Paper Strip Sculpture

First graders learned that a sculpture is a three-dimentional project - that means it is not flat and it can't be taken home in their folder!  Sculptures can be made out of many materials: wood, clay, stone, ice, paper, etc.  This sculpture is made out of strips of paper that come in a paper remnant box that order just for this project.  The variety and quality is exceptional. We started with a recycled cardboard base that I painted black.  Then I taught students how to fold and bend paper several different ways: accordian folded, looped, bent, etc.  There's a trick to making the strips stay put when gluing.  We put a little dab of glue on the folded tab at the end of the strip and held it in place while counting to 20 by 2's.  This gave students some practice counting by 2's and allowed the glue time to set up a bit.  They thought is was the greatest trick because it worked every time!  This project was designed to allow kids to explore cutting, folding, and gluing in the persuit of creative creation.  Some students imagined that their sculpture was a playground or a roller coaster, while others concentrated on forms and colors.  This project is a homerun - everyone loves it and they learn so much!