Tipi Scene
Grade(s): 3, 4, 5, and 6
Location: Visual Art Studios at St. Albert Place (Art Gallery of St. Albert)
Duration: 1.5 Hours
Volunteers: 4–6 recommended
The Indigenous peoples often travelled the plains. Because of this, they developed a unique portable house form known as a tipi. Today, tipis retain cultural significance and are sometimes constructed for special functions. Using a range of hand-building techniques, shapes and details, students will make a three dimensional tipi scene.
Curriculum
- Art
- (3–Science) First Nations, Métis and Inuit relationships with land
- (3–Art) Use art to express feelings and ideas; look closely and focus on improvement
- (4–Art) Develop realistic treatments, refine form and express feelings and ideas
- (4–Social) The fur trade and Canada’s natural resources
- (5–Art) Play with shape; use abstraction and distortion; minimize material and effort in art
- (6–Art) Explore more complex art procedures; express themselves and refine artwork
Student Outcomes
- Learn how to organize the elements of art to create shape and form with proportion, geometric and organic design
- Differentiate between two- and three-dimensional shapes
- Students relate how culture is reflected in visual arts across time and place
- Create art for enjoyment
Suggested Pairings
- Tipi as Home – Musée Héritage Museum
*Note: All in school and virtual clay programs use air dry clay which is much less durable than clay that is bisque fired at our visual art studios. We cannot transport clay from in-school programs to the visual art studios for firing, but if your school has a kiln and a technician, we can supply suitable clay for firing at your school.
Click here for information on in school techniques for finishing air dry clay.
* To schedule a field trip, you'll need to have a teacher account and log in. If you don't have an account yet, you can easily register for one here.
Teacher Feedback
My students loved the field trip. There is a good mix of teaching about the history and hands-on activities.
Perfect project to complement our learning in Science.
The presentation was engaging and informative. It fit in wonderfully with our kindergarten curriculum and was a positive and meaningful experience for my students.
These were valuable and engaging programs for the students. They enjoyed learning a new skill and at the river lots they were encouraged to think critically and reflect carefully.
My students loved it and couldn't wait to go home and show their creations!
This program was fantastic. The students loved the opportunity to be in council chambers.
I have done clay projects with you for as long as I can remember. Once again, everything was AMAZING! We have a new grade partner this year who had never been, and she absolutely loved it! The instructors are always excellent, They explain and guide the students in manageable chunks to make it easy for the kids to follow along. I love that you allow extra parents to come and assist. I especially like that the projects are always connected to the curriculum! Thanks again.
The Peru and Indigenous Peoples of Canada program perfectly connected Gr 3 Social Studies content with some Gr 4 Social Studies content. We had lots to talk about after.
The instructor was amazing. She engaged the students in the Métis culture. The activity was hands on and informative.
Amazing program with a knowledgeable instructor who engaged my students and me too! Thanks so much for offering this field trip.