Dolls in Tunics & Teddies in Togas
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AIA Education Department Dolls in Tunics: Procedures Lesson Plans Dolls in Tunics & Teddies in Togas: A Roman Costume Project Sirida Graham Terk The Archer School for Girls Los Angeles, California Acknowledgements: Silvana Horn and Sue Sullivan origi- pertinent dress and status information, rather than require nated this project with the seventh-grade students of The research. S/he can give older students increased respon- Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles, California. It has sibility for research and hold them to higher standards of been refined and expanded over many years with the help costume quality and authenticity. High-school students and feedback of Theatre Arts teacher Emily Colloff, Archer can clothe bears as awards for younger students or as chari- students, and participants in the 2007 AIA Teacher Work- table donations, or create life-size garments for wearing to shop in San Diego. We appreciate the efforts and useful a Roman Feast (see the AIA lesson plan entitled Reclining suggestions of both educators and pupils! and Dining: A Greco-Roman Feast) or to Junior Classical League conventions. Overview Students research Roman dress and create small-scale ver- Goals sions of clothing for cloth dolls or teddy bears in this two- While students should become comfortable identifying, phase project, especially suited to a Latin or History class. producing, and handling items of Roman costume (or those We provide explicit instructions about materials, patterns, of another chosen culture), the primary goal is to learn how and techniques to make the teacher’s effort less daunting. clothing and accoutrements communicate age, gender, job, Students first learn about Roman dress and collect informa- and status within a society. Students will learn the social tion about clothing and accessories. Then they gain hands- stratigraphy of the given society and the ways social status on experience making tunicae, togae, pallae, stolae, soleae, and determined daily activities and affected interpersonal relation- accessories. Students ultimately develop an appreciation ships. Students will also gain an appreciation for recreating for the etiquette of Roman dress and an understanding of ancient clothing on the basis of archaeological evidence. the relationship between clothes, gender, and status in the Roman Empire. Students will know: • the basic components of male and female Roman Although this project focuses on Roman clothing of late first costume, both for children and adults. century b.c.e./early first century c.e. Italy, for which a great • the major social ranks of Imperial Rome and the dress variety of evidence exists, the teacher can instead address reserved for each gender and rank. the costume of other times and cultures for which reliable • some of the activities considered appropriate for each evidence exists, including Etruscan, Republican, and Byzan- gender and rank. tine. Through reference to trade, travel, military interaction, • The appropriate Latin names for clothing and acces- and slavery, the teacher can also incorporate multicultural sories. perspectives. Students can research Roman cultural contact outside Italy for a given period, select appropriate characters, Students will be able to: and outfit their dolls with regional clothing and accessories. • sew a simple running stitch. Some may wish to focus on the costumes and accoutrements • make a tunica and a stola. of soldiers, equestrians, and gladiators. A follow-up project • wrap a toga and a palla. takes students through composing Latin dialogues to per- • gauge social status by analyzing elements of costume. forming scenes of Roman daily life using the dressed dolls or teddy bears as puppets. Materials and Preparation Most supplies can be ordered online or purchased at a good Grade Levels fabric store that carries both sewing and craft supplies. Buy- This activity was originally designed for a class of seventh ing in bulk will reduce costs, although it will be necessary to grade students (ages 12–13), but can be adapted easily for purchase some items such as dolls, teddies, and fabric each grades 5–12. For younger students, the teacher can provide year. Donations from parents and students can stretch your Archaeological Institute of America 1 AIA Education Department Dolls in Tunics: Procedures Lesson Plans budget. If carefully hoarded, needles, glue guns, and leftover • Tape measures supplies and scraps can last many years. • Straight pins • Pincushions It is helpful, but not necessary, to have sample clothing and • Fabric scissors (if possible, reserve some scissors for dolls in different stages of completion as examples for stu- “Fabric Only!” Trying to cut fabric with scissors dulled dents. Because students can choose to design many different by paper cutting can be very frustrating). Oversee cut- types of clothing once the initial tunica is done, the materials ting as needed. should be well organized and accessible so that they can work as independently as possible. The teacher should read and Sewing box photocopy the handouts on procedures, clothing, patterns, The organization of the supplies is important. A series of and grading for the class. open plastic trays or removable plastic drawers, clearly labeled, makes supplies easily accessible to students. Supplies Dolls Miscellaneous notions and craft supplies: limited only by the Small muslin cloth dolls are available from several companies, imagination of the class! including online, in several sizes (we recommend 12”). Inex- • Beads and buttons for jewelry (small brass buttons are pensive teddy bears bought in bulk from a craft store are a ideal for bullae and signet rings) nice alternative, and come in similar sizes. Only one pattern • Newspaper or butcher paper for making patterns and is needed, as no distinction is made for size differences based covering glue gun workspaces on age or gender. • Pencils, rulers, scissors • Beans, grain Fabric • Twigs, wooden sticks, straw • Homespun (rough weave), unbleached muslin for the • Aluminum foil for creating metallic accessories, armor, tunica interior worn by everyone and weapons • Lighter unbleached muslin for long tunica exterior • Copper or silver wire for creating torques and jewelry • Soft white cotton for togae • Burlap and other heavy-gauge fabrics • Thin polyester (silky feeling or sheer) in deep blues, • Baskets greens, reds, and purples and bright yellows for stolae • Fake leaves, grapes, other fruit in miniature sizes and pallae • Cork sheets • Craft foam sheets, felt, scrap leather, “pleather,” uphol- stery fabric and/or adhesive backed cork sheets in tan, Sample Sources black, or brown for footwear and accessories • Joann’s Fabrics (www.joann.com) • Michael’s Arts and Crafts (www.michaels.com) Ribbon, cord, and yarn • Home Sew Mail-order (dolls) (www.homesew.com) • Dark purple satin in 1/8” and 1/4” widths • Dick Blick Art Materials (www.dickblick.com) • Gold braid, Greek key/meander patterned ribbon, etc. • Sax Arts and Crafts (www.saxarts.com) optional for hair pieces and girdles • Utrecht Art (www.utrechtart.com) • Cording, string, and twine for soleae and belts • The Art Store (www.shoptheartstore.com) • Yarn in black, brown, blonde, and auburn for hair Class Time Adhesives Total project time depends on the number of students in • Low temperature glue guns (use carefully, and replace the class, the number of teachers or assistants working with with tacky glue as appropriate) the class, and the depth of the research component. Two or • Glue gun refill sticks more class periods should be devoted to introducing items of • Fabric glue (tacky glue) Roman costume and discussing how they pertain to gender and social status, since it is important that students under- Markers stand the correlations between them. The more thoroughly Fine- and ultra fine-tip markers in a variety of colors, includ- Roman clothing basics are covered by the class as a whole, the ing black, for drawing features on faces easier it will be for students to carry out the project and con- duct any subsequent research independently. For a class of 20 Sewing supplies students, creating the costumes and dressing the figures should • Needles take five to six 45-minute class periods, if the teacher has adult • Safety pins assistance. Creating the dolls with a class of 20 students with • Thread (white and colors to match fabrics) only one teacher can take nine 45-minute class periods. Archaeological Institute of America 2 AIA Education Department Dolls in Tunics: Procedures Lesson Plans What is the Evidence? handouts. Review all the information as a class, addressing Both literature and art provide evidence for Roman clothing student questions and clearly establishing the expectations and accessories during the Empire. Visual sources include and goals of the project. portraiture and monumental sculpture, such as Il Arringatore and the figures on the Ara Pacis, paintings from towns such Step 2 (3–4 days). Middle School students research the as Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Oplontis, and mosaics such as clothes, social level, and daily activities of their assigned the so-called “Bikini Girls” and others from the Casale Villa person, going beyond the basic information in the handouts in Piazza Armerina. The death portraits from the Fayum they received. They gather information about the types of in Roman Egypt also provide numerous images of fashion, clothes different Romans wore and how they embellished jewelry, and hair trends. Writers, including Ovid, Cicero, themselves, including their shoes, hairstyles, jewelry, tools, and Livy, describe customs of dress and decoration in their and weapons. Students should keep track of their sources poems, speeches, and histories. Quite a bit of actual textile and hand in, at a minimum, a bibliography. The research can remains still exist, and artifacts include rags, blanket scraps, be done in class and/or as homework. More guidance will and tunic remnants made of wool, linen, cotton, and silk. probably be needed for younger students during this phase, However, these come mainly from the Roman provinces in so class time can be utilized to model research techniques and North Africa rather than Italy itself.