Masks

Today in our Music and Fine Arts class we created masks that were of a bird and decorated them. I think that this could be the start to a very good study of cultures and the types of masks that different cultures create and hide behind. For America, masks are something that can be used in cinema, dance, theatre, music, design, and even cosmetics, but what about the Middle East? or Africa? or even South America? It would be a very cool and engaging unit to do because you could use the inquiry method to research other cultures and what kind of masks they create. There would also be plenty of writing prompts and writing ideas. One idea I thought of would be to have them create their own mask, of their chosen culture to study, and then write a story that goes along with the mask or a narrative of how the mask was inspired.