Cobra Knot Keychains

In class today we learned about the history of knots, as well as the different types of knots that there are and their uses. We learned that in the 1800s someone wrote a book entailing all the different kinds of knots known to them at that time and detailed their strengths and weaknesses. This helped people determine whether a knot was suitable for tying boats, flags, etc. The teachers asked us what we know of now that utilizes knots. We listed tying our shoes, tying down tents, fishing lines, etc. The teachers then introduced to us the cobra knot, a knot we were going to use decoratively to make our own keychain. We learned how to make the knot with yarn, which was less difficult than using the craft lace right away. We then moved on to the craft lace, to create our own keychains. We tied our strings to our keychain and then began. We had to utilize our knowledge of color schemes to choose the colors for our keychains. Primary or secondary color schemes were what was assigned.

I think this was a good assignment. For an expansion activity, it would be possible for students to make their keychains more meaningful to them; utilize different colors or perhaps even beads to decorate their keychains to personalize them more. Students could then present their keychains to the class and talk about what the different things symbolize. For example, students could use a green color scheme with floral beads to symbolize their love for the outdoors.