From the famed Manhattan skyline with its iconic Brooklyn Bridge to the Opera House and Harbor Bridge of Sydney, Australia’s skyline, city skylines are some of the most recognizable sights around. With towering high rise buildings, amazing architectural shapes, and distant, natural wonders, it’s no surprise that these skylines are some of the most photographed subjects in the world. And never more so than at sunrise or sunset, when the light illuminates these scenes in an almost-magical way.
Ceramics Art Lesson Plan: City Skyline Silhouette
Creating a 3-D skyline in silhouette is also a great way to help your students grasp the concepts of horizon line, sky line, and silhouette. With this project, students will observe and identify city skylines, identify and name basic building shapes and forms (geometry!), and use various tools to design, texture, and paint their own, silhouetted, 3-D cityscapes.
You may want to share images of some spectacular city sky lines with your students before they get started, like:
- San Francisco, CA
- Chicago, IL
- Seattle, WA
- Tokyo, Japan
Once your study is complete (and you’ve all got the travel bug!), your students will begin the construction of their own skylines, first in sketch form, including a variety of geometrically-shaped buildings and natural elements. Then they’ll carve their sky line into clay and add details like windows, birds, and clouds. Finally, students will glaze and fire their city sky lines, cementing their understanding of horizon and sky lines forever.
Download a complete lesson plan for this project, including images, step-by-step directions, and a materials list, today!
For Grades 4-12.
