DiamondFold:StarVariation
Thislessonplanoutlinesthestarvariationofadiamondfoldbook.Itiscalledastarbook
becausewhenyouopenthebookitlookslikeastarfromtheside.Thisdiamondfoldstarbook
hasacircularformandeasilysupportsteachingcyclicalcontentlikethewatercycle,rockcycle,
andtellingtime.Therearemanyothervariationsofdiamondfoldbooksthatcanbemade
dependingonhowyougluetogetheryourfoldedpapersquaresandhowmanysquaresyouglue
together.
Grades/AgeGroup:K-12
ApproximateTimeRequired:
Prep:30-45minutes
Teaching:10minutes
MakingtheBook:20-60minutesdependingonageandthedepthofinformationstudentswrite
MaterialsNeeded:
5piecesof8½in.squaretext-weightpaper
2piecesof4¼in.squarecover-weightpaper
PrepInstructions:
1. Cuttext-weightpaperto8½in.squares:5perperson.Youcancutdown8½X11in.
copypaper.
2. Cutcover-weightpaperto4¼in.squares:2perperson.Youcanusecardstock,
tagboard,oranyrecycledmatorcardboard.Thesewillbeusedforthecovers.
TeachingOverview:
Materialsneeded:
1. Pre-cutpaper
2. Gluesticks
3. Writinganddrawingmaterials
Procedure:
1. Eachstudentgets5piecesof8½in.squaretext-weightpaper.
2. The8½in.piecesareallfoldedinthesamemannerasoutlinedinsteps3-6:
3. Foldpaperinhalfbothways,withthetwofoldsonthesameside.Thetwofoldsyou
justmadewillbothpopup,makingwhatlookslikeamountain(seediagramon
followingpage).
4. Foldinhalfdiagonallyontheoppositesideofthetwofoldsmadeintheprevious
step.Thefirsttwofoldsyoumadeinstep3willnowlooklikeavalley.
5. Openfoldsyoujustmadesoitstandsasamountainfoldontop.Applypressurewith
fingertotheverycentertopopthepaper(seediagramonfollowingpage).
6. Gatherthesquareandcloseit.Therewillbeaclosedpoint,andanopenpointon
eachfoldedsquare.
7. Putglueontheoutsideofoneofthefoldedsquares.Thenpressittotheoutsideof
anotherofyourfoldedsquares.Makesurethattheclosedpointsarestackedontop
ofeachother.Continueuntilallfoldedsquaresaregluedinastack,thengluecovers
tothefrontandbackofthebook.Whenopen,thebookwilllooklikeastarshape
whenviewedfromtheside.
DiamondFoldStarVariation–LectureOverview:
KeyPoints:
1. Bookscancomeinmanyformsthatcanpresentinformationindifferentways.
2. Studentsarecreatingabookthatstoresinformationinacyclicalformatinsteadofa
linearformat.Thisbookcanstorelinearinformationaswell,suchasinformation
abouttheplotofabook,butitisuniquelyformattedandsuitedtoholdcyclical
information.
LearningObjectives:
1. Studentswillincreasetheirdexterityskillsbyfoldingandgluingaccurately.
2. Studentswilllearncontentknowledgethroughbookmaking.
ExamplesofCommonCoreapplications:
Math:
• 6thgrademath.Objective:ratiosandproportionalrelationships:understand
ratioconceptsanduseratioreasoningtosolveproblems.Havestudents
makeabookaboutratios.
• 4thgrademath.Objective:operationsandalgebraicthinking:usethefour
operationswithwholenumberstosolveproblems.Application:have
studentsmakeastarbookthathelpsthemrememberthestepsintheorder
ofoperations.
Science:
• 8thgradescience.Standard:Studentswillunderstandtheprocessesofrock
andfossilformation.Objective:Describethenatureofthechangesthat
rocksundergooverlongperiodsoftime.)
• 4thgradescience.Standard:Studentswillunderstandthatwaterchanges
stateasitmovesthroughthewatercycle.Objective:Describethe
relationshipbetweenheatenergy,evaporationandcondensationofwater
onEarth.Describethewatercycle.
LanguageArts:
• 11th-12thgradewriting.Standard:Writeroutinelyoverextendedtimeframes
(timeforresearch,reflection,andrevision)andshortertimeframes(asingle
sittingoradayortwo)forarangeoftasks,purposes,andaudiences.
Application:Havestudentsmakeastarbookandwriteononeofthepanels
eachdayforaseriesofdays,perhapsaddingillustrationsiftheylike.Picka
themeforthemfortheirprojectsothattheyarereflectingonthesametopic
atdifferenttimes.
•
6thgradereading:Objective:Describehowaparticularstoryplotunfoldsina
seriesofepisodes,aswellashowthecharactersrespondorchangeasthe
plotmovestowardaresolution.Application:Havestudentsmakestarbooks
thatoutlinethecourseoftheplotofaworkofliterature.
SocialStudies:
• 9thGradeU.S.History.Objective:Thestudentswillunderstandthe
emergenceanddevelopmentofthehumanrightsandcultureinthemodern
era.Application:Havestudentsdraworpastepicturesofimportantcivil
rightsleadersoneachofthepanelsoftheirstarbookandwriteabouthow
theyinfluencedhumanrights.
• KindergartenSocialStudies.Objective:Studentswillrecognizeanddescribe
howschoolsandneighborhoodsarebothsimilaranddifferent.Application:
Studentswilllearnabouttheirdifferentneighborhoodsanddrawdifferent
thingsintheirneighborhoodontheirsquarepapersbeforefoldingtheminto
astarbook.