Literary Banners: English Classroom Craft

So you may remember from a previous post that I like the idea of making decorations from ruined books. This summer, I made my first one - a banner made from old pages of The Giver. I'm probably going to hang it across (or slightly above) my whiteboard, or another long wall.

Want to make your own? Here's how!


What you'll need:

• "Ruined" copy of your chosen book (with several decent pages... the bottom left/right corners can have tears since they will be cut off...)
• Paper slicer (or scissors if you trust yourself to make clean lines)
• Tape (I used a clear Scotch tape)
• Ribbon, jute, or string
• Hole puncher (I used a single hole punch)

Directions:

1.  Measure how long you want the banner to be, and estimate the number of pennants you'll need. Remove the correct number of pages from your book. 

2.  Cut your pages into isosceles triangles. I did this by gently folding my pages in half and then putting them diagonally through my paper slicer.    

                           

3.  Tape your pages onto construction paper. *Important*: Don't put the tape in the upper corners of the triangles (where it will interfere with your hole puncher). Consider running tape down the middle instead.

4.  Cut out the triangles from the construction paper to your decided edge width.
5.  Hole punch all triangles in the two upper corners.

6.  Lace your chosen string through.
7.  Hang in the desired place.

Done! Let me know what you think and if you have questions. If you want a different look or don't have time to create a banner this way, head over to my friend Danielle Knight's blog to look at her premade literature banners!

Happy back to school!