Last week I spent two days at Fausey Elementary School in West Springfield, MA teaching the the four second grade classes how to make two different styles of books. Based on the feedback from the children, their favorite part of the 75-minute class was learning how to turn a simple accordion book into a pop-up, complete with secret doors and tabs.
After we folded our accordion books, students worked independently deciding what to draw or collage, hiding secret things behind their doors and making something pop off of each page. They worked with solid and patterned paper shapes, colorful stickers from Demco and magazine clippings. (You can see my previous post about how we prepare magazines for projects here.) Here are a few more photos of the students’ pop-up books:
In addition to the popup accordion book, the children made a Rainbow book with sets of warm or cool colors (pictured in the photos above and below). I made the same style book with a classroom of kindergarteners last month (and posted about it here) but this version was slightly more advanced because the second graders bound the pages together with a rubber band and a stick.
We just started a new Public Art Project today that is very similar to the pop-up books we made at Fausey, so if if these photos make you excited about the possibilities of bookmaking, be sure to stop by the Studio before July 10th to make your own!
Lift, Peek, and Pull
May 31 – July 10, 2012
Free with Museum Admission
Many of Lucy Cousins’s Maisy books have special pages with flaps, tabs, and pockets; hiding characters and objects for you to find. Learn a few new paper construction tricks and create your very own story book filled with surprises using scissors, tape and glue.
Lift, Peek and Pull is inspired by the current exhibition Our British Cousins: The Magical Art of Maisy and Friends in the Central Gallery through November 25th. You can preview images of the exhibition here.
Thanks for having me Fausey Elementary!
