With these funds I will purchase materials that will help my students tell stories about their personal and public lives. Our first unit in our Spanish for heritage language learners course will cover aspects of our multifaceted identities and tell stories about how we are perceived and understood in society. Masks offer a vehicle for us to create multimodal forms of expression that tell our stories and are also rooted in the histories and stories of many Latin American countries. Throughout our unit, we will explore fables, stories, and novels that speak to our identities, attempt to define them, and relate to them. Using these experiences as a backdrop, my students will them move onto create masks that tell stories about themselves. 

As our heritage language classroom will be compromised mainly of students who identify as Latinx, many of them will be familiar with masks and their cultural significance. Masks are prevalent in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico- countries where our students have ties to. By creating masks, my students are not only telling stories of their identities but are also building on deep historical traditions that many of them have witnessed and can relate to. In the past my students have created masks with milk gallons and newspaper. While these masks worked well, they lacked sturdiness and soon started to fall apart. It is my hope that by approaching this culminating project differently my students can have masks that stand with time and continue to tell stories about their lives. In addition to creating masks, students will write artist statements that explain the details, significance, and story of their masks. During our district-wide hispanic heritage month celebration these masks and statements will be on display for communities and families members to explore. 

This year, we hope to follow this model of masks. As such we are asking for the following materials: 

1. Blue Shop Paper Towels (2), $55
2. Plaster of Paris (2), $30
3. White School Glue (1 gallon), $15
4. Petroleum Jelly (multiple containers), $20
5. Face Forms (2 packs), $30
6. Oil Based Molding Clay (10 blocks), $200
7. Acrylic Paint (3 packs), $60
8. Imagination

Back Up Plan