Materials for the lesson

1. Square pieces of paper 20 x 20 cm for every pupil. Strong paper such as thick writing paper works best.

2. Different colors of water thinned paint and brushes (brought by everybody from home)

3. Small scissors (brought by everybody from home)

4. Simple paper Japanese hats for everybody prepared by teacher in advance.

5. Videoprojector with internet connection or short video prepared on laptop in advance

6. CD player or laptop for playing some traditional Japanese music

7. CD with traditional Japanese music or downloaded from internet.

Layout of the classroom

The classroom is in its normal shape.

Phase 1

The teacher says that today the class will make a travel to Japan in order to learn origami and gives everybody a paper Japanese hat. Then he/she explains what origami is – a Japanese art of folding and that a master of origami is considered as a very highly educated and respected person in Japan.

The aim of the lesson is everybody to make a paper snapping mouth, to color it and at the end to make a small theatrical improvised conversation in pairs.

The teacher plays short video for pupils to see how to make a snapping mouth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNnfVE7xvbc

Phase 2

The teacher plays traditional Japanese music during whole lesson, for example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPFabRaQI-0

He/she hands to everybody a 20 x 20 cm piece of paper and starts to give instructions how to make it step by step. The teacher make one head together with pupils to show them in practice how to do it and speaks:

1.Fold the paper in half from left to right. Then, fold the top layer back so that the right edge meets the middle fold.

2,Turn the paper over. Fold the top layer back to the folded edge. Crease it, then unfold this layer.

3.Neathly fold all the corners into the middle crease. Then, fold the right side over on to the left.

4.Fold the paper in half, then unfold it. Cut a 1 cm slit in the middle of the longest edge.

5.Fold back both halves of the longest edge on the side. Make the folds narrow at the points.

6.Continue by turning the paper over and repeating step 5 neathly on the other side.

7.Pull the long edges of the paper apart, as shown above, so that the points come together at the front.

Phase 3

When heads are ready everybody is free to paint then as a head of an animal by choice – snake, bird, lizard etc.

Phase 4

Pupils take few of last minutes to make an improvised theatrical conversation with painted heads in couples.