Japanese Scrolls - a creative way of using art in the classroom

Creating a Japanese scroll is one of the best ways I use art in the classroom, and it can be used regardless of the size of the class. In feudal Japan, when a message must be taken from one warrior lord to another, for example, it is done by an elaborate reel, and the reel is delivered with a ribbon and hand.

As for age suitability, the activity worked well from about the beginning of college to college. The older the student, the more complicated the drawings and language.

What do you need for each student:

1. A set of 6 blank sheets* [letter size or A4, depending on the location of your school];
2. Some scotch tape,
3. A treaty 12 inches [25 cm] long red ribbon.
4. Pencil [student should already have]
5. Eraser [student should already]
6. Pencil sharpener [should be one in the classroom]
7. Colored pencils are optional. Colored markers are also available, but keep it simple. You set the rules.

* For older students, you may want to squander and buy thicker but less thick card stock or parchment paper for greater authenticity. The purpose of the activity is to have each student write a 6-group story, from beginning to end, no more than six of them. They will have to do some planning, including a start panel, an end panel, and four main body panels in the middle of the story.

Students should first try to think about a topic. As their teacher, you can list a list of story ideas on the board and give them a starting point. You can even choose to create and explain stories on the board and show them what they have to do. This needs to be done ahead of time. You can demonstrate how the story flows smoothly from start to finish. Many students will go directly to it, while others will tell you that they can't figure out anything to write. This is where your ideas on the board will help.

On the board [or in a mainframe-like screen], you might have different columns

1. Hero/heroine, villain or good/bad guy, father, mother, friend, brother, sister
2. Battle/war/save earth/jungle, desert, city, airport, game
3. Aircraft, ship, spaceship, submarine, bicycle, motorcycle, car, house, building, school
4. Alien, army, navy, air force, police, robber, football, hockey, baseball, cricket
5. Dog, cat, monkey, lion, tiger, elephant, snake, spider, horse
6. Flood, tornado, tsunami, blizzard, hail, sandstorm, sunlight
7. Witch, elf, elf, dwarf, giant, troll, dragon
8. Christmas, Easter, holidays, holidays, weekends, visitors

[Add or subtract any of these lists as needed]

Students can choose what you write on the board or anything else based on your own imagination. This can be given as a homework, as long as you can rest assured that it will be their own job when it comes back. If they enter a video game, direct copying is not allowed. It must be their personal thoughts and written/graphic explanations. This may also be a good time to introduce the concept of plagiarism.

Depending on the age of the student, for young students, each page/panel is sometimes about 5-6 sentences, and for older students, there are sometimes one or two sentences. You don't need a letter here. This is an interesting exercise that teaches students how to develop a story outline, start and end, and simple hand-painting to help readers/viewers visually interpret the story. This process will help every student in the next grade.

The idea is that each student will write and explain the story of their six groups [such as 6 pages in a children's storybook] and then glue the panels together, roll them up and tie them to the red ribbon. [You can change the color as needed]. They should put their names in a noisy story so they can find everything they have, for example, all in one basket.

' Reveal ' Follow each student to the front of the class and tell his or her story. I like to rank students in groups of up to 6 students, depending on the size of the class [Dale Carnegie's idea]. This can reduce the stress level of the students and give them support instead of leaving them alone. Each group took turns reading their stories and stayed up all night until everyone in the group read their stories. Then they sat down and the next group appeared. Encourage [you can lead] other classmates to applaud. Applause is great before and after each story and each group, as they move forward again and again as they return to their seats. This is another pressure reducer and shows students that their efforts have been appreciated... this is a wonderful life course. Despite watching the applause; respect other courses around you.

Untie the ribbon and tell the story, then read it panel by panel, with some magical things. Then a good idea is to post stories around the room for everyone to see - especially if you have an apprentice teacher's day! Be sure to take photos of each student with their scrolling scrolls and then read their stories in class. These make excellent home delivery photos for parents! It also showed your creativity to the school director/principal!

---

Orignal From: Japanese Scrolls - a creative way of using art in the classroom