Construction paper (various colors)
Scissors (child-safe)
Glue sticks
Large sheets of paper for the background (blue for the sea and sky)
Preparation:
Cover the working area with newspaper or plastic sheets to manage any mess.
Place all materials within easy reach of students.
Introduction:
Explain the concepts of translation (moving an object from one place to another without rotating it) and rotation (turning an object around a point) to the students using simple terms and visual aids.
Activity:
Distribute construction paper, scissors, and glue sticks to each student.
Ask the students to cut out shapes to create a boat and other elements of the scenery (e.g., waves, sun, clouds).
Have the students glue the blue construction paper on the background sheet to represent the sea and sky.
Ask the students to position their boat on the “sea” and glue it down.
Demonstrate how the boat can slide across the water to show translation. They can draw a series of boat positions to illustrate the boat moving forward.
Next, ask the students to cut out and position the sun in the sky.
Demonstrate how the sun can perform rotation by cutting out multiple sun shapes and gluing them in a circular pattern around a central point to show the sun’s movement across the sky.
Display:
Once all the sceneries are complete, have the students share their artwork with the class.
Pin or hang the completed sceneries on a display board.
Discussion:
Gather the students around the display and discuss the concepts of translation and rotation as seen in their artwork.
Reinforce the concepts by relating them to real-world examples (e.g., sliding a toy car for translation, the movement of the sun in the sky for rotation).