Paper Mosaics

Paper Mosaics

by Susie Archer

Third Grade Activity

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Objectives: The student will:

Read the story Pompeii....Buried Alive.
Locate Italy on the world map.
Define artifact and conduct an artifact dig on the playground.
Become familiar with the characteristics of mosaics and their significance within the Italian culture during the time of Pompeii.
Describe the characteristics of mosaics.
Create a paper mosaic.

Resources:

Enjoy - Houghton Mifflin Series

Pompeii...Buried Alive by Edith Kunhardt

Slides of mosaics

Internet Sites (teacher should find appropriate sites in advance) These are not provided because several that have been used have recently been moved or have disappeared.

Materials:

Construction paper

Scissors

Glue

Pencils

Stencils

Motivation:

Begin the lesson by reading Pompeii...Buried Alive aloud to the students. Ask the students to define what the word artifact means. Tell the students that our playground was once a landfill and that many students have discovered old pieces of bottles and clay pottery while playing. Take the students outside to have our own artifact dig. Display the students' discoveries and tell the students that this is how the archeologist found many of the discoveries of Pompeii. One such discovery was the beautiful tile mosaics. Hold up an example of a tile mosaic and ask the students if they can identify what type of material is used to make the picture. Show slides of famous mosaics to the students. Tell the students that mosaics were made out of colored tiles in different shapes and made into pictures. Some of the mosaics were used as artwork and others were used as sidewalks in public areas. Have the students turn to page 271 in their Enjoy book. Explain that this mosaic was made from cubes of stones that were cut and set in cement mortar. Tell the students that they are going to make paper mosaics. They will be evaluated based on the following criteria.

Procedure:

Sketch a picture on a sheet of construction paper or use a stencil.
Cut colored paper into small shapes.
Paste the shapes into the design.

Assessment:

Students will be evaluated on their mosaics with the following rubric.

	1	2	3	4
Craftmanship	My mosaic doesn't look neat.	I had some problems with making my mosaic. It looks okay.	My mosaic looks neat and my patterns are interesting.	I paid close attention to details of the construction of the mosaic.
Procedure	I did not understand what to do.	I understood how to make my mosaic, but still had problems making it.	I needed little help, and my mosaic looks good.	I didn't have any problems after directions were given.
Clearly Designed Image	I did not use any patterns on my mosaic.	I used 1 color and had problems keeping my mosaic looking neat.	I used more than 1 color and it enhanced my mosaic.	I used several colors to create a clear image.
Overall Look of Maosaic	I did not glue my pieces down. They are falling off...	I did not fill all of my picture in.	My mosaic looks great except for a smudge or two.	I did an exceptional job!