positive/negative space radial desgins

Ok, lets see if I can describe how we did this project. I was able to demo it to 50 kids but sometimes visuals speak better than words.
This lesson is good for talking about positive and negative space, mirror symmetry and rotational designs and you could throw in organic and geometric shape. I did this with 6th and 7th graders but I think 5th grade could easily do it and maybe some sharp 4th graders.
(even simple ones look good, a 4th grader could do this)
I got a basic hexagon shape and enlarged it on the photocopier. I went ahead and divided the hexagon into 12 parts for the kids and then traced a copy of one of the 12 wedges of the hexagon onto an separate paper. The wedge is a right triangle. Each student received a sheet with the hexagon and a sheet with the wedge. I asked them to divide the wedge into 3-5 areas using organic and geometric shapes or lines.
(mirror and rotational symmetry...good math review)
They are to go over their lines with sharpie and cut out the wedge. Then they slip the design wedge under the hexagon and trace their design into every OTHER triangle. (tell them to make sure the right angle location is the same in each space) By going over your lines in sharpie you can see the lines without a lightbox. 6 sections should have the design. Have your students choose parts of the design to keep white and parts to color black. To make reversing the image simpler I had my kids work top to bottom alternating areas in white and black. Color in the 6 sections you have made already.

Now have the kids flip over the design triangle and trace the design onto the back side of the paper basically creating a mirror image of the original design. Have the students put the flipped over triangle under their paper and fill in the remaining 6 spaces (the right angle of the triangle is now reversed). After you have traced the design into the remaining spaces then have the students color in the 2nd set of triangles doing the exact opposite of the first set. What was black in the first triangle now needs to be white and what was white now needs to be black.

Trying to write this down makes it sound very confusing, BUT when I demonstrated it the kids understood with no problem and were able to help each other out. (Let's keep in mind I work with kids who are consistently several grade levels behind so that means your 4th or 5th graders should be able to figure it out just as well as my 6th and 7th graders.)

You could also do this project in black and a color or even two colors but I like how the black and white really pop. I don't have a lot of photos because the kids actually took this project home with them!!! It took most of the kids 3 50min class periods to complete.