Tunnel Books

Tunnel Book- Pages of a tunnel book have cutouts, that allow the reader to look through the holes to the subsequent pages all the way to the back of the book. It is bound with two concertina spines placed on opposite sides of the book. Pages are attached to both concertinas. (Google Dictionary)

I loved this lesson!  This is the first time I tried making tunnel books with my 5th graders and I loved the results!  I tried to break it down into the easiest way possible- if you want further details contact me but I will post more soon.  Students made three layers- a flat background and a frame for the middleground and foreground.  They had to choose a theme to base their tunnel book on and had a worksheet to sketch ideas for each layer.

Native American Coil Pots

During Native AMerican Heritage month, 4th graders learned about coil pot techniques. We looked at examples and used model magic to create a base and roll coils to spiral on top. We discussed different ways to shape their pots and smooth the textured walls by gently pinching them. Once dry we used sharpie to add Native American designs.

Fall Tree Sculptures

I picked up this lesson from my cooperating teacher during student teaching. 1st graders made fall trees out of brown paper bags. We opened the bags and stuffed a small ball of newspaper inside to help them keep their form. We then twisted the center of the bag and tore the top half into strips. Each strip was twisted up. Students then crumpled and glued fall colored tissue paper on to the branches. They love the final project but some have a little trouble with the twisting.

Trophies

This is a project that I have only done using model magic but you can also use clay. Students design a trophy for someone important to them for something that they do well.