A Sample Lesson Plan for a Secondary Level Interdisciplinary Unit on Feudal Japan

The Interdisciplinary unit on Feudal Japan (see Feudal Japan Unit Outline) will have introduced Global Studies and English students to the history of Japanese society and culture during the reign of the Shoguns. Students will have been assigned readings and will have viewed videos entitled "The Sword and the Chrysanthemum" and "The Seven Samurai". Students will have been led in discussions about the class structure of society in feudal Japan and the roles that each member of that society played. Students will have also been introduced to the major art forms that emerged in feudal Japan. They will have viewed a video produced by Art Teacher, Len Eichler entitled "Legacies from the Past: Cultural Traditions in Japan", in which they will have seen excerpts of Noh drama, Kabuki theater and Kyogen comedy along with pottery-making and tea ceremony. After students have constructed their tea bowl during this lesson, they will be shown how to glaze and fire their bowl using methods that are related to the Raku tradition. When students have completed their tea bowls, they will be shown an abbreviated tea ceremony, after which they will make tea for their classmates using their tea bowls.

The New York State Learning Standards for the Arts lists 4 fundamental goals that serve to guide art curricula, unit and lesson plans for Commencement Level Visual Arts programs. These goals are:

1. Students will make works of art that explore different kinds of subject matter, topics, themes, and metaphors.

2. Students will know and use a variety of visual arts materials, techniques, and processes.

3. Students will reflect on, interpret, and evaluate works of art, using the language of art criticism.

4. Students will explore art and artifacts from various historical periods and world cultures to discover the roles that art plays in the lives of people of a given time and place and to understand how the time and place influence the visual characteristics of the art work.

Note: These goals will be identified below in their implementation with the abbreviation NYSLSA 1, 2, 3, or 4.

1. After the teacher discusses the history of the origins of the Raku tea bowl and its function in the ritualized Zen Buddhist Tea Ceremony (the tea bowl was a container for tea and for deep spiritual awareness), (see A Brief History of Raku), students will reflect on the tea bowl slide examples the teacher has shown and will view the tea bowls made by former students that the teacher has put on display. NYSLSA 4

2. After the teacher has demonstrated the pinch forming and carving techniques used to make an American version of a Raku tea bowl, students will begin to form their Raku-inspired tea bowl. NYSLSA 1

3. As the students are working, the teacher will discuss the the type of clay the students are working with and how to "tune" in to the clay's moisture content and workability. Students will use this information to guide their progress. NYSLSA 2

1. Teacher puts Raku-inspired tea bowls made by former students on display.

2. Teacher introduces students to the history of the Raku tea bowl and its function

in the tea ceremony as a vessel for tea and a vessel for spiritual contemplation.

3. Students are invited to the clay supply table next to the tea bowl display table

to get a piece of clay and to study tea bowls made by former students.

4. After all students have clay, water and tools, teacher demonstrates how to

form a basic tea bowl shape using pinching techniques.

5. Teacher then shows how to refine the tea bowl shape and then carve a foot.

6. Students begin to pinch form their tea bowls.

7. Teacher informs students on the mineral ingredients in the clay and how

tuning into the moisture level of the clay will help reduce forming problems.

8. Teacher stops students briefly to discuss shaping the rim of the bowl and

refining the foot. Teacher also suggests that adding a personal mark, such as

an impressed shape, incised line or carved marks will make the bowl unique.

9. Students refine their bowl's rim and foot. Some opt to mark the surface.

10. Teacher reminds students to scratch their name on the bottom of their

bowl. Teacher then asks students to clean up and hand in their bowls for

firing. Teacher tells students bowls will be bisque fired to prepare bowls for

glazing and firing next week.

11. Students identify their bowls, hand them in and clean up.

1. Raku-style clay body, 2 lbs. per student. Most clay manufacturers make a

raku body, usually a high refractory clay with 20% or more grog or sand.

2. Tub of water for attaching clay to clay and for repairing dry, cracked clay.

The tub can be shared by 4-6 students.

3. Needle or pin tool for trimming clay, 1 for 4-6 students.

4. Wooden popsickle sticks, 1 for each student. A good substitute for

expensive wooden or metal carving tools. Use it to carve the foot.

5. Small to medium watercolor brushes for pinpoint wetting of clay.

One brush for 4-6 students will suffice.

Two 40 minute class periods.

Students will evaluate their own tea bowls when they are completed.