Julie Steinberg

February 25, 2015

A&HA 4078
Journal # 5
Response to Clay II
Exploring Clay Again
Exploring clay this week reminded me of what a great material it is to have
accessible for children in the classroom. As we threw the slabs of clay down on the table,
and kept our hands moving for an hour, I thought about how these actions are just not
ones children have opportunities to do throughout the day, and they can be important and
valuable. Once again, I appreciated the idea that I could produce something
representational if I chose, but there was also no requirement to end with any product at
all. These guidelines created a mindset that allowed for complete creativity, exploration,
and discovery. I did end up making something representationala bird, and I look
forward to seeing how the clay changes over this week.
Clay and Content
Our discussion linking the use of clay to content areas and other topics also made
me think more about how I can incorporate clay in the content areas. We were reminded
that clay can be linked to all the things in the mind and can be used to help figure things
out, even issues of social justice. As I read the Beal (2001) chapter this week, I
connected this idea that children can figure things out or express ideas through clay to
the many topics within social studies. Beal (2001) says, Through art, the children can recreate real and imagined environments and experience what its like to live in another

culture (p.189). Children can imagine and create representations of other cultures, issues
in history, and ideas about the world, to extend their learning and apply their knowledge.
I also appreciated Beals (2001) comment that when studying other artworks
related to social studies, such as the pieces of art in a museum, Rather than tell the kids
what they are seeing, its best to let them look at it and discover the works for themselves.
The art will unfold for them as they do so (p. 207). Just as children make meaning
through their own works of art, they can construct meaning from the art they see in the
world.
Curriculum Objective for Social Studies and Clay
Borrowing the idea from Beal (2001), I might ask children to tell the story of a
topic in social studies. For example, we might read and talk about the Civil Rights
Movement, and I might ask, How can you tell the story of Martin Luther King Jr.
through clay? To guide students to explore the clay in purposeful ways I would ask
questions such as, How can you represent Martin Luther King Jr.? What about clay are
you exploring? How are you changing it in different ways to express emotion? and
What textures can you use? Students can respond to their learning about other topics
and people in social studies, as well as the characters in the books they are reading, in the
same ways.

References:
Beal, N. (2001). The Art of Teaching Art to Children. New York: Farrar, Straus and
Giroux.