Rock Art of the SW - 4th Grade

Objectives:
-We can identify Native peoples of the South West United States of America.
-We can create pictographs on brown paper, using natural pigments and charcoal, in the style of the Pueblo peoples.
-We can create clay pendants with petroglyphs in the style of the Pueblo peoples.

I timed this lesson to coincide with what students are learning in their classrooms, as part of the integrated model that we run in our school. Students, in 4th grade Social Studies, are currently learning regions of the United States and corresponding Native American groups with each of these regions.

This is a super fun unit for 4th grade that helps them explore the South West region of the United States. I've always enjoyed this unit because students are introduced to a particularly old and well established groups of Native Americans, the Pueblo. This group of pre-Columbian peoples spanned much of the South West, with concentrations in the "Four Corners" region. Pueblo is sort of an umbrella name coined by the Spanish as a description of the mud and brick dwellings. The name encompasses many different Native American tribes, including (but not limited to) the Hopi and the Zuni.

I wanted to teach specifically about Rock Art of the South West. Once I started researching, there was so much information out there, it became a little overwhelming. I knew that I wanted to teach about ancient symbology found in Pueblo artwork. I decided to break the unit into 3 definitive lessons. I wanted to teach the difference between pictograph and petroglyph.

Lesson 1:
The first was a basic introductory lesson, in which we used Google Earth to identify the SW region of the United States. We talked about the Pueblo peoples, their dwellings, and why people would create artwork on a rock wall. I passed out examples of Rock Art symbology and let the kids practice drawing these on scrap paper.

Lesson 2:
pictograph: A painting or drawing on a rock wall
In this lesson, students were given brown sheets of butcher paper. We crumpled them up to create  a textured look, like a rock wall. Students were given "traditional materials" and told to create their own pictograph story in the style of the Pueblo. "Traditional materials" included powdered pigment and sticks of charcoal. I have taught this lesson in the past using mud from outside and burnt sticks... But for the sake of the 50 4th graders, this time I just used materials around the art room. You can make this lesson as LARGE as you want, or keep it small and simple.

Students were instructed to create this art work using just their hands. They LOVED it. Any excuse to get dirty, right?! It makes cleanup a bit longer, as every student needs to quickly wash their hands before we leave. I suppose you could use wet wipes, or clorox wipes.

This is a project to be completed in one class period. Believe me.... it's so messy, you'll be glad to keep it to one lesson. Shoo!

Using a handout as reference.

Painting with our fingers!

This is one of our Special Needs students.
He was able to follow along with minimal modifications.

Some kids chose to create a story with pictographs.

Some students just chose to explore the medium.

Lesson 3:
petroglyph: A carving into a rock wall
In the final lesson of the unit, we used our knowledge of Pueblo symbology and traditional art methods, and applied it to the new lesson. To teach the term petroglyph, students needed to understand that this is a carving method. In the last lesson, we painted and drew the symbols. In this lesson, we needed to carve the symbols.

Now, I understand that we do not have large expanses of pristine rock walls to carve into. Not to mention, I'm sure the park service and police would come after me. So, how would you teach "carving" when there is nothing to carve? I figure that indentations into clay adequately covers the reductive process. So.... I decided that we should make clay pendants! I am lucky enough to have a kiln in the school, which is awesome. I will fire all of these pendants before Winter Break, and allow the kids to glaze them. They make awesome tree ornaments or necklaces.

We walked through the rolling, balling, and forming of the pendant together. After which, I provided students with the same handout they used for the pictographs and turned them loose with some wooden styluses. I thought the end result looked awesome, and am excited see them all fired and glazed. Check it out!

"Carving" Petroglyphs

This Yoda looking symbol is actually on the sheet of examples.
I think it is supposed to be a bull mask.

They look so cool!
On the bottom left, you can see some examples that have already been fired, but not yet glazed.

For assessment, I grade both the pictographs and the petroglyphs on a basic rubric. I also pre and post tested this unit, with a 10 question quiz, to quantifiably account for student learning.

I love this unit. Hope you did, too!