Fourth Grade
Plaster Masks
How are masks used? What's their purpose? What do they look like?
Students get inspiration from their investigation of the history and culture of different masks from Italy, Japan, Greece, North America, and Africa. The students were tasked with making a representational, cultural mask for themselves. They use a paper mask base along with plaster strips, learning concepts of sculpture such as armature.
This lesson was such a hit with 4th grade that my co-op began the next quarter using it!
Presentation
Lesson Plan
Mask Base Building
Students analyze mask examples given in their presentation, voicing their opinions on them to narrow down their aesthetic preferences. After creating 3 different sketches in their sketchbooks, they begin with creating an armature for their favorite one. They use a paper mask base and begin building an armature using cardboard, tape, and crumpled scrap paper.
​Finished Masks
Students add plaster strips and then tempera paint onto the top of their masks to complete their design. They have a day to revise, after observing some masks one more time and setting parameters of 'successful' versus 'unsuccessful' masks as a class. The finished masks turned out beautiful!
