Description: Maze in construction paper animal, a great way to introduce trust and trust worthiness. Life is like a maze. So we need to work together and trust each other when we face major obstacles.
Project Ideas: Being trustworthy, trusting others, interpersonal, recycling, reusing materials
Objectives:
1. Students appreciate a chosen small animal, vole, mouse, rabbit, etc.
2. Students analyze and interpret the work of another culture.
3. Students illustrate the concept of goal-setting and achievement and may specifically discuss their own goals and achievements.
Author: Kristin, edit by Blair
Grade level or Target Age Range: Elementary
Historical Art Examples or References: “The Man in the Maze” basket weaving and South Western Indigenous People in the Americas
sample project:
Labryrinths – Indigenous Peoples in the Americas maze designs
wernative – story of the man in the maze
Materials: Pencils, graph paper, rulers, paper bag or construction paper, and stapler
Anticipatory Set: Show reference photos and introduce students to basket weaving and discuss the idea of life as a maze
Demo/Directions:
- Have students practice going through a maze drawn and/or provided.
(5 minutes) - Have students make their own mazes using graph paper and share them with others.
(15 minutes) - Have students brainstorm animals going after a goal—for example, a mouse with cheese, rabbit with carrot, dragon with a castle. These ideas will be used for their small book.
(10 minutes) - Demonstrate how to make a book by layering three sheets of graph paper and one sheet of construction paper together, and then folding them in half with the construction paper on the outside as the cover.
(1 minute) - Cut out a mouse or other shape into the center fold of graph and construction papers to make a symmetrical book (see sample project).
(1 minute) - Staple along center fold in construction paper cover. Glue any additional construction paper components (such as cheese cut out of paper) onto cover.
(3 minutes) - Have students write down an important life goal on each page. Assist with any questions.
(10 minutes) - Ask students how, like finding their way through a maze, they will have to problem solve to accomplish their goals.
(5 minutes) - Students will help collect materials.
(5 minutes)