Submitted by: LeeAnn Wilson, an art educator at Lakeview Elementary in Colonial Heights, VA.
Objectives:
Students will create a fun 3-D lizard sculpture using paper folding and cutting techniques. This is a really fun one 40 minute class period project. The children love it and can use the technique to create lots of other fun shapes and decorations. Try it. You will love it!
What You Need:
2 sheets of 12x18 colored construction paper
1 sheet of 9x12 colored construction paper
1 strip 1x9 red construction paper
4 strips 1x9 colored construction paper
white glue
scissors
scrap construction paper for embellishment
What You Do:
Lizard body:
Begin by having all students fold one of the 12x18 papers in half hot dog style.
Open and fold each half in to meet the fold in the middle of the paper. (Your paper should resemble elevator doors at this point.)
Open the paper so that you see the 3 folded lines.
Refold the paper in the middle so that the paper is folded in half again.
Using the other two folds as guidelines, cut fringe about 1/2 inch apart along the folded edge.
Make sure that each cut slightly passes the pre-folded line that you are cutting towards. (This is the trick to making it bend and move.)
Now you have to complete the body by taking the two edges of the paper that have not been cut and place them one on top of the other so that you are creating a "tube" with the fringe being at the top of the triangular tube, thus creating the back of the lizard.
Glue down the two in tact sections of the folded paper to complete the body.
Lizard tail:
Begin the tail the same way you began the body.
Fold other 12x18 paper in half hot dog style.
Keeping it folded, you will cut a diagonal line making the folded paper into a long triangular shape with the fold in the middle. Open the now triangular paper and fold each half in to the middle fold as you did for the body.
Open the paper and refold down the middle.
Begin fringing 1/2 inch cuts along the folded edge as you did with the body making sure you cut just slightly beyond the folds on the paper.
Open and refold so that the 2 uncut outside edges of the triangle overlap and create a triangular tube as you did with the body.
You will glue these two solid pieces together to hold the tail in place.
Connecting the body and tail:
Cut the last fringe off of the body and the tail leaving a tab of paper on each.
Glue down the tail tab inside the body tab to create the illusion that they are made of one piece of paper.
Head:
Fold the 9x12 paper in half and cut out a head shape (diamond or round, your preference).
Glue the 2 head pieces to the body (one to the top fringe, one to the bottom to allow the mouth to be open).
Add the tongue with the red strip (curl it to make it fun or fan fold it to make it spring out)
Add teeth, eyes, nose holes....anything else you can think of!)
Legs:
Add the strips of paper remaining to the body. You can fold them to make them stand up or leave them straight. Cut out some toes and your lizard is complete!
KinderArt® Lesson/Activity 