Book Craft Notes, Quizzes & Revision
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Art and Craft β Design, Mixed Media and Technology
Subtopic: Book Craft (for 10βyearβolds β Kenya)
Book craft means making your own books. You can write stories, keep drawings, or record science notes. We use different materials (paper, cloth, beads) and simple technology (phone camera, drawing apps) to make colourful books that show Kenyan ideas β folktales, nature, school work.
Learning goals
- Make a small book using everyday materials.
- Decorate the book using mixed media (paper, fabric, seeds, paint).
- Use simple technology (take photos or type a page) to add to the book.
- Share a short story or a local fact inside the book.
Materials (use what you have at home or school)
- Paper (old school sheets, newspapers, magazines, recycled paper)
- Cardboard for cover (1 small cereal box piece)
- Scissors, glue (PVA or glue stick), tape
- String, wool, or strong thread
- Paints, colouring pencils, markers
- Small cloth offcuts (kitenge/kanga), leaves, seeds, beads
- Needle (for sewing binding, adult help/adult holds needle)
- Phone or tablet camera (optional) or basic drawing app
Simple book types you can make
- Folded leaflet (pamphlet) β fold paper, staple or sew the middle.
- Accordion book β one long strip folded back and forth.
- Wrapped cover book β gather folded pages and glue them into a strong cover.
Step-by-step: Make a simple folded booklet (no staples)
What to do
- Take 4β6 sheets of A4 (or school) paper. Put them one inside another.
- Fold all papers together in half so the open edges meet.
- Make a cover: cut cardboard to the size of the folded papers and fold like the pages.
- Use a thick needle and thread to sew through the middle fold: make 3 small holes (top, middle, bottom). Sew in and out across the holes and tie a knot inside.
- Decorate the cover with paint, cut fabric, leaf prints, or magazine pictures.
Visual fold guide
Sew through the three holes along the fold.
Decoration ideas (mixed media)
- Glue a small kitenge scrap on the cover for colour and Kenyan style.
- Make stamps from potatoes or cut leaves for printing with paint.
- Add beads or seeds on the spine for texture (glue or thread them).
- Use photos from a phone camera β print or paste them inside to tell a story.
- Write a short folktale or a nature fact (e.g., about the olive tree, maize, or giraffe) to make it local.
Using simple technology
- Take pictures of drawings or school experiments with a phone, then print or paste into the book.
- Type a page using a basic app (Notes, Word) and print for a tidy page.
- Use drawing apps to make a cover design, then print it out and glue.
Safety tips
- Ask an adult to help when using needles, scissors or hot glue.
- Work on a clean table and keep small beads and seeds away from very young children.
- Wash hands after using glue and paint.
Classroom activity example (45β60 minutes)
- Warm-up (5 min): Talk about favourite Kenyan stories or animals.
- Make booklet (25β35 min): Fold paper, sew or stitch, make cover.
- Decorate & add content (10β15 min): Draw, paste photos, write a short story.
- Share (5β10 min): Each pupil shows their book and one sentence about it.
Simple assessment (what the teacher looks for)
- Has the student made a complete book with a cover?
- Is there a short text, drawing or photo inside that tells something?
- Did the student use at least one mixedβmedia material (fabric, seed, stamp)?
New words (vocabulary)
- Cover β the outside of the book.
- Spine β where the pages meet (you can sew it).
- Binding β how pages are joined together.
- Mixed media β using more than one kind of material or art (paper + cloth + paint).