Primary Handwork :: CHAPTER II PAPER CUTTING AND POSTER MAKING

CHAPTER II 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 coÖperative 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.)

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.

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.

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