Vessel into History -- Lesson 1." They start work on a personal clay vessel that has a specific use or meaning in their contemporary culture, which could be discerned through study by future archeologists and art historians.

This lesson is part of a sequential unit. Students begin work on a ceramic vessel, which they designed in "Ceramics: A Vessel into History -- Lesson 2." They discuss their artistic choices and identify elements derived from historical examples, while considering how artists appropriate ideas from earlier artists.

This lesson is part of a sequential unit. Students hold a critique session to evaluate the work of their peers using the criteria for value and meaning they developed in "Ceramics: A Vessel into History -- Lesson 1."

This site offers lessons and units in elementary, middle level and high school art in a wide range of areas.

The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the relationship between the mass and the weight of an object. Students will study the properties of common materials and why airplanes use specific materials.