Constructing with paper: tabs, scores and folds
Art & Design · Key Stage 2 · The School
A flat sheet becomes solid
Paper is flat, but it can build real 3D shapes. Fold it, score it, and add tabs. A flat piece of card becomes a box, a tower, or a creature that stands up on its own.
Scoring makes a clean fold
A SCORE is a light line pressed into the paper before folding. It does not cut through. It just weakens the paper along one line. Fold along a score and the fold is sharp and straight. Fold without scoring and the fold is rough and uneven.
Tabs hold pieces together
A TAB is a small flap left sticking out on one edge. Fold the tab in. Glue it to the inside of the next piece. Now two separate pieces of paper are joined firmly. Most paper models are really just careful tabs, over and over.
Draw six squares in a cross shape on card. Score every line where two squares meet, using the back of a ruler pressed firmly. Fold along every score. The cross now folds up into a cube shape. Add small tabs to two of the edges before cutting out. Fold those tabs in and glue them to the inside of the matching edge. The cube now holds its shape without any tape at all. One flat sheet, six folds, two tabs, one solid cube.