Handmade Cards

Art Literacy
Time 30 minutes
Age 7 & up
Group Size 4 or more
Tags Holiday, Individual, Paper

Is there someone you know who deserves a card?

Making handmade greeting cards is a great way for kids to make use of the paper that they worked so hard to create. At the same time, making cards encourages creative writing and practice of written language. It also helps children learn how to write clear sentences and paragraphs that develop a central idea, and how to be thoughtful about the audience and purpose of written material.

Preparation

Gather all materials, including the handmade paper from the Papermaking activity.

Handmade Cards
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Suggested Materials

  • Handmade paper from the Papermaking activity
  • Colored pencils and markers
  • Old magazines
  • Sample greeting cards
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Rulers
  • Stickers, rubber stamps, glitter and other decorations

Optional Materials

  • Envelopes
1

Make it Matter

Opening Discussion

Ask your students if they have ever received a greeting card before. What occasions do you send or receive cards for? What kinds of things do cards have written in them? Explain to your students that they will be using some of their handmade paper to create cards to give to their family and/or friends.

The Challenge

Use the paper that you made to create cards for your friends or family.

 

2

Make it Happen

Doing the Activity

  1. Students should work individually on this activity.
  2. Show your students the materials that they will use to make their cards. Point out the sample greeting cards which they can use as guides for the size and design of their own cards.
  3. Ask your students to think about who they are making their card for and why they are making them a card. Is it for a holiday or other special occasion? Is it to say thank you? Or maybe it is just to say hi—there are lots of reasons for giving someone a card. With the whole class, brainstorm words they may want to include in their cards. Write these words on chart paper or a chalkboard to help with spelling.
3

Make it Click

Let’s Talk About It

After 5–10 minutes, bring your students together to talk about what they have done so far. How did they decide what their cards would look like? How did they decide what the cards would say? This discussion should last no more than a few minutes.

4

Make it Better

Build On What They Talked About

Have your students finish making their cards and allow them to make more cards if they would like.

Suggestions

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