Torn Paper Monsters

This is a lesson that I have done with second graders two years in a row now. It's great to do around halloween time. Not a halloween lesson, but fun to talk about monsters. First, we discuss all the possibilities as to what a monster could look like. I read the book When a monster is born. It...is...hysterical. The kids get such a kick out of it. Next I demonstrate how to rip all of the shapes using our hands, NOT SCISSORS. It's amazing how many students are hesitant to use their hands, some try to sneak scissors. Once they get into it and figure out how to create the shapes they forget about 'em. I talk about overlapping and lots of layering. This is what the second graders at Martin Luther King Jr. came up with this year!