Silhouette Paper Cuttings for 3rd and 4th Graders

Did you know Hans Christian Andersen was an accomplished paper cutter?  He created some very intricate and amazing silhouettes.

I used a chapter from the book The Amazing Paper Cuttings of Hans Christian Andersen to teach about his paper cuttings. Perhaps if your students are reading fairy tales, this would be a great author/artist to incorporate.

The third and fourth grade class drew silhouettes on black paper (using regular pencils) and cut them out.  (Some chose to create their picture with white on black paper.) The theme was of their choosing and students often looked up pictures on the internet or in books for reference.

This lesson touched upon the concepts of:

• shape
• space
• silhouette
• contrast
• creativity

It is a great project to promote the proper use of a scissors and to improve fine motor skills.