Clay Mosaic Tiles

Description: For this project, we talked about the history of Mosaic clay tiles, including the origin and development of techniques used to create tiles. We also talked about different methods and techniques when working with air dry clay. Before the students created their clay tile, they needed to brian storm and draw out their ideas for their tiles of what represented them. The teachers then demonstrated each of the techniques and what would be required when creating your own clay tile. The techniques discussed and modeled were, wedging, rolling, slip and scoring, adding clay, and subtracting clay.  They then got to wedge their own clay and roll out their slabs, then they took their clay tile template they drew on and used it to cut out a square tile. They then used the different methods and techniques to create their tiles representing themselves. They needed to include one element of adding clay to their tile, one element of subtracting clay, and the third element could one of their choosing. They also needed to paint their tiles, but they could not paint the very bottom of their tile because it would not dry fully otherwise (if you paint all sides of the tile, the water will get trapped by the paint). For a final reflection, the students answered questions relating to their tile and the techniques they used. They also had to score themselves using the provided rubric on the back of the worksheet.

Extension Activity: An extension activity could be creating a classroom mosaic. You can have the students create a classroom mosaic that can be displayed in the classroom to represent the classroom culture. You can have the students plan out a cohesive design, or have them create one with their personal tiles to show each of the students personal tiles together. If you have the students put together their own personal tiles to create a classroom mosaic, you can show how each personal tile comes together to create the classroom environment/culture and what each student brings to the classroom.