Eighth-grade students in Ginger Reese's Language Arts class tapped into their creative side to bring their reading assignments to life through mask making.
As part of their MYP curriculum, the middle schoolers explored tangible symbolism and how authors use an object to add deeper meaning to a story. The students learned how to identify and document these symbols through readings of short stories, including their most recent, "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe.
"The story involves a ballroom venue divided into a suite of seven rooms, each of a different color from blue to black," Reese shared. "William Shakespeare even acknowledges these seven rooms as the "Seven Stages of Man," with each room representing the stages of man's progression through life."
Continuing with the masquerade theme from Poe's short story, the students teamed up with STEAM teacher Kim Bullard to create masks symbolizing their version of the stages of life.
Using the MYP criterion, each mask was judged by its use of at least one 3D element and its overall design and originality, resulting in a unique final product for each student.