Cut Paper Project

I thought I would give my kids a reprieve from all of the drawing and shading and give them a more hands on project. I had done a cut paper project years ago when I was a middle school art teacher with great results so I figured I'd revisit this particular project. I honestly thought it would be a quick, painless process for them. WRONG!

The concept has completely gone over their heads, I'm not exaggerating when I say that I am completely shocked that they can't grasp the process. I gave them a practice paper and when I looked at the results it was clear they did not understand.

I have had to take a few steps back to help them understand the concept. One thing that I did was have them create this "bulls eye" design out of construction paper. The goal is to have one complete piece when they are done cutting. I want them to understand that everything has to be connected in order for it to work. Afterwards I had them paste a magazine page on the back for added interest.