Saturday, March 5, 2016

1st Grade Woven Alligators


I think weaving with paper strips is a great way for younger students to learn about this art form before they've acquired the fine motor skills to accomplish it with yarn. In my quest to have our first graders weave something other than a placemat, I found several versions of this lesson on Pinterest (thank you, Pinterest pioneers!).  Students spend one session weaving the backs of the alligators (I actually don't tell them what animal they are weaving, and it's fun to hear the guesses.)  The second session is spent folding, cutting, and gluing on mouths, tails, legs, and teeth on their gators.  Students love their finished gators -- many even give them names before class is even over -- so I don't have the heart to hang on to these for display at school. Everybody just has to take theirs home. Hopefully they survive the trip!




2 comments:

  1. Dear Mr. Oechsle, Just from this blog, I can tell you are an amazing teacher! :-D I remember seeing one of these alligators, and a few of the other projects as well, at the home of my two beloved nieces. P just graduated from Kindergarten, and S is a rising 3rd grader. Thank you for everything you do! Art is SO essential to life and learning. Anyone who wants to take art away is a - excuse my language - "big poo-poo head!!" ;-) Best wishes, and much respect to you - Cheryl Elia

    ReplyDelete