I am a bit obsessed with Jacob's ladders. They are a marvel of simple materials and construction joining together to create something extraordinary. The name is also rooted in Torah, so it's fun to bring a little allegory into our making. For my 4th graders I wanted to try having them figure out how to construct a Jacob's ladder without direct instruction from me. I assembled several cardboard Jacob's ladder and set them around our work table with exploration worksheets, rulers, and pencils. I explained that they needed to figure out the materials, quantities of materials, and assembly of the ladder. Once they assembled the materials list and directions. I would give them the materials they requested and they could assemble their ladders. I have never seen them so engaged! They spent the class measuring, counting, questioning, and examining. They revised their materials lists and labored over their step-by-step instructions. This was a new approach for me, and one I will definitely do more of. It was also a wonderful integration of writing and making. Below are the worksheet templates. I might tweak them a bit, but they get the job done. ![]()
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We are kicking off our review of building materials with a little kirigami. It's a great review because we get to practice measuring, cutting and folding. We started with a basic design to get a feel for how folding and cutting come together to create 3-D shapes. Here's a template if you want to give it a try. ![]()
Next we pushed ourselves a bit to create this fantastic Star of David (8 stars in one!). I've made some templates and step-by-step instructions if you want to give this one a try. ![]()
I think these two projects have given us a good foundation. Next week, we'll apply what we learned to creating some original kirigami creations.
We are taking some time to review building materials and techniques. We are starting off with paper craft and dipping our toes into a little kirigami. We started of with a pretty simple version that we constructed from a printed template. This allowed us to getting a feeling for the form and how folding and cutting can be combined to create new and surprising shapes.
This week my 4th graders got to work making their journals. We are making the covers from recycled boxes, there's a lot of those around a school this time of year, and good ol' 8.5x11 paper chopped in half to 4.25x5.5. We are using a 2-hole punch on the short side and binding with brass fasteners. It's a serviceable journal, we can add pages, and making them ourselves is a big budget saver. |
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March 2020
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