Fun with Art May lesson Plan for Fourth Grade Origami Biographical information Origami: from ori meaning "folding", and kami meaning "paper" is the traditional Japenese Folk Art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD and was popularized in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form. The goal of this art is to transform a flat sheet of material into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques, art pieces that use scissors to make cuts or glue are not considered to be origami. However, contrary to popular belief, traditional Japanese origami, has been less strict about these conventions, sometimes cutting the paper or using different shapes to start with. The most popular origami art form is a Japanese paper crane. The crane is the most well know origami model. The Japanese believe that the crane is good luck because it is believed to live for about one thousand years. The number of basic origami folds is small, but they can be combined in a variety of ways to make intricate designs. In general, these designs begin with a square sheet of paper whose sides may be different colors or prints. However, there are many forms that require a rectangular piece of paper. When folding origami it is very important to make a strong crease. The creases help to set the structure of future folds. Some basic origami folds are as follows: A valley fold is the first basic fold, in which you fold the paper forward onto itself. A mountain fold is the second basic fold, in which the paper is folded behind itself. An easier way to do this is to turn the paper over first and then do a valley fold and turn the paper back over again. A pleat fold is several evenly-spaced parallel mountain and valley folds. Also called an "accordion fold." A blintz fold is made by folding the corners of a square into the center. This can be achieved with higher accuracy by folding and unfolding two reference creases through the center. ** Examples of these folding techniques are seen below. Please demonstrate these folds to the students and have the students practice along with you.
Valley fold Mountain fold Accordion/pleat fold Blintz fold Today we will be using origami to create a crane and a hopping frog. In this exercise the hopping frog will use a rectangular piece of paper and the crane will use a square piece of paper. Both animals can be made with traditional origami paper or with thicker paper such as computer paper. Today we will be using colored computer paper for the frog and origami paper for the crane. Once the frog is completed, feel free to decorate it or have a hopping contest. Discussion Questions Here are a few questions to ask the students while showing examples of origami. Have any of you practiced origami before? Tell kids that paper airplanes and paper fans are also considered origami. Why do you think this type of art form has remained popular for such a long period of time? Perhaps because paper is easily accessible. What do you find interesting in the different art examples? Here are some questions to ask the students after they have completed their project. If time allows, they can even use their own works of art to answer the following. Did they like this form of art? What else would you like to learn to make? Origami Crane and Hopping Frog Materials: two rectangular pieces of colored copy paper and one square piece of origami paper (or other square paper). One rectangular piece can be used to practice the above folds. Origami examples Demonstrate the lesson by following these step-by-step instructions.
Crane Instructions 1. Start with a square piece of paper, coloured side up. Fold the top corner of the paper down to the bottom corner. Crease and open again. Then fold the paper in half sideways. 2. Turn the paper over to the white side. Fold the paper in half, crease well and open, and then fold again in the other direction. 3. Using the creases you have made, Bring the top 3 corners of the model down to the bottom corner. Flatten model.
4. Fold top triangular flaps into the centre and unfold 5. Fold top of model downwards, crease well and unfold 6. Open the uppermost flap of the model, bringing it upwards and pressing the sides of the model inwards at the same time. Flatten down, creasing well. 7. Turn model over and repeat Steps 4-6 on the other side. 8. Fold top flaps into the centre.
9. Repeat on other side, so your model looks like this. 10. Fold both legs of model up, crease very well, then unfold. 11. Inside Reverse Fold the legs along the creases you just made. 12. Inside Reverse Fold one side to make a head, then fold down the wings Completed Crane
Hopping Frog 1. Start with a rectangular sheet of paper, white side up. Fold it in half, and open out again 2. fold both top corners to the opposite edge of the paper then unfold. Your creases should look like this. 3. Where the diagonal creases meet in the middle, fold the paper backwards, crease well and open. 4. Hold the paper at the sides, bring these points down to the centre line, then flatten. The creases should do most of the work here! 5. Fold the uppermost triangles up to the top point.
6. Fold sides in to the centre line. 7. Fold bottom of model upwards so the end sits in the centre of the top diamond. 8. Now fold the same part downwards, in half. Turn over, your Jumping Frog is finished! To make him jump, press down on his back as shown.