Kinder Line Sculptures inspired by Candace Whitman's "Lines that Wiggle"

 

When I meet my kinder students each year I love to introduce them to the art room by exploring the element of Line. It is an element they use as they learn to write letters and numbers. I also want to assess their motor skills. This paper sculpture lesson challenges them to create different types of lines by bending and folding paper while arranging them on a paper base.

I begin the lesson by reading the book "Lines that Wiggle", by Candace Whitman. This book as fantastic illustrations and wonderful rhymes about a variety of lines. Next, I ask the students to look around the room for examples of different lines. This allows me to assess whether they can identify and name lines.

When they've identified straight, curved, angle, and spiral lines I demonstrate how to change a flat paper strip into different types of lines. I show them how to apply glue and attach these strips to a base to create a sculpture. We talk about what a sculpture is and how it is different than a drawing.  They are given lots of strips and paper base and off they go.

Each students' sculpture is unique. I really love when they tell me what each strip represents. For example, a student will point to a looped strip and tell me that it is a car and a curved strip is a bridge. Their powerful imaginations make this project really fun for both them and me.

Thanks for reading!