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MurrayAvenueSchoolArtAppreciation2015

Japanese Origami

Lesson Objectives Introduce history of origami, basic terminology, origami colors; The significance of the crane in Japanese origami; Hands-on practice.

Lesson Plan

1. Introduction and history of origami (5 minutes)2. The Crane - 1,000 cranes for World Peace – The Story of Sadako

Sasaki (10 minutes)3. Colors of origami, basic terminology (5 minutes)4. Hands-On Projects (40 minutes)

Lesson Materials Visuals Origami paper

********************************************************************************1. a) Introduction

What is the meaning of Origami?

Origami is the Japanese word for paper folding. ‘Ori’ means to fold and ‘kami’ means paper. It is an art form that has been passed down for many generations. It involves the creation of paper forms usually entirely by folding! Noglue or paint is needed. Adults and children can learn to make animals, flowers, birds, puppets and geometric shapes in one session!

Show visual #1. Ask children about their experience.

1. b) History

Who were the first paper folders?

Show visual #2 of China and Japan flags. Ask the children to identify which are the flags of China and Japan.


Ask the children: If we fly to these 2 countries, how many hours from New York to Beijing (capital of China) or Tokyo (capital of Japan)? The answer: about 14 hours!

There is a debate as to who were the first paper folders! Many believed that origami was invented in China in 100 A.D, and in Japan in 600 A.D. Many believed that the China was responsible for paper making. Chinese paper folding is certainly part of the Chinese culture. In traditional Chinese, folding is called ‘zhezhi’. Chinese people love to fold boats, hats and pagodas. During Chinese traditional funerals, when people are buried, replicas of items are folded and buried with them.

In contrast, the Japanese people were more interested in the living forms. It is believed that paper making was spread to Japan by Buddhist monks. Paper used to be viewed as a luxury item, only for the rich. The Japanese people developed a thin durable paper known as ‘washi’. It is customary to use this to wrap offerings to gods during religious ceremonies and for gifts. It became so popular that they developed ways to fold paper to make it more attractive.

Refer to visual #3 of paper cranes hanging in a church hall (for a wedding?).

Origami was found to be popular during births, weddings and funerals – especially in the wrapping of gifts. Cranes and flower origami mean friendship and love, and usually used at weddings as it represents a long and happy marriage.

2. One Thousand Cranes for World Peace – Sadako SasakiShow visual #4 of ‘Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes’, by Eleanor Coerr


The Crane. The crane is the most well known symbol in origami. It is a symbol of honor and loyalty. It is often viewed as a majestic bird – it mates for life as it is loyal to its partner. Its image is one of strength, grace and beauty. It is also known to represent long life and good health.

Tip for class lead: Show a paper crane that you have made!

Ask children of their perception of the crane. In Japan, the crane is a traditional sign of long life and good fortune. According the folk tales, if one crane represented 1,000 years of happiness, then a thousand cranes would mean one million years of happiness! (Takayuki Ishii, One Thousand Paper Cranes)

The crane is also a well-known symbol for peace. In Japan, every child eventually learns to make the crane. In her famous book, ‘Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes’, the author Eleanor Coerr, tells the story of a young girl who was exposed to radiation from the atomic bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima, to try to end World War Two. Ten years later, she died from leukemia, as a result of radiation from the bomb. When she was ill, her friend visited her in hospital and showed her how to make an origami crane. Her friend told her that a crane is supposed to live a thousand years. So, if she makes one thousand paper cranes, she will be healthy again. So began Sadako’s quest to make 999 more. She made up her mind to be brave and in making the cranes, it took her mind off her illness. Soon, she inspired the other patients at the hospital to make the paper cranes. As she did not have paper, the nurses would give her newspapers, magazines and medicine wrappings to make them.

After she found out that her illness came as a result of war, Sadako spread her message of peace as she folded her cranes. Soon she folded hundreds of them. Her health improved and she was allowed to go home. Unfortunately soon after, her illness returned and she became weak. With less than 700 cranes to fold, Sakado lapsed into a coma and died. She was 12 years old. When her classmates realize that she had not been able to complete her dream, they all decided to learn how to fold the crane. Soon the 1,000 cranes were completed!

The children decided to write to other children all over Japan to tell them of the story of Sadako and asked for donations for a monument in her name to spread her message of peace. When the Japanese government learnt of the


plan, they decided to rename a park in Hiroshima, “Peace Park”. Today there is a statue of Sadako holding up a giant golden crane, in the park.

Show visual # 5 and # 6.

Her classmates were asked what they should inscribe on the base of the statue. This is the wish that they chose:

This is our cry This is our prayer Peace in the world

August 6 is Peace Day in Japan. Show visual # 7.

Today, there are people who still place the paper cranes at her statue on that day, to make their wish. There is also a statue of her in the Seattle Peace Park. Refer to visual # 8.

It is amazing that one child has made people all over the world aware of the need for peace!

For parent volunteers: This book is recommended for young readers from grade 3 and up. As it is a chapter book, we will not read it in class. When relating the story, there is no need to emphasize the “death” aspect of the story to the children (young children may not understand the concept of war), but instead focus on the positive aspect of peace and the symbol of the crane.

3. a) Colors in Origami

Origami paper is usually sold in packets, with many colors. Discuss the following colors with the children and ask them for their perception of what it means to them.


Red – luck, good fortune Orange – creativity, sun Yellow - Cheerful, friendship, caring, comfort Green – nature Brown – earth, stability Blue – calm Purple – royalty Black – strength, business, power

3. b) Commonly Used Origami Terms

Demonstrate to the children using origami paper:

Making a crease line Valley fold Mountain fold

4.Hands-On Project

All materials will be supplied. Each child will be given a choice of different colored origami paper to create their origami projects at school, and those who wish to bring them home to continue the projects, are welcome to do so! Please refer to instructions at the end of this lesson plan.

Kindergarten: The children will learn to make a dog face, a cat face and a house. If time permits, volunteers are given the option to teach the simple tulip flower and heart shape to them.

Grades 3 – 5: The children will learn to make the crane. If time permits, they will learn to make the above origami forms. Some third graders may have difficulty in folding the crane. If so, encourage them to create the other origami projects (stated above). The children are also welcome to bring home a crane that they made. Show visual # 9 and explain that with many cranes, this is what it will look like.

Use the words 'triangle' and 'rectangle' in explaining the folds. Refer to the 'Origami Symbols and base folds' at the end of this handout.

Grades K - 3: The children will learn to make a dog face, a cat face and a house, a simple tulip flower and a heart shape.


Resources For this handout, we have used the instructions from the following book:

Easy Origami, by John Montroll (this book can be found on Amazon).

There are many websites that offer great tips for origami projects! You can read more about ideas for origami projects on YouTube or the following: www.origami.about.com www.origami-instructions.com www.origamiway.com en.origami-club.com www.theragami.com

Tip for volunteers: Ideally, each class should have at least 4 – 5 parent volunteers. Each parent volunteer can then lead a small group of 4 or 5 kids to fold a particular origami. The children can rotate around the groups to learn all the different origami forms.

At the end of the session, the parent volunteers will gather the paper cranes and put them into the box provided in the PTA room. The Art Appreciation committee will string them up and donate to Sarah Neuman Center in Mamaroneck.


Origami Instructions:

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