Tunnel Books - Art Idea for Upper Grades

We came across this wonderful art lesson over at Teach Kids Art and wanted to share! It would be a great way to incorporate cross-curriculum teaching as it combines art skills and poetry. When planned accordingly, students could engage in a lesson that ties across classrooms (it would just require a bit of collaboration between art and classroom teachers).

To get started you'll want to review (or teach) the basics on haiku poems. Practice the 5, 7, 5 syllable layout by clapping it out as a class. Then use index cards to practice writing a haiku. Once your students have the hang of it, provide each of them with a post card that depicts a nature scene (these post cards will be the inspiration for their tunnel books). Have your students write a haiku about the scene shown on their post card and then they can get to work on completing their tunnel books!

It may look like a daunting project at first glance, but don't be deterred. Cheryl provides an amazingly thorough "how to" on her blog that will have you sailing through this lesson in no time! She even includes a complete list of supplies you will need to have on hand. And for those of you who would like a bit more explanation (step-by-step instructions with pictures), Cheryl provides a relatively inexpensive lesson plan at her TPT store.