Call Me Mr. B. – Eleven

Grade 3

Paper Cone Owl – (Part 2)

(from 2-D to 3-D)

     In the second class we added the wings and beak of the owl. Since we wanted a 3-D effect, just as we had rolled the body into a cone shape, we had to fold the wings and beak to give them depth as well as a base to attach them to the cone body.

folded wings and beak and
curled tail "feathers"

        Since the children were familiar with origami, the Japanese art of folded paper, folding the wings and beak wasn't particularly difficult. But using a stapler in one hand while trying to hold the cone and wing in the other to attach it at the base of the wing was challenging enough for me to give them plenty of time to attach both wings and the beak. Of course, I assisted when and where necessary. I encouraged them to use the opposite color to the body cone for contrast and interest. The bottom tab on the folded wing was stapled to the body and the top tab cellophane taped. Both tabs on the beak (hidden under the eyes) were stapled.

        For the tail (protruding from behind the cone body) the leftover paper was further cut into five or six tapered lengths, curled by winding them on a pencil, stapled together and then stapled to the back of the cone body. That concluded the lesson for the second day.

                                                                             *********

     On the third and final day, the eyes were cut from black and white construction paper, glued together and then glued to the cone body on both sides of the beak, ideally covering the beak tabs thus hiding the staples. For the finishing touch, a “wig” was made and plopped into the top of the cone without attaching it. There was an array of different colored construction paper on a table pre-cut to the correct size. The children were free to chose any color they wished. It was interesting to see which ones had an eye for colors that matched harmoniously with the colors of their owls.

        I showed the kids how to make scissor cuts half way down their colored paper between 5 to 10 millimeters wide (about ¼ to ½ inches). Once that was accomplished they shape the head “feathers” as they liked. They could simply leave them straight, or curl them by wrapping on a pencil, or fold them into a zig-zag accordion pattern.

the "wig"

        Then I told them to bring the finished “feathers” to me and I fit it to the top cone opening and stapled it with one staple. The “wig” was then finished and the kid could plop it on the owl's head. When they were all displayed together in their classrooms they created quite a fanciful and colorful display.