Paper cubes.

As part of our explorations of form and architecture in 2nd grade, students created construction paper cubes. I got this idea from the Davis Digital textbooks that our district adopted this year. I have been springing off of their unit on architecture, putting my own spin on the lessons.

Students selected 12 six inch long construction paper rectangles, then folded each in half lengthwise. After all 12 rectangles were folded, students created the bottom, then top of their cubes. The sides were added to the bottom, then the top was added.

 I did find that 2 inch by 6 inch rectangles were easier for the students to manipulate than the 4 inch by 6 inch rectangles that I started with. I only gave the students one day (50 minutes) to complete their cubes, as I have no space in my art room to store three dimensional works. Most students did not finish these in my room, but were so excited about them, that many of their teachers allowed them to finish them back in their home rooms.

To end the class, if cubes were finished, students stacked their cubes either for height, or to create a modular building. After the first day of creating these, the word spread throughout the school and each day classes were asking if this is what they were going to get to do. To me, that is a great sign of success. That, and them all remembering the term "form," and are able to tell me about height, width, and depth.

Materials used:
2 inch by 6 inch construction paper rectangles
Glue