Watermelon Weaving Project

Common Core Standard:​ ​Articulate required knowledge and skills concerning the elements
and principles of the arts, as well as arts history and culture.
- Source: ​https://www.nj.gov/education/cccs/2014/arts/intro.pdf

Watermelon Weaving & Standard:​ This project fulfills an element and principle of art: line (E)
and pattern (P).
- Project credit:
https://minimatisse.blogspot.com/2018/04/watermelon-weavings.html?m=1

Lesson Plan Template Questions

Goal
● The goal of the project is to teach students a different way of creating without
crayons/markers/etc
○ Creating with paper as is
● This is a one-time, one class project. It would be a mini project that would go in between
two larger, more prolonged projects as a mental break. It would also be a good
end-of-year/summer celebration project because kids associate watermelon with
summer
● This project correlates with Standard 1.1 (The Creative Process) in the Visual and
Performing Arts Standards of New Jersey

Objective
● Students will be able to :
○ Know how to create with paper and paper alone; no markers, paint, etc
○ How cut paper is more than just collage work
○ How to weave paper
○ Know the element of line and principle of pattern
○ Know art terms (loom, weft, warp, weaving -- will define and provide pictures of
terms in presentation)

Activities
1. Everyone is given the following:
a. Green, red, and pink construction paper
b. Scissors
c. Glue bottle
d. A pencil
e. A black Crayola marker
 2. Students fold the red paper in half hotdog style and draw a horizontal line a few inches
from the tippy top of the paper
3. Students will begin drawing little lines/tick marks on the top line
a. All spaced out evenly
4. Extend tick mark to go all the way down the folded side of the paper
5. Begin cutting the line but ​stop​ at the first horizontal line
a. If student cuts past horizontal line, they must start over
b. Make sure the cut lines are smooth, not choppy
6. Open up the red paper to see the open areas of the paper -- this will be where we
weave!
7. Split up pink paper into vertical lines with pencil and then cut them up
8. Take the cut up pink paper and begin weaving it into the red paper
a. Remember!​ Alternate your weaving patterns:
i. Over and under for one pink paper, under and over for the next, etc
b. Remember!​ Push the pink slits of paper together to make the weave stronger and
look better and make room for more pink pieces
9. When finished weaving and you notice loose ends of the pink paper moving around, glue
them down (front and back)
10. Take green paper and draw a giant letter U 2 times (will be easier to understand in
visuals)
11. Take scissors and cut out BOTH letter U’s (inside and outside U)
12. Put one line of glue on the back of the green U and spread the glue with your finger to
make sure all the paper will stick to each other
a. Not too much glue or things will get messy
13. Flip over the green, glued-up U and place it on your weaved pink and red papers and
rub the green paper onto the red to make sure it sticks
a. Make sure the U is lined up just right so you don’t glue it the wrong way
14. Cut the excess red paper around the green
15. [Optional] When everything is glued, take your black marker and draw as many or as
little seeds as you want!

Assessment
● Walk around the room and watch students, see where they are and where they’re
struggling
● As I demonstrate the project I can ask students if they are confused on anything before
doing the next step
● Demonstrate one step, send students to their seat to perform said step, and when
they’re done they come back to my demonstration table to get the next step
○ We basically all perform it together step by step
● No project complete = student did not learn