- Take a square piece of paper, color side up. Be careful when folding! Unlike origami paper, newsprint will tear easily.
- Fold it in half diagonally, corner to corner, and then open it again. Turn the paper over and make the other diagonal fold. Open it again.
- On the same side, fold the paper in half so the opposite edges match up, like a book. Open it up and repeat with the other edges, then unfold the paper but do not flatten.
- White side up, pull the four corners of the square together toward the middle. The paper shoud fold in on itself naturally. You should have a smaller square with one crease dividing it into equal triangles; the bottom is disconnected.
- Take the left corner of the top layer and fold so the outer edge lines up with the center crease. Repeat with the other corner to make a kite shape. Turn over and repeat on the other side.
- Fold the top triangle corner down and crease. Repeat on the other side so you have a marker line for the next step.
- Open up the folds made in steps 5. Take the bottom corner (top layer ONLY) and pull up as far as you can, so the creases fold in on themselves. Press flat.
- Turn over and repeat step 7. You should now have an elongated kite shape, separated on the bottom half.
- Take the two middle corners of the top layer and bring them together. Repeat on the other side, and press flat. You should still have a kite shape, but now the top section should be two separate triangles; these will be the head and tail.
- Fold the top layer of the bottom half up so that it matches the top corner. Turn over and repeat with the other side. You should now have a triangle.
- The two outer layers are the crane’s wings; the two inner triangles are the head and tail. Pull the head and tail out and down so they aren’t vertical. Press flat.
- Now it’s time to experiment because you don’t know which end is which. Take what will be either the head or tail and pull gently while holding the base of the opposite end. If you’re pulling the tail, the wings should move up and down in a flapping motion. If they don’t flap, try the other end. Don’t get frustrated! Your crane will eventually fly.
- Once you have found the head and tail, take the head end and fold it down to form the beak.
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