edHelper.com

What Is Paper Maché?

---

What Is Paper Maché?
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	5.22

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		icons, imperial, lacquer, versatile, material, project, basis, artists, easily, beagle, lasted, works, races, fond, paste, chewed-up
	content words:		Imperial Russian, Great Britain, Maria Therese, Nathaniel Holmes Bishop, New York, Paper Canoe

---

Print What Is Paper Maché?

Print What Is Paper Maché?  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format

	Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
	Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format

Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity

Print a proofreading activity

---

Feedback on What Is Paper Maché?

Leave your feedback on What Is Paper Maché?  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Other Languages
     Spanish: ¿Qué es el Papel Maché?

---

What Is Paper Maché? By Colleen Messina

---

¹     I will never forget my first paper maché project. It started out as a giraffe. Then, it became a four-foot figure of Charlie Brown's beagle, Snoopy. He was easy to make, but then we had to figure out how to get Snoopy to school. My mother finally put it in the car with a seat belt! "Snoopy" made me famous in fourth grade. He was so simple to make that paper maché became one of my favorite art projects.
 
²     Paper maché means "chewed-up paper" in French. Paper strips are held together with wet paste. When it dries, it makes solid objects that can be painted. Often, objects like balloons form the basis of paper maché projects. Because the materials are so easy to find, paper maché is a versatile craft. It can create almost anything. And the best thing about paper maché is that there is no wrong way to do it.
 
³     Paper maché has been used by different cultures for hundreds of years. Imperial Russian artists in the 18th century perfected one kind of paper maché. At first, they used paper maché to create religious objects called icons. Later, artists made special boxes, trays, and desk sets. After the artists made the objects, they painted them with black lacquer. Then, the artist painted scenes on the shiny black surface. This kind of art was called Russian lacquer art.

Paragraphs 4 to 7:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

More Lessons

Art Theme Unit: Reading Comprehensions

---

More Activities, Lesson Plans, and Worksheets

Back to School Graphic Organizers Alphabet Worksheets Sight Words Math Worksheets Mazes 50 States Monthly Themes January February March April May June July August September October November December

Fractions Place Value Time and Calendar Money Earth Day Solar System Analogies Nouns Following Directions Listening Capitalization Cursive Writing Patterns and Sequencing Dinosaurs All About Me Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third Grade Fourth Grade Fifth Grade Sixth Grade

Multiplication Division Main Idea Cause and Effect Measurement Decimals Rounding Order of Operations Verbs Community Helpers Adjectives Plants Grammar Addition and Subtraction Contractions Bulletin Board Ideas Word Searches Crossword Puzzles Printable Puzzles Reading Comprehension Reading Skills English Language Arts

Copyright © 2011 edHelper