Subject Areas |
Art and Culture
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Folklore |
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Visual Arts |
History and Social Studies
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World History - Africa |
Literature and Language Arts
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Drama |
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Fiction |
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World |
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Time Required |
| Part 1: One to two class periods, 45 minutes each
Part 2: One to two class periods, 45 minutes each
Part 3: One to two class periods, 45 minutes each
Part 4: One to two class periods, 45 minutes each
Part 5: One to two class periods, 45 minutes each
Part 6: Three to four class periods, 45 minutes each
Extending the Lesson: Four to five class periods, 45 minutes each
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Skills |
| Observation and description
Gathering, classifying, and interpreting written and visual information
Making inferences and drawing conclusions
Map reading
Collaboration
Public speaking and presentation
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Date Posted |
| 4/12/2002 |
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The Meaning Behind the Mask
Introduction
It's masquerade
time! From ritual dancers to superheroes, the many faces of
masks are revealed in this lesson. After exploring the world
of African masks and storytelling, your students will be eager
to create masks that tell stories of their own.
In this unit, students explore the cultural significance of
masks. After recalling some of the contexts in which masks
are worn in the United States-e.g., Halloween, Mardi Gras,
the circus, parades, plays, or costume parties-students discuss
the use of masks in stories. Students then investigate the
role masks play in ceremonies and on special occasions in
various African cultures. Students will see pictures of African
masks online, pointing out the similarities and differences
between masks of different regions.
After a discussion of their impressions of the online masks,
the students will hear several folktales from African cultures.
Reading together will show how storytelling is used along
with masks and costumes to preserve and pass on the society's
values, morals, religion, and traditional and historical heritage.
As students study each region, they will recognize similar
cultural traditions and practices with those they have already
studied.
Finally, students will have an opportunity to choose a familiar
story and make simple masks to perform the story.
Guiding Question:
What is a mask?
What is a mask used for?
Who wears masks?
When and why are masks worn?
How have you seen masks used before?
What story can a mask tell?
Learning Objectives
After this lesson,
students will have:
- become
aware of the social purpose and significance of cultural
artifacts such as masks
- explored
connections between cultures and societies - including
American society - relating to their use of masks
1
Before the lesson, explore what students already know about
masks and discuss how masks are used in the United States.
Begin by asking students to name places and events where
they have seen masks. Students might, for example, mention
Halloween, Mardi Gras, the circus, parades, plays, or costume
parties. Talk about how masks can also be used in stories.
Explain that not all masks are "worn," that some masks are
painted directly on the wearer or storyteller's face. Have
students share occasions where they have seen masks directly
painted on people's faces or when they have had their face
painted. Ask students to recall what they felt when they
saw these masks. Have students demonstrate facial expressions,
e.g., happy, sad, scared, surprised, etc. An instant camera
may be used to photograph and record students' expressions
(useful later as mask prototypes). Label and display photographs.
Explain that
people wearing masks are actually pretending to be the character.
Emphasize that masks, like costumes, help people to tell
stories by providing the audience with a way to tell the
characters apart.
2
Next, present Africa as a continent of cultures with a rich
history of masks. Although Africa is a huge region, masks
are worn and used in village ceremonies throughout the continent.
Masks often represent departed ancestors, spirit beings,
and invisible powers. Mask features can be human, animal,
or combine elements and features from the human, animal,
and spirit worlds. Special significance is given to each
decoration, carving, and painting on every mask. Many masks
are combined with a headpiece so that the mask and headpiece
cover the performer's head entirely. Masks are used in social
ceremonies (weddings, funerals, etc.), seasonal celebrations,
and religious events. They are used to tell stories, impart
wisdom, and ask for spirit blessings and protections. Almost
always, the dancers are men and the honor of dancing in
these ceremonies is given to trained performers, important
members of the community, or family clans. Performances
include masked dancers dressed in detailed costumes and
musicians who provide energetic and vibrant musical accompaniment.
Through EDSITEment,
you can access many online resources where you can find more
information about the African continent as background information:
- The EDSITEment-reviewed
website African Studies WWW includes an Electronic Guide
for African Resources on the Internet. Click on to view
the Guide.
- Click on
for resources related to the study of Africa from the
Kennedy Center's "African
Odyssey Interactive."
- Click on
for country-specific
pages about the different countries in Africa from the
University of Pennsylvania's African Studies Center.
- For maps
of African countries and information on specific African
peoples, visit the EDSITEment-reviewed website Art
and Life in Africa. Click on to access "Peoples
Resources" or to access "Countries
Resources."
- African
Voices, an EDSITEment-reviewed website produced by
the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of Natural History,
explores African art, history, and political and social
themes through essays, timelines, images, and games.
3 After
these introductions on Africa, you are ready to see and
explore African masks online. Hundreds of mask images are
available through the Stanley Collection's Art
and Life in Africa site. After entering the site, scroll
down the main page and click on "Search the Stanley Collection
of African Art Database." Under the "Type" section, select
"masks" from the pull-down menu.
In some traditional
African ceremonies, female masks are worn by men. Visit
the EDSITEment-reviewed Detroit
Institute of Arts website to view some of these masks.
(Enter "African, Oceanic and New World Art" section from
the main page, and then click on "Men Who Dance as Women.")
You may share
these online resources by having students work at individual
computer stations; by assigning small groups to share a
number of computers; by displaying computer-projected images
to the whole class; or by printing out images and distributing
copies of them to students.
Show students
a wide range of styles and qualities of masks, permitting
their interests and observations to direct the presentation.
For each mask they see, have them describe what the mask
looks like (e.g., human, animal, child, funny, etc.). Have
them speculate on what may have prompted the creation of
the mask. In a story, what part might the person wearing
this mask play?
4 Now introduce students to African
folktales. Choose several folktales from African cultures
to read aloud to the students (preferably the same or similar
to the cultural origins of the masks viewed). For each story
selection, ask if the story sounds like any folktale students
have heard before. Have the students discuss the qualities
of each character (e.g., was the character "good," "bad,"
"tricky," etc.). Discuss the setting and plot, identifying
the story's "problem," and how was the problem solved. Ask
students what have they learned from the story. Were the
characters in the story different from us in any way? How
does the story help them understand the culture (people)
of the country being studied? What types of masks might
be worn by each character? How might masks be used to tell
this story?
There are numerous
online resources for African folktales. Click on to find
a valuable bibliography of print and online story resources
from The
African Odyssey Interactive. You'll find a selection
of illustrated stories by clicking (animal
stories) or (non-animal
stories). Click on to access a link to "Folktales
Around the World," where there is a section on Ghana.
For a selection of African trickster stories, visit the
EDSITEment-reviewed websites African Studies WWW and Art
and Life in Africa.
5 Discuss and choose a familiar story
with students in preparation for a class performance. Have
students recall the folktales from Africa that they have
heard. You may want to re-read some of the stories the students
like best. Have the students tell how the stories are similar.
Help guide the students' responses by suggesting that they
identify the "good" characters and the "bad" characters;
the story's problem and how the main character(s) helped
solve the problem; and characteristics of the main characters
(e.g., sneaky, foolish, mean, tricked, etc.).
Then ask students
to recall folktales, fairy tales, or other stories that
they already know. Encourage them to recall stories they
may have recently read or have seen on video. (Stories might
include "Chicken Little," "The Three Little Pigs," "Little
Red Riding Hood," and "The Bremen Town Musicians." Videos
might include: "Cinderella," "The Little Mermaid," "Pinocchio,"
"Snow White," etc.). Or they may have favorite stories that
involve superhero-type characters. Encourage the students
to recall the stories' settings, plots, characters, and
the stories' problems.
6 Now, choose a favorite folktale or
story to perform with masks. Using a story from the children's
reading books or online sources, read the story selection
to the students and review the details of the story.
Next, make
character masks. A simple mask may be made using an oaktag
circle about the size of a dinner plate with cut-out holes
for eyes and a V slit for the nose (be sure to use another
teacher or adult for cutting). Punch holes on either side
of the mask and tie a piece of yarn, string, or elastic
through the holes. Students can decorate the masks to depict
the faces of the story characters. If possible, embellish
the masks with feathers, beads, glitter, fabric, and other
tactile materials. To wear the mask: Put the mask on and
tie yarn, string, or elastic around the back of the head.
Assign parts
and present a skit based on the chosen story, with students
wearing their masks. Invite other classes or family members
to view the students' performance. ]
Extending the Lesson To approach the
performance more formally:
- Have the
students identify and list story characters.
- List story
events in order of appearance.
- Create
a script by having the students retell the story.
After the performance, conduct a
circle discussion to review and evaluate the performance.
Ask the students the following questions: How did they feel
while performing? How did wearing masks affect the performance?
Did the students feel as though they became the characters?
Were the characters believable? How might music, singing,
dancing, and/or props make the story even more believable?
In what other ways do people pretend?
Standards Alignment
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