5 sessions; 40 minutes per session

1. SWBAT imitate the natural topography on a plaster volcano.
2. SWBAT make inferences about Roman life based on the ruins of Pompeii.
3. SWBAT identify the differences between 2-D and 3-D art.

1. Cardboard tubes (preferably paper towel tubes...the thicker ones from school paper towels works best)
2. PlasterKraft or Paper mache materials
3. Tempera paint
4. Painting supplies
5. Tissue paper
6. Toothpicks
7. Brown paper bags
8. Other mixed media materials
9. Cardboard
10. Masking tape
11. Newspaper
12. Dixie Cups

Need these materials? Visit Blick!

Day 1: Students watched the YouTube video Pompeii: Buried Alive (there is about 5 minutes towards the end that I skip because it talks about the more "scandalous" lives of the Romans. We stop at certain points in the movie to have brief discussions about the artwork and architecture.

Day 2: Students tape a cardboard tube to the center of a piece of cardboard (at least 12"x12"). They crumple newspaper and tape it around to build up the volcano mountain. Next, cover in plaster/paper mache.

Day 3: Students paint the volcano.

Day 4: Students add the details such as shrubbery, trees, houses, etc.

Day 5: We discuss how to erupt the volcanoes and the chemical reaction that happens. A dixie cup is placed in the top of the cardboard tube to hold the water and baking soda mixture. Dump the vinegar into the mixture and watch the lava flow.

Pompeii- Buried Alive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRV4xTT8FB8

You can find the recipe to make lava on the internet. I put baking soda, a squirt of dish soap, and red food coloring in the dixie cup in the volcano. Right before we erupted each volcano, the students dumped half a dixie cup of warm water into the baking soda mixture. When we were ready to erupt it, we dumped the vinegar in.

[5-8] Students intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of their experiences and ideas

[5-8] Students select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of their ideas

[5-8] Students use subjects, themes, and symbols that demonstrate knowledge of contexts, values, and aesthetics that communicate intended meaning in artworks

[5-8] Students describe and place a variety of art objects in historical and cultural contexts

[5-8] Students analyze, describe, and demonstrate how factors of time and place (such as climate, resources, ideas, and technology) influence visual characteristics that give meaning and value to a work of art

Ancient Rome

Texture, Form, Color/Value

Tempera, Plaster, Paper Mache, Mixed Media

Science, History/Social Studies, Geography