with their Native American unit. This was a great way to see students demonstrate their understanding in multiple ways.
This project was inspired by one done at Barrow Elementary.
Students used an interactive PowerPoint I designed to locate the information for the Native American group they choose. Their research focused on the location, environment, food, and clothing of their group.
Once they completed the information for their Native American group they created a design. The design could focus on the location, environment, clothing, food or any other aspect of the group they found important. Some students choose to be literal with their design, while others took a more abstract approach.
Once their designs were completed they used the Shape Maker App to turn their designs from 2D to 3D. The students were amazed at the transformations. Occasionally, we ran into problems with the app when it would not capture the design correctly. Students simply tweaked their designs as needed until it was able to be used in the app.
Since Shape Maker is a Makerbot product their captured designs loaded into the Makerbot program. To help keep items organized I renamed the design files with the teacher and student name. I also printed a master copy of the designs from the Makerbot Library to keep track of which designs were printed. Since there are approximately 180 4th graders it took quite a while to have all of the projects print. On average it took 2 days for all the projects from a class to print and about 3 weeks for the whole grade level. Since the printers were constantly printing we ran into extruder head jams. Makerbot was very helpful and sent out replacement parts.
Once the designs were printed they were given to the art teacher, Mr. Fields. I also gave him the master sheet I printed from the Makerbot library so he would know which project belonged to which student. With Mr. Fields they created a pinch pot and then used their stamp to decorate their pot. Once their pot decorations were done they were able to take home their 3D print. The students were so excited to have their stamp and they can't wait until pots are fired.