Copy-Paper Scrap Projects

• Arts & Humanities:
  Visual Arts
• Science: Physical Science:
  Environmental

Brief Description

Objectives

• follow directions.
• learn why recycling is important to Earth.
• learn about multiple uses for used copy paper.

Keywords

Scrap, recycle, photocopies

Materials Needed

• scrap copy paper with printing on one side

Lesson Plan

Does your school accumulate a lot of scrap copy paper with printing on one side? Are you looking for something constructive to do with that paper? Try one of these Scrap Copy Paper Projects.

You might challenge students to say Scrap Copy Paper Projects fast three times!

Make Your Own Envelopes
It's simple. Take apart one of the envelopes your school uses for mailing and trace the outline of the envelope onto a sheet of cardboard. Use that template to create envelopes. Trace the outline of the envelope on the printed side of the paper. Then fold (so the printed side is inside the envelope) and glue the appropriate edges. Voila! You might even get a rubber stamp and stamp the inside flap or the back of the envelope "WE RECYCLE!"

Cheers! Make Your Own Drinking Cups
This is a great activity for teaching students to follow directions.

If you have difficulty following the written instructions below, you can find complete directions with illustrations at A Drinking Cup That's More! or Paper Folding.

• Cut sheets of copy paper into squares. (Typical size: 8-1/2 inches square.)
• Place the printed side down on the desk so that the square looks like a diamond. The lower point of the diamond should be facing toward you.
• Take the lower point of the diamond and lift it up to meet the top point of the diamond. Fold. Your diamond is now a triangle. The base of the triangle is its folded edge. Now the printed side of the copy paper is facing you.
• Next, take the left point of the folded edge and fold it to the right so the point touches the midway point on the right slope of the triangle. (Students might use rulers to mark the halfway point -- 4-1/4 inches if you are using 8-1/2 inch square paper -- on the right slope so they will know where the left point of the folded edge should touch.) The fold makes it look like an arm has reached across a body to touch another arm.
• Then take the right point of the folded base and lift it up until it touches the left side. The folds now make it look as if the arms are crossed.
• Now, you have two points at the top. Fold one forward (over the crossed arms) and fold the other backward. Folding back those two points created an opening at the top of the cup. Insert fingers into the opening to form your drinking cup.

Students master making an envelope and a drinking cup.

Education World

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

FINE ARTS: Visual Arts
GRADES K - 4
NA-VA.K-4.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
GRADES 5 - 8
NA-VA.5-8.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
GRADES 9 - 12
NA-VA.9-12.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes

MATHEMATICS: Measurement
GRADES Pre-K - 2
NM-MEA.PK-2.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements
GRADES 3 - 5
NM-MEA.3-5.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements
GRADES 6 - 8
NM-MEA.6-8.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements
GRADES 9 - 12
NM-MEA.9-12.2 Apply Appropriate Techniques, Tools, and Formulas to Determine Measurements

Don't miss dozens of lesson and project ideas in Education World's Earth Day Archive.
Click to return to this week's Lesson Planning article, Five Lessons Teach Students to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.