PAPER CUTTING AND POSTER MAKING
Paper and scissors form a fascinating combination to all children, and
offer a very direct means of self-expression. In the language of a small
boy who attempted to tell how to do it, "You just think about something
and then cut out your _think_." The teacher is concerned chiefly with the
"think" and the way in which it is expressed. The children are interested
in paper cutting chiefly from the pleasure of the activity. Beyond the
immediate pleasure in the process, the cuttings are valuable only as they
indicate the clearness of the child's ideas and measure his ability to
express them. The process is educative only in so far as it helps the
small worker to "see with his mind's eye" and to give tangible shape to
what he thus sees. It is important, therefore, that the work be done in a
way that will emphasize the thinking rather than the finished product.
The first question arising is, To what extent shall a pattern be used?
Shall the teacher cut out the object and bid the class follow her example?
Shall she display a silhouette or outline drawing of the object she
desires the children to cut, or shall they work without any external guide
to justify or modify the mental picture? Shall they be given a pattern and
be allowed to draw around it?
All of the above methods are used to a greater or less extent. Long
experience seems to indicate that the first cutting of any object should
be unassisted by any external representation of it whatever, in order that
the attention of each child may be focused upon his own mental picture of
the object. When he has put forth his best effort from this standpoint, he
should compare his cutting with the real object or a good picture of it
and be led to see the chief defects in his own production and then allowed
to try again.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Story of Jack Horner on poster and sand table.
Snowflakes in background. First grade. Columbia, Missouri.]
For example, after telling the story of Mother Hubbard, the children may
be interested in cutting out dogs. No picture or other guide should be
used at first, since every child knows something about dogs. The first
cuttings are likely to be very poor, partly because the children have not
sufficient control over the scissors and largely because their ideas are
very vague. In a general comparison of work they will help each other with
such criticisms as, "This dog's head is too big." "That dog's legs are too
stiff." They are then ready to try again. Only when they have reached the
limit of their power to see flaws in their work do they need to compare it
with the real dog or its picture. Only after a child has attempted to
express his idea and has become conscious in ever so small a degree of the
imperfection of his expression will he really be able to see differences
between the real object and his representation of it, and thereby clarify
his mental picture.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Paper cutting. Second grade, Columbia.]
The child's imagination is so strong that he is apt to see his productions
not as they are but as he means them to be, and he is unable to
distinguish between the original and his copy of it. If the picture or
silhouette is presented at first, his work becomes to a large extent mere
copying rather than self-expression. If the teacher cuts out a dog and
displays it as a sample, the class will be apt to see that piece of paper
only and not a real dog. If the children are permitted to draw the outline
either freehand or around a pattern, still less mental effort is required,
and in cutting they see only the bit of line just ahead of the scissors
and not the object as a whole.
Such methods (_i.e._ the use of outlines, silhouettes, etc.) will produce
better immediate results. It will be easier to distinguish dogs and cats
from cows and horses if a pattern is provided, but it will not produce
stronger children. Such methods only defeat the chief purpose of the work,
which is to stimulate the mental effort required to hold the mental image
of the object in the focus of attention during the time required to
reproduce it in the material form.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Paper cutting. Second grade.]
It is also often asked whether the children shall always cut directly and
without modification or whether they shall be permitted to trim off the
imperfections of their first attempts. While any rule must always be
interpreted in the light of immediate circumstances, it is generally best
to cut directly, and after noting the defects, cut again. It is then
possible to compare the several attempts and see if improvement has been
made. Attention should be directed to the most glaring defect only, and an
attempt made to correct it. For example, if the dog's head is too large,
do not trim down, but cut another dog and try for better proportions.
Compare the second attempt with the first, to measure improvement. Even
little children can be taught to work in this thoughtful way, looking for
the defects in their own work and making definite attempts to correct
them. To this end much cutting from an unlimited supply of newspaper or
scratch paper will accomplish more than a few exercises in better paper
which must be trimmed and worked over for the sake of economy. If little
children are allowed to trim off, they are apt, in the pure joy of
cutting, to trim too much and lose the idea with which they started--a
process which tends to vagueness rather than clearness. To prevent this it
is often helpful to preserve both pieces of paper, _i.e._ the cutting and
the hole. (See Fig. 4.)
=Paper Tearing.=--Paper tearing serves many of the same purposes sought in
cutting, and has several strong points in its favor. Working directly with
the finger tips tends to develop a desirable dexterity of manipulation.
The nature of the process prevents the expression of small details and
tends to emphasize bold outlines and big general proportions. Working
directly with the fingers tends also to prevent a weak dependence upon
certain tools and tends to develop power to express an idea by whatever
means is at hand.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Paper tearing.]
=Posters.=--The term "poster" as here used includes all mounted pictures
made by children, such as cuttings, drawings, paintings, and scrap
pictures.
A poster may be the work of one child or of a group. A single poster may
tell the whole story, or a series of posters may be made to show a
sequence of events. A series of posters may be bound together in book
form. For poster making single sheets of paper, medium weight and of
neutral tone, are needed. The sheets should be of uniform size for
individual use so that they could be bound together if desired. For
cooperative work and special problems larger sheets will be needed.
SUGGESTED PROBLEMS FOR PAPER WORK
=Cutting out Pictures.=--This serves well for first effort with scissors.
The interest in the picture furnishes a motive, while the outline serves
as a guide and allows the attention to be given wholly to the control of
the scissors.
_Free cutting of single objects_--such as animals, fruits, trees,
furniture, utensils, etc.--intensifies and clarifies mental pictures and
stimulates observation if the child is led to express his own ideas first
and then to compare his expression with the original and note his
deficiencies. As far as possible choose objects with strong bold outlines
for the first attempts. There should be some marked feature, such as
Bunny's long ears, which calls for emphasis. To cut a circular piece of
paper which might be an apple or a peach, a walnut or a tomato, will not
aid much in clarifying a mental picture, while Bunny's long ears, even
though crudely cut, will be more deeply impressed on the child's mind.
=Illustrations for Stories.=--_Single Illustration._--After a story has
been read aloud and the characters and events freely discussed by the
class, each child may be encouraged to represent the part which has
appealed to him--_i.e._ "cut what he wants to cut." After the cuttings are
mounted they will probably form a series which will tell the whole story.
When several children illustrate the same feature, it offers opportunity
for comparison and judgment as to which ones have told the story most
effectively. For example, in the story of the Three Bears, the cuttings
may show the three bears in three relative sizes, the three chairs, the
three beds, the table, and the three bowls of porridge. (See notes on
Criticism.)
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Free cutting. Third grade. Columbia, Missouri.]
_Series._--Let each child select the two or three most important events in
a story and illustrate these in a single poster or series of posters.
_Community Poster._--A long story such as the "Old Woman and the Silver
Sixpence" may be illustrated by the class as a whole, each child cutting
some one feature. This requires attention to relative proportions so that
the parts may be in harmony when assembled. Such posters may be used for
wall decoration.
=Charts.=--Poster making may also include the making of charts containing
samples of manufactured articles in various stages of development. For
example, a chart on cotton might show raw cotton, cord, thread, cloth of
various sorts, lace, paper, and other materials made from cotton. Such a
chart might also include pictures of cotton fields, spinning and weaving
machinery, and other related features.
=Materials.=--Too much can scarcely be said in favor of much cutting from
an unlimited supply of common wrapping paper, newspaper, or other waste
paper, in which the children are entirely unhampered by such injunctions
as, "Be careful and get it just right the first time, because you can't
have another paper if you waste this piece." The possible danger of
cultivating wastefulness is less serious and more easily overcome than the
very probable danger of dwarfing and cramping the power of expression.
Here, if anywhere, the rule holds good that we learn to do by doing, and
abundant practice is essential to success.
_Black silhouette_ or _poster_ paper is most effective when mounted, but
is too expensive for general use in large classes.
_Brown kraft_ paper and _tailor's pattern_ paper serve well for both
cuttings and mounts. Both of these papers may be had by the roll at a low
cost. The tailor's paper comes in several dull colors, which make good
mounts for cuttings from white scratch paper or the fine print of
newspaper.
_Bogus_ paper makes an excellent mount and is very inexpensive.
=The Pasting Process.=--To a large number of teachers the pasting lesson
is a time to be dreaded and its results a cause of discouragement.
Especially is this true if the class is large and the teacher attempts to
have all the class pasting at one time. In many phases of school work it
is so much easier to control forty or fifty children if they all act in
unison that we are prone to use the method too often and apply it to forms
of work much better managed by groups. The process of teaching little
folks to paste is greatly simplified by the use of the group method.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--Free cutting. Fourth grade. Columbia, Missouri.]
If the room affords a large table at which a small group may work, the
teacher can easily supervise the work of the entire group. If there is no
table, the teacher can work with one or two rows at a time or have very
small groups come to her desk. The secret of the success of the group
method lies in having the rest of the class busy with some occupation
sufficiently interesting to prevent impatience while waiting for turns.
The command to "fold hands and sit still till your turn comes" is sure to
cause trouble, because children are physically unable to obey it.
The most important factor in successful pasting is a liberal supply of
waste paper. Each child should be supplied with a number of single sheets
of newspaper torn to convenient size, to paste on, each sheet to be
discarded as soon as used. This decreases the danger of untidy work. With
the cutting laid upon the waste paper, the paste may be spread with brush,
thin wood, or thick paper, well out over the edges. As soon as the pasted
cutting is lifted the waste paper should be folded over to cover all wet
paste and lessen the possibility of accidents. After the cutting is placed
upon the mount, a clean piece of waste paper should be laid over it and
rubbed until the air is all pressed out and the cutting adheres firmly.
The waste paper overlay may be rubbed vigorously without harm, whereas a
light touch of sticky fingers directly upon the cutting will leave a
soiled spot, if it does not tear the moist paper. If children are
carefully taught in small groups to follow this method of pasting, in a
fairly short time all but the weakest members of the class will be able to
paste neatly without much supervision.