Sunday, June 26, 2022

Williams Middle School - Practicum Teaching: Tunnel books

Over the course of my 2022 Practicum teaching semester at Williams Middle School I taught several engaging lessons to students in grades 6th through 8th.  This past winter I created and taught a lesson to a group of 8th grade students about artist books, in particular the ‘tunnel book’.  Tunnel books are a series of cut-paper panels placed one behind the other, creating the illusion of depth and perspective.  The individual art panels are attached to an accordion folded side panel, with two boards, the front and back, pulling apart the illustrated panels which are lined up and viewed through a front opening.  Through the creation of their own tunnel book students explored scale, three-dimensional construction, linear perspective and atmospheric perspective in order to understand that it is possible to create the illusion of depth and space from flat 2D planes.  Additionally, students were prompted to brainstorm how they would creatively present their completed book to a viewer (placement in the classroom, lighting, 4D effects).   
 
I had students start this project by creating a brainstorming sketch in which they planned out each layer of their book (foreground, middle ground and background).

After students had met with me to discuss their plan, they could then move onto the book construction process.
 
 


The final step in the project was to assemble the tunnel book, which I assisted students in doing.
 

Below are the four books that were completed by my students. 
 







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