Tlingit Masks - May 2010

The 4th graders have been studying regions of the U.S. this year.  For each of the 5 regions that we study, we also focus on Native Americans that have lived/currently live in that region.  Right now we are just finishing the West, and we have been studying the Tlingit tribe.  This tribe is famous for carving totem poles, having potlatches (the beginning of our "potlucks") and making animal masks.  Our classes made "masks" the other day on the computer.  Each student chose an animal that he/she felt they were similar to.  Each student took a photo of himself/herself on the computer's camera, found an image of his/her animal online, and layered the animal's face over his/her own face.  They then wrote poems describing their animal and comparing themselves to their animals.  It was so fun - their masks and poems are amazing!
Mrs. Goertzen