Thursday, May 22, 2014

Creating Character Masks - An End of the Year Reading and Writing Project


For the last and final at-home project this school year, I assigned my students to an activity that can be completed with any book. I asked for them to choose a book they read at any point during fifth grade. 

Each student was given a plain mask to decorate in a way that depicts or symbolizes the character from the book they chose. The idea isn't to make the mask look like the character, but rather symbolize the character in some way.

For the second part of the project, I assigned a written report for students to complete. The report asks for an overview of the story (beginning, middle, and end), a description of the main character and why the mask was designed in such a way, and finally an explanation as to why this book would be recommended to other readers.

I explained to my students that this project will be shared with their sixth grade LA teacher in her preparation for the next school year. This was the extra push to do well that some students may have needed since we are approaching the end of the school year. 

Here are some examples of their masks:




I also love the display I was able to create in my classroom! 





2 comments:

  1. A hearty congratulations for a job well done to you,Julia and to community for 5th grader learners! TK

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  2. Where did you get the masks? I love this idea. I think the fact that the masks represent something important about the character rather than a "picture" of the character is so smart! Pinning!
    Caitlin
    TheRoomMom

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