What better way to engage your students in the art room that through the use of clay?!?  Third grade studies and observes frogs and their metamorphosis from a tadpole into an adult frog.  To reinforce their learning in science I thought it would be a great way to explore clay and sculpture in the art room.  Students learn how to score, slip, and hand-build a clay from multiple pieces of clay.  Students also learn about basic glazing techniques once their frog is fired in the kiln.  To create the clay frog, students begin with a ball of clay, roughly the size of their fist.  They then pinch it in half, setting one piece aside.  They take the other half and roll it into a ball to create a basic pinch pot.  This is to draw from their prior knowledge of clay from previous years in art, and create confidence/make them more comfortable with the medium.  Students then take the other piece and pinch it in half again.  Students create the “eye sockets” and eyes and attach them to the pinch pot.  Then, students create coils and attach them to the sides for the legs and feet.  I constantly remind them of the “Four S” rule – Score, Slip, Squish, and Smooth.  Once they combine all the parts they check and make sure everything is attached securely and demonstrates craftsmanship.  I write their names and their class label (ex. M3 for Monday, third grade) and then when they dry they are fired.  Students then glaze their frogs and they are fired again.  My students always come up with fantastic frogs!