Irvington Middle School Sixth-Graders Sculpt Clay Banks

IRVINGTON, N.Y. -- Irvington Middle School sixth-graders in Patrick DiBenedetto's art class recently created bank sculptures out of clay as part of a lesson on 3-D design.

The students sketched their ideas, made written notes and printed out pictures to use as a reference before sculpting their projects.

"After they sculpted the clay into a hollow container, they created a coin slot and coin release space to add functionality," DiBenedetto said. "Their sculptures got fired in a kiln, and then they painted them for the final presentation."

As a culminating activity, the sixth-graders reflected on their projects and answered several questions. They were asked to think about the impact that research and reference materials may have had on the outcome of their final product, as well as how functionality may have affected their decision-making in the design.

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