Coil Pots

Ms. Campbell and Ms. Rozell taught a lesson to the class on the history and construction of coil pots. Each student was given a ball of clay about as big as a fist. We had to get all the air bubbles out by kneeding our clay. After the bubbles were out, we made a thin, round shape that would later serve as the bottom of the pot. Then, we rolled our clay into thin, snake-like shapes that we used for the coils. As I added each coil, I smoothed the inside of my pot so it was sealed between each coil. We were to add a personal design to our pots so I carved my initials on the side along with my parents' initials and my sister's initials because family is very important to me. Another requirement of this project was to use primary and secondary colors of acrylic paint to cover the pot. My primary colors were red, yellow, and blue while my secondary color was orange for the inside.

An extension activity for this project could be to have students explore different ways pottery can be used in different cultures. This would be incorporated in either world history or geography class.