Our Papermaking Activity

Our Papermaking Activity

I believe that Wil's Papermaking Activity would fit in very well with my elementary school students. Actually, teachers could create a unit that incorporates several subjects (such as science, reading, writing, social studies, and math) so that we'd be teaching across the curriculum.

Wil opened his presentation with inquiry when he posed the question, 'When and where (in the world) did papermaking originate?' I would similarly like to use Wil's strategy with my students, too. We often ask our students to research and write using the "5 W's & 1 H - Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How." Our students could make use of technology, for example, at school, home, or at the Wyoming Branch Library, to access information about the origins of papermaking.

The actual papermaking activity would be a fun learning experience for students, too. Most students enjoy getting up and moving around. In view of the large number of students in our classes, however, I believe that students would need to work in cooperative groups (5-6) rather than in pairs as we had. Modeling would, of course, be important. I liked the YouTube video that Wil had us view prior to our papermaking adventure.

Way to go, Wil !