4th Grade Paper Cutting Lesson

This is a lesson I've posted about before. It is based on artwork by M.C. Escher, and introduces the concept of negative and positive space, as well as negative/positive space reversal. One thing that is really awesome about this lesson is that there is no trash! Every single piece of paper that gets cut out of one side gets glued on the other side. With many other paper cutting lessons, the paper scraps all over the tables and floor take some time to clean up, but with this lesson, the only reason we would have any paper to recycle is if someone messes up and starts over.

Here are a few student examples.

This student created a car:

Another student noticed that when turned upside down, it looks like a cow face! Everyone thought that was pretty awesome.

This year, I put every single student's work on my bulletin board. I love how they look in a group! I think they look stronger together than individually.