A Bridge Leading to the World of Books

Level One: Grade Prep

Discussion
Read and discuss picture story books with popular characters that are favorites with your class. What makes these characters so well liked? Describe what you most like about one picture book character. What does he/she do that you particularly like? Describe what their life is like and compare their life with yours.
Look at pictures of bridges from around the world and build up a list of words that might be relevant to a bridge, e.g. span, deck, pier, suspension etc.

Materials
Felt Assorted, Stackables by Zart Joggle Eyes, Merino Wool Tops, Wooden Spills, Card board Doll Fold-Up, Permanent markers, Supertac by Zart, Poly Sheets & Oil Pastels

How to create a Bridge Leading to the World of Books

1. Use cut pieces of Felt to create your favourite picture book character.
2. Characters might be decorated with the Joggle Eyes, Wool Tops and Permanent Markers.
3. Glue your story book character to a Wooden Spill. Write the title of the book for your character on to the Wooden Spill.
4. As a group the class can assemble a bridge using polystyrene off cuts starting with the piers at both ends and then the deck going across.
5. The story book characters may be assembled on to the decorated poly blocks to create a bridge leading to the world of stories.

 

Exploring Minibeasts – A Bridge into Their World!

Level 2: Grades One and Two

Discussion
Look at pictures of bridges from around the world and build up a list of words that might be relevant to a bridge, e.g. span, deck, beam, cables, arch, suspension etc. Describe the features of a bridge that you like. Do you like suspension bridges? What type of bridge is the Sydney Harbour Bridge?
What is a Minibeast? Make up a list of minibeasts that are common in Australia. Discuss where you might find some of these more common minibeasts. What is their habitat like? What do they eat?

Materials
Cover Paper A3, Cover Paper A4 black, Zart Rubbing Blocks Metallic, Pasteboard A4, Kinder Squares, Mini Patty Pans, Patty Pans, Tissue Paper Circles, Bug Paper & Glue Sticks

How to create a Bridge into the World of Minibeasts

1. Cut a rectangle along the length of a sheet of Pasteboard to create a span of your bridge. Use the remaining Pasteboard to cut and glue shapes on to the rectangle to create a textured surface.
2. Lay a sheet of Black Cover Paper over the textured cardboard rectangle and take a rubbing with Zart Rubbing Blocks. Cut out the bridge rubbing that has been created.
3. Fold a sheet of A3 Cover Paper in half. Decorate one half of the Cover Paper with torn Kinder Squares to create the grasses and environment for the minibeasts.
4. Glue in place the printed bridge leading from the environment to the base of the folded A3 Cover Paper.
5. Use Patty Pans and Tissue Paper to create flowers amongst the grasses.
6. Tear small pieces of Cover Paper to create grasses and foliage that stand at the foot of the bridge. Glue these by folding one end of each piece and attaching them to the Cover Paper so that they stand erect.
7. Use Patty Pans and Tissue Paper Circles to create flowers amongst the foliage.
8. Use a sheet of Bug Papers to cut and collage your own minibeasts into your minibeast world.
9. Glue the creatures in place around and at the foot of the bridge.

 

A Bridge to the Future

Level 3: Grades Three and Four

Discussion
Look at and discuss the architectural changes your city or any city in the world has witnessed over the last 50 years. Discuss what they think might happen to the architecture of the future. Will the skyscrapers get taller, will they invent new materials to build with, and will all the buildings look the same?
Discuss the concept of a bridge connecting the past with the future. Are there new and old parts of the city or are the new buildings being built next to old structures. Do you think this is good or bad? If you were a town planner what would you do?

Materials
Cover Paper Assorted 38 x 51cm, Cover Paper Black A3, Corrugated Card off-cuts, Permanent markers Black, Newspaper, Defraction Papers, Mosaic squares & Glue Stick

How to create a Bridge to the Future

1. Cut a semi circle or a bridge shape from black Cover Paper and glue it to a long sheet of coloured Cover Paper. Cut one sheet in half and glue it end to end to create one long sheet.
2. Cut various shaped buildings from Newspaper.
3. Use Permanent markers to add details to the buildings.
4. Use your imagination to create unusual shapes to represent buildings in the future.
5. Arrange all the cut pieces across the bridge as you would plan your city.
6. Lay corrugated Cardboard under buildings that you wish to raise above the background. Glue all pieces across the bridge.
7. Decorate the bridge with Mosaic squares.
8. Display the work in one long line along the corridor outside your classroom.

 

Monet – Crossing the Bridge to his Garden!

Level 4: Grades Five and Six

Discussion
What do we know about Monet? Who was he and where was his garden? What is Impressionism? What is plein-air landscape painting? Look at a print of Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies 1899 by Claude Monet and discuss the emotion that this painting instills in you. It may make you feel peaceful, happy, sad etc. Explain why you feel this way when you look at it. What are the predominate colours in this painting. Is the painting a smooth finish? What paint do you think he used?

Materials
Paper Plates 23 cm, Corrugated Card, Matchsticks Coloured, Tissue Paper Circles, Tissue Paper black, Oil Pastels, Ocaldo Paints, Kinder Squares, Paper Magiclay Coloured, Iridescent Cellophane, Pearl Beads, Acetate Sheet & Supertac

How to create a Bridge in Monet's Garden

1. Use Oil Pastels to make the marks of the water on to a Paper Plate. Use Ocaldo paints to colour the water over the Pastels.
2. To create the bridge, cut another Paper Plate in half. Cut a smallsemicircle from the inside of the two halves. Fringe around the inside rim of the halves and bend the flaps back on each half. Bring the two halves together with the front of the plate facing out, and glue the fringed flaps to create the pathway across the bridge.
3. Cut a narrow band of Corrugated Cardboard to lie across the pathway and glue it in place.
4. Glue the bridge into position across the decorated pond. Glue Matchsticks to the outside of the bridge.
5. Cut Lilly pads from Kinder Squares and glue these in place on the pond.
6. Fold and fringe Tissue Paper Circles to create flowers and glue them to the Lilly pads.
7. Roll black Tissue Paper lengths to create the vines and creepers growing across the bridge. Scrunch coloured Tissue for the foliage on the plants.
8. Roll Magiclay body shapes for dragonflies. Glue in place Pearl Beads for eyes and wings cut from Iridescent Cellophane.
9. If dragonflies are to stand, cut, fold and stick small pieces of Acetate Sheeting and secure them to the pond and the dragonfly.