Sushi- Fiber Rolls, Part 2

After making the clay sushi plates, I wanted to show my students what sushi is.  I work in an area where most students are privileged enough to have tried or a least have been exposed to sushi.  However, I never take anything for granted.  I know that there are a hand-full of students that would say 'yes, I know what that is' simply because everyone else seems to know.  I don't mess with food in my classroom for a couple of reasons.  One, Art rooms are dirty. Two, there are two many allergies to keep track of when you teach 800 kids. Three, I couldn't afford the materials for every student to learn how to make sushi rolls. I came up with a wonderful solution to this dilemma... make fiber sushi.

First, I showed my students how I make sushi at home.  I used to make 'peanut butter sushi' for my kids (peanut butter on a flour tortilla wrapped up in a roll).  Now my kids love our California rolls and they eat it with us.

I had to smile, every class gave me a round of applause after showing them how I make sushi. I asked if they wanted to make some sushi??  They were jazzed!  I told them our sushi was going to be made of fibers and explained what that was, then showed the video.

As they were watching, I was setting up the tables.  Each table got a couple of glue bottles and a bucket of fibers. Scissors were chosen by each student (and washed by them at the end of class as well).  Prep work for me?? Well, I did cut the fabric to the right size for the rolls (1 1/2 inches by 5 inches), but the rest was just finding the yarn and fibers from around the room and placing it in a bin for the students to share.

 

As the video wrapped up playing, I asked each student to write their name on a bag (or a sheet of paper) on the side of the room.  This was where they could place their rolls when they were finished.  I discovered that students were not able to make the final cut on the rolls because of the student grade scissors I have, so I did that portion of the project for them because I had some fabric scissors available to me.

The first day I said line up and write your name on a sheet of paper.  They all bounced up because they were so excited and pushed and shoved to get in line to write their name.  I discovered on day two a better way to have students write their name on the side counter top and get started working.  See the video on my new system.

The kids worked hard!  Most students were able to complete two, but some only 1 and I capped them at 3. The rubber bands were over by where they were to leave the rolls so they simply placed a band on their roll and left it for me to cut.

The rolls were cut over the next couple of hours as different classes came in and started to work on their projects.  It was also a chance to let these rolls dry a bit before placing them in a baggy for the students to get back the following week.

That wasn't the end of the sushi... Come back tomorrow to see the fun activities we did with the plates and fiber sushi rolls.