Students will be introduced to the designs of Ancient Greek Pottery as they explore the use of geometric and organic shape in making ordered patterns.
By Amy Woods [Amy is a teacher at Prescott Central Middle School in Cookeville, TN USA]
Objectives:
To introduce the designs of Ancient Greek Pottery; to explore the use of geometric and organic shape in making ordered patterns.
What You Need:
- 9 x 12 red-orange construction paper (optional: construction paper can have an outline of a pot copied onto it)
- black markers in a variety of widths
- pencils
- scissors
- rulers
- pictures of Ancient Greek Pottery, especially from the Geometric Period.
- handouts with examples of symbols and designs used in Greek Pottery
What You Do:
Show students pictures of Greek Pottery.
Discuss the use of shape to make patterns on the pots, emphasizing the use of geometric shapes in the earlier pots.
Discuss the transition to organic shapes in the later pottery.
Project directions:
- Students use a ruler and a medium-width marker, such as a Sharpie, to draw a series of parallel horizontal lines from top to bottom in the pot outline on the paper. They do not need to stay in the lines, since the pot will be cut out when it is finished. The space between the lines should vary.
- Students use the markers to draw a different pattern in each row. The larger-width markers can be used to make some of the horizontal lines darker and to color in some of the shapes. Encourage students to use variety by making some of their shapes black and leaving some uncolored.
- After the pot is completely covered with patterns, it can be cut out and signed.
More Information:
Greek Pottery for Kids – An excellent, interactive website!
