Need help? Search below...

Enter terms above. [ie: art lessons, crafts for kids, elementary art, etc.]

• Home
• Lessons by Age/Grade
• Lessons by Medium
• KinderArt 101
• Need Help?
• Talk to Us

Free Newsletter | What's New | Share Your Ideas | The KinderArt Blog | The KinderArt Store | Contact Us | Follow @kinderart

You are here: Home > Lessons by Medium/Theme > Multicultural Art > Lesson Plan

MINI PAPER ROLL TOTEM

Level: Junior, Middle School
Grades: 3 - 8 | Age: 8-14 yrs | Written by: Andrea Mulder-Slater
[Andrea is one of the creators of KinderArt.com.]

Summary:

Students will learn about totem poles as they create a small version using cardboard paper tubes. Totem poles are tall, carved posts that were created by important men among certain tribes of British Columbia and Alaska. The carved and painted faces on a pole represented the animals or birds. The designs were carved to represent human and animal faces rather than to look exactly like them.

Background

Totem poles are tall, carved posts that were created by important men among certain tribes of British Columbia and Alaska. The carved and painted faces on a pole represented the animals or birds. The designs were carved to represent human and animal faces rather than to look exactly like them.

Northwest Coast Native Groups

Tlingit, Kwagiutl, Haida, Tsimshian, Coast Salish, West Coast

What You Need:

• Empty paper towel or wrapping paper rolls
• Crayons and/or markers
• Construction paper (many colours)
• Glue
• Scissors

Reference Material/Handouts:

Totem Theme (includes): How to "read a totem pole", Animal symbols, Northwest art animals, Totem coloring page
Totem Poles (description)
The Alphabet of Northwest Coast Art

What You Do:

1. Cut a piece of construction paper long enough to wrap around the paper roll.
2. You can cut the paper towel roll in half to make a smaller totem piece.
3. Lay the paper out flat and draw on an animal's face. Its a good idea to have some examples of actual totem poles (books, photos etc.) handy.
4. When you have finished drawing the face, glue the construction paper around the toilet paper roll.
5. Cut a triangular shape (for the nose or beak) out of the construction paper, crease it down the middle (so it will stick out) and glue the edges onto the face.
6. Cut a pair of wings and glue them to your totem.
7. If you like, you can make a few different totems and stack them on top of one another.

Lessons by Age

Lessons by Medium

KinderArt 101

Free newsletter: