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Clay and Sculpture

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​The game teaches children to identify, express and manage their feelings and emotions and to interpret and respect the feelings of others. It contributes to enhancing children's mental well-being and nourishing communication. Building emotional intelligence in children at their early age also brings up the topic and interest in anthropology. At the same time, anatomy and human body are studied in a fun way!

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Material needed

Modalities

Duration

Learning objectives

SDG

Cards describing emotions (optional)

6-12 years old, in the classroom or at home

15-20 min.

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Pedagogical interest 

Identifying and expressing feelings and emotions: It is important to teach children to recognise the feeling of others as well as to understand and express their own emotions. By talking about feelings, teaching empathy and copying strategies, teachers and caregivers can decrease many behavioural problems in children and improve their emotional well-being. It takes time for children to build up these skills. But the more they practice, the better they will get at recognising and regulating their emotions.

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Non-verbal  Communication in human interaction: Children need to understand that body language is as important as words. According to some studies, 93% of all communication is non-verbal. Teachers need to constantly observe children’s reactions in school settings in order to successfully teach non-verbal communication. It might be a bit challenging in a multicultural environment because nonverbal communication differs across cultures. Yet, the Clay and Sculpture game enriches children's experience and sense of inclusiveness - getting to know and accept characteristics of body language in other cultures.

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Sense of responsibility: Fostering children's sense of responsibility can help them interact and cooperate with others more easily. Assuming responsibility to complete certain tasks, helps children develop a sense of accountability for their actions. Responsibility is also about others. So, children need to understand how their actions might affect others.

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Human body learning (anatomy): By sculpturing their mates in different positions, teachers could introduce basic concepts of the human body - organs and their basic functions, corpse, limbs, etc.

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Open discussion on the topic:  How did I feel as a Sculptor and/or as a Clay? Do I feel good or bad when someone touches me? Children could make a difference between 'good' and 'bad' touch - the touch that makes someone feel safe or the touch that hurts.
 
It is about empowering the children with the right knowledge i.e. teaching them about personal space, intimate zone, and showing a trusting relationships. 

Game rules

Game narrative: People gather in pairs. One person acts as the modelling clay and the other acts as a Clay Sculpture person. The sculptor (kid) then models the clay (kid), to show feelings, for example, fear, joy, tension, despair etc. (these can be provided in a list or left to participants to come up with different emotions). The clay person does not know which feeling the sculptor is trying to model, and has to guess and provide feedback on how the position makes them feel. As class may be diverse, children should act with respect to the other, e.g. understanding peculiarities of traditions and beliefs of other ethnic or national groups. This could be an enriching experience to get to know attitudes and expressions of feeling in different cultures. Should there be children with mobility impairment, they could still act both as modelling clay and clay sculptures person, either by changing their facial expression or posture or by giving orders (instead of touching). When finished with guessing both partners are encouraged to discuss which position best represents this very feeling for them. After some time partners are switched.

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This activity can also be extended by collecting personal experiences or examples of when participants have experienced the modelled feelings and foster further activities or discussions about feelings, depending on the age of the participants, guidance and allocated amount of time.

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Game rules: Put here the different objectives of each level if there are

  • Touch the Clay (kid) with respect and care.

  • No talking!

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Role of the teacher and game organisation

  • Explains the game and the rules

  • Observes that no one is hurt and the rules are followed

  • Carries out discussion afterwards

Rounds

Round 1

Ask the children to form a line and then count off in 1- 2-1-2... All the ones became Sculptor, and all the twos Clay. Each Sculptor then can choose their Clay to start acting. The Sculptor could decide which emotion or feeling they would like to show or the teacher can provide a list to choose from.

The Sculptor has 2 minutes to demonstrate their emotions using the clay. The clay person does not know which feeling the Sculptor is trying to model. After the Sculptor finishes their work, the Clay person needs to guess the emotion they represent and provide feedback on how the position makes them feel. When finished with guessing both partners are encouraged to discuss which position best represents this very feeling best for them.

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The Clay and Sculptor change the roles, and the game continues as described above.

In the end, the Teacher carries out an open discussion about how the children felt trying different roles. This activity can also be extended by collecting personal experiences or examples of when participants have experienced the modelled feelings and foster further activities or discussions about feelings, depending on the age of the participants, guidance and allocated amount of time.
Additionally, teachers explain the basic definition of the human body and its core functions to introduce children to biology. 

Round 2

Children are then divided into smaller groups (4-5). Each group is given a topic of sculpture. They brainstorm together for 5 minutes an idea that goes along with their topic. Each group then creates a sculpture using their bodies. Every member of the group should represent some part of the entire sculpture. After 5 minutes, each team looks at each other’s sculptures and tries to guess what the other team has formed. Each team has two attempts to guess.

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In the end, the Teacher carries out an open discussion about how the children felt trying different roles. This activity can also be extended by collecting personal experiences or examples of when participants have experienced the modelled feelings and foster further activities or discussions about feelings, depending on the age of the participants, guidance and allocated amount of time.

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Furthermore, teachers might decide to give general information about the object of the sculpture (e.g. a machine - technology and engineering)

submit your work

Clay and Sculpture

Feel free to share you work with the unplugged partners and even with the European teacher's community! This will enable us to follow your achievements and reward you with game materials and other surprises to thank you for your participation in raising children's critical thinking! You rock!

Upload pictures of your creations

Going further

Topic 1 - Cooperation with and responsibility towards others

It is a fun way of teaching children to work together and build trust. The game could help them function more cohesively in a group as well as reduces classroom arguments and some behaviour problems. You may wish to refer to other Unplugged quests, e.g. Poverty-free game collection, The Perfect City, Cookies and Peace. You can also consult the following resources:

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Topic 2 - Non-verbal Communication in human interaction

Non-verbal communication is an important part of everyday communication. When used effectively, it may emphasize parts of a verbal message by showing emotions, interpersonal attitudes etc. You can consult the following resources:

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Topic 3 - Putting emotions and feelings into words

When children can name how they feel, they can start handling those feelings. Teachers can help children voice their feelings. To further explore emotional education you may wish to refer to Likadislike, The Perfect City, Live in Harmony, etc. You can also consult the following resources:

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Topic 4 -Human Body

It is essential for reinforce children´s understanding about different organs and their functions. You can consult the following links to get inspired:

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