Fibonacci Folding Book Project

Author Photographer

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How to Make a Fibonacci Accordion Book

There are many ways to make accordion books. The folded pages in a Fibonacci accordion book are created using the first few numbers in the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8.

You Will Need:

a piece of paper 22 inches long by 5 inches tall. a rulera pencila scissors

Step 1:

With paper lying horizontally, measure from the left edge of the paper and mark a dot at the top and bottom of the paper at 1 inch from the left edge.

Step 2: Connect these dots with a straight line by aligning your ruler perpendicular to the paper.

Step 3: Fold the paper on the folding line you just drew.

You have just made the first page in your Fibonacci accordion book!

You will repeat steps 1-3 for each page in the book. The only thing that will be different is the measurement. With the rest of the pages, be sure to measure, mark, and draw your folding line from the inside of the first folding line as in the photo below.

page 2: measure, mark, fold 1 inch againpage 3: measure, mark, fold 2 inchespage 4: measure, mark, fold 3 inchespage 5: measure, mark, fold 5 inchespage 6: measure, mark 8 inches

Step 4:

Congratulations! You have just measured and folded 6 pages based upon the Fibonacci sequence to make a Fibonacci accordion book.

Step 5: Cut along this line.

1

If you are using your Fibonacci accordion book as a place to showcase a Fibonacci poem based upon a photograph, you will need the following items:

a photographa Fibonacci poem with 6 linesan adhesive such as double sided tape or glue dotsa pencilsupplies such as colored pencils or crayons to decorate or illustrate your book

Step 1:

Glue or tape the photo on the 8 inch page of the book.

Step 2:

Write each line of your Fibonacci poem on the appropriate page in the book. The first line with 1 syllable is written on the first page in the book. The last line of 8 syllables is written on the same page as the photo. So that all lines of the poem are visible from one direction, stretch out the folds to the left and write the words of your poem all on the same side of the paper.

Step 3:

Decorate and illustrate both sides of the pages if desired.

Step 4:

Display your Fibonacci poem book!

2

1.Gather magazines with high quality photographs: National Geographic, Smithsonian, Ranger Rick, etc.

2.Make photocopies of the accompanying story page.

3.Tear out some pages containing large, compelling photographs. (Pictures of animals are particularly good).

4.Ask students to choose a photograph, cut it out, and glue it to the accompanying story page.

5.Here are some options for the kinds of writing students can do:

a.Ask students to write a story about the photograph.

b.Encourage them to write down the details they see in the photograph.

c.Encourage them to imagine what happened right before the photograph was taken or what happened right after it was taken.

• ThislessonwascreatedbySarahC.Campbellforusewithelementaryclassesasa companion to her picture book Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator (Boyds Mills Press). Campbellwrotethetextand,alongwithRichardP.Campbell,tookthephotographsthatillustrate it. • Thislessonmeetslanguageartscurriculumobjectivesthatrelatetocreatingandinterpretingtexts.

Using Photographs to Prompt Story Writing

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(place photograph here)

InstructionsWriteyourownstory.Cutoutaphotographfromamagazine.Glueitinthelargesquare.Writea story about the animal, person, or thing in the photograph.

By:

This lesson can be used with elementary students as young as second grade. Depending on the level of difficulty of the captions you provide, it can be done through middle school.

1. Gather magazines with high quality photographs: National Geographic, Smithsonian, Ranger Rick, etc.2. Cut out 8-10 photographs (enough to provide one for each group). Trim captions apart from photographs. Set aside the captions. (You will be using them later.)3. Introduce the idea that photographers tell stories through photographs. Many students have heard the saying, “a picture is worth 1,000 words.” Ask if your students agree. Ask them to explain why.4. Divide students into groups. Assign the roles of recorder and spokesperson for each group.5. Ask each group to write a one-sentence caption for one photograph.6. Ask each spokesperson to stand, display the photograph, and read the caption.7. Read the published captions to the class and ask them to match the published captions with the photographs.

Another way to do this lesson is to make it a center activity for a group. Give a group a set of photographs with the captions cut apart and inside a folder or envelope. Ask students to predict the caption for each photograph. Then, the students should pull out the printed captions and try to match them up. Students will compare their predictions with the actual captions.

*This is a good lesson to use with students who will be writing captions (or cutlines) for their own photographs.

Writing Captions

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