Studio Notan LEARNING HUB
Launch Studio
Student version · Kindergarten

My Shape, My Space, My Crest

You will cut shapes from a dark square. Each shape flips out, like a door. The hole it leaves is its space. The shape and the space are twins. In Japan, many families have a crest of dark and light. You will make a crest too.

A half vase cut from the right edge joins its folded piece into a whole vase in two values, while the sheet on one side and the ground on the other become two faces in profile; above, a circle drawn outside the sheet lands where it was drawn, its hole mirrored just below the top edge.

the sheet’s front a flipped piece, showing the back the ground

Open Studio Notan

I can

  • find and name circles, squares and triangles in my room
  • cut on a line, from edge to edge
  • flip each shape over its edge and point to its space
  • make and flip three shapes on the screen
  • tell what a crest shows and where a family puts it
  • tell about my crest and a friend’s crest

Words to know

shape
The piece that flips out.
space
The hole it leaves.
edge
Where the paper stops.
flip
Turn it over, like a door.
crest
A picture for a family. In Japan it is a kamon.
circle
Round. No corners.
square
Four same sides. Four corners.
triangle
Three sides. Three corners.

What to do

  1. Mix a little color into white. Paint your big paper light.
  2. Lay a shape on the edge of your dark square. Trace it.
  3. Cut on the line. Start at the edge. End at the edge.
  4. Cut three shapes from three edges.
  5. Glue your square on the light paper.
  6. Rub glue by an edge. Put the shape in its hole. Flip it over, like a door. Press.
  7. On the screen, make a circle, a square and a triangle. Tap an arrow for each.
  8. Show a friend. Point to a shape and its space.

Challenge

Can you cut the same shape from all four edges?

Check your work

  • I cut three shapes or more.
  • Each shape touches its edge.
  • Each shape has its space right beside it.
  • I used two kinds of shape or more.
  • I told a friend what I see.

Think about it

  • Which shape was easiest to cut?
  • What does your crest stand for?
  • What did you see in a friend’s crest?

Teacher version of this unit