Origami
Cranes
LessonbyStephaniePerryfor
AUSTINOPERA-2017
OBJECTIVES:
1. StudentswilllearnabouttheJapaneseartformoforigami.
2. Studentswilllearntofoldatraditionalpapercrane.
3. Studentswilllearnthatthecraneisaninternationalsymbolforpeace.
MATERIALS:
• Varietyoforigamipaper(white,colored,andpatternedorigamipapers)
• Printeddirectionsandvideodirections
o YouTubevideodirections:https://youtu.be/w2JakmLRDnU
o OrigamiClubwebsite(withaprinteddiagram,animateddiagramandYouTubevideo):
http://en.origami-club.com/traditional/crane/index.html
• Craneexamplesandresources
• [Note:Atypicallearningsizeis6”x6”origamipaper,althoughothersizesofpaperwouldbefine.
Whileprinterpapercouldbecutintoasquare,it’sabittoothickanddifficulttogetcrispfolds;origami
paperisbetter.]
• SadakoandtheThousandCranes,byEleanorCoerr
TIMEFRAME:Onetothree45-minuteclassperiods.
AGEGROUP:5thgradeandup
VOCABULARY:
• Origami:Theartoffoldingpaper;theJapaneseword“origami”literallymeansfold(“ori”)paper
(“gami”).
• Fold:Bendapaperprecisely,matchingcornersandedgescarefully.
• Crease:Foldfirmlyandcrisply.
• Symmetrical:Somethingthatisthesameonbothsides.
• Shape:Atwo-dimensionalobjectthathasheightandwidth(ex.,square).
• Form:Athree-dimensionalobjectthathasheight,width,anddepth(ex.,cube)
PROCEDURE:
1. LearnaboutanddiscusstheartoforigamiasatraditionalartforminAsiancountries.Invitestudents
tosharetheirexperienceswithorigami.Teachthemeaningofthewordorigamiitself:“origami”
literallymeansfold(“ori”)paper(“gami”).
2. Discussthemeaningofthecraneasasymbolofpeace.
a. Thecraneisregardedas“anomenof‘alifeofathousandyears’andasymbolofgoodfortune
andlonglife.(TheWorldofOrigamibyIsaoHonda)
b. Traditionally,itwasbelievedthatifonefolded1000origamicranes,one'swishwouldcome
true.Thecranehasalsobecomeasymbolofhope,peace,andhealingduringchallengingtimes.
ShortlyaftertheendofWorldWarII,thefoldedorigamicranescametosymbolize
ahopeforpeacethroughSadakoSasakiandherunforgettablestoryofperseverance.(JCCC
OrigamiCraneProject)
http://githensjaguarsteam.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/3/9/23397862/history_of_the_origami_cr
ane.pdf
3. Identifythebasiccomponentsofmakingtraditionalorigamiforms:squarepaper,nocuttingortaping
orgluing,symmetricalfolds,simplifiedforms,anddesignerpapertips.
4. Demonstratethewholeprocessoffoldingthecrane,fromstarttofinish,talkingaloudtoexplaineach
step.Explainhowtofoldcarefullyanddeliberately,creasefirmly,andmakesymmetricalmovements.
5. Showthevisualinstructionsandthevideoinstructions.Studentsmayreviewtheseasneeded.
6. Studentswillbuildatraditionalorigamicrane;teacherwillassistasneeded.Afterstudentsbuildone
successfulcrane,theymay“graduate”tootherorigamipapers.[Note:Savetheexpensivedesigner
papersuntilthestudenthasbuilt3-4successfulcranesandunderstandtheprocess.]
7. Optional:stringcranestogethertoformastrandofcranes,asseeninJapanesetemples.[Suggestion:
usefishinglineandclearbeadstostringcranestogether.Threadaneedle,gothroughandencircle
aroundabead,gothroughthebottomofacraneandpiercethroughthetop,gothroughanother
bead,andrepeat.]
Websites/linkstolearnmoreaboutorigamicranesandtheirsymbolism:
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/08/28/how-paper-cranes-become-a-symbol-of-healing-in-japan/
http://asianlifestyledesign.com/2012/05/asian-symbolism-crane/
http://www.lisashea.com/japan/origami/sales/history/colors/
TEXASESSENTIALKNOWLEDGEANDSKILLS(TEKS):
ART
SOCIALSTUDIES
Elementary:
Elementary:
§117.117.Art,Grade5:
§113.16.SocialStudies,Grade5:
1. B;2.A;2.C;3.A;3.B;3.C;4.A
5.A;13.C;21.A;21.B;22.A;22.B;22.C;23.D;24.
MiddleSchool:
C
§117.202.Art,MiddleSchool1
MiddleSchool:
1.B;1.C;2.B;2.C;3.A;3.B;3.C;4.B;4.D
§113.18.SocialStudies,Grade6
HighSchool:
1.B;4.A;4.B;4.F;5.B;15.A;15.B;15.E;15.F;
§117.302.Art,LevelI
16.A;17.A;18.A;18.B;18.C;18.D;19.A
1.B;1.C;1.D;2.E;2.F;3.B;3.C;4.A
HighSchool:
§113.42.WorldHistoryStudies
1.A;4.B;16.B;17.A;17.B;18.A;18.B;18.C