“Wow, this is neat!”
“I didn’t know you were so creative!”
“What a good idea for hair!”
“Can I make another one?”
“What an interesting colour combination!:
“Cool!”

Combine this video, Maskmaking with Paper, construction paper and glue, and a few bits of decoration like feathers or sequins and you get these remarks.

In all test sites, the video was played a number of times. One group played the whole thing through and then started in step by step with many pauses. Another group just began with the first instruction and went back and forth as needed. In all the groups, there were students who chose not to make a mask - in one group a person held out until about halfway through and then wanted to start!

The 20 minute video is excellent. The presenter on the video was appropriate in language and tone for adults or children. She spoke clearly, at a good pace for following and presented the tasks in a sensible order.

We practiced listening skills, sequencing and eye/hand coordination. Sometimes we had to stop and figure out how the instructor in the video was holding her paper so we could cut it in the same place. The picture was perfectly clear, but sometimes we didn’t translate the action on first try. Afterwards, we tried to report the steps - more work in recall and sequencing. in all we spent almost three hours on the project.

Everyone in our group produced a mask and one person produced two. We put them on display around Halloween time and some parents then helped their kids make one. Some masks took on a definite First Nations flavour and others were horrible. A couple of students tried to make masks for friends with the video and were quite successful.

Another video in this series covers making masks of other materials such as clay or metal. It will be interesting to explore which of these might also be useful for class. I expect maskmaking will be a regular activity in our classes in the future.