Paper Sculptures - Grades 1 - 5

Many students in grades 1 - 5 are examining their relationship with paper. How is paper important to each person in his/her life? What do people use it for? What kinds of materials would people use if paper were not available?

The children brainstormed together that paper is used for:

writing, poetry, drawing, painting, and making paper objects (products) like napkins, paper plates and cups, straw wrappers, paper towels, wall paper, wrapping paper, toilet paper, cardboard boxes, books, newspapers, magazines, xerox machines, rice or papyrus paper, Chinese finger traps, origami, posters, billboards, food containers like popcorn, fries, or hamburger wrappers, computer printer paper, construction paper, origami paper, and the list goes on and on!!

Making use of recycled papers that would otherwise be thrown away, the children are having more fun than I ever expected. Getting down to the essential components of paper and paper products, students have been soaking paper in water, feeling it melt, watching the inks run out, and peeling apart the layers of heavier papers. Using glues and papier maiche, the students are reconstructing and sculpting the pulp into abstract forms. It is very challenging to make a sculpture that doesn't resemble a boat, an airplane, a heart shape, or anything at all. Through this process, the children are paying closer attention to form, details, and angles of the paper as they work to develop abstract sculptures.