Polish Paper Art
My students just finished their lesson on Polish paper art. The lesson was a great review on symmetry and cutting skills. We looked at a bunch of examples from original Polish folk paper cutting. I talked to the students about how the Polish started making these designs. I explained how the Polish would take hides from animals and drape them over the window opening. Because of the depressing nature of zero sun light, the Polish cut out designs in the animal hides. Hundreds of years later the designs have become extremely complex and are now made out of fabric or paper. The students started by folding the paper and drawing their symmetrical designs along the fold line. My only requirements were to have an animal somewhere on the design ...and have fun! After they finished their design, the students shaded the area they wanted to keep. A lot of my students thought this part of the lesson was two elementary for their 5th grade level. When the students started cutting, several students ca...