During Term 4, 2009 the Level Four students at Vermont Primary School used Paper Magiclay to create a
canopic jar. The unit of work linked in with the classroom’s topic on the human body.

I began with a slide show introducing the students to some basic information on ancient Egyptian art and
then going into more depth on the use of canopic jars as part of the mummification and burial process.
They were then asked to create and design their own animal or mythical beast head for which they had to
justify their choice of creature/s. They then modeled their design using Paper Magiclay. Paint was
carefully applied and in some cases “jewels” were incorporated to add further detail.

The students then found out about cartouches (oval frames which went around the hieroglyphs) and created
their own to go around the hieroglyphs that spelt their names.

The finished products were fabulous and the students were really proud of their work – it was a
challenging task to select work for display as they were all terrific!

Julie Hall
Art Teacher
Vermont Primary School
Suitable for Level 4