WE WEAR THE MASK POEM & ART | Inside Outside Poem Dunbar BLACK HISTORY MONTH

In this no-prep, easy-to-use unit inspired by Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” poem, students will use art and poetry to deeply analyze the masks we wear, distinguish between their inside vs. outside character and personality traits, and represent these findings through a self-created mask. This engaging activity turns this abstract concept into an activity that is high-interest, easy to understand, and memorable!

This The Mask I Wear Product Includes 12 NO PREP, easy-to-use pages:

•Pages 1-2: Suggested Teacher Instructions (Including links to videos and poems)

•Pages 3: Mask Poems (1 easy; 1 hard)

•Page 4: We Wear the Mask Brainstorm Sheet

•Page 5: We Wear the Mask Directions with pictures

•Page 6: Example Mask

•Pages 7-10: 4 Mask Templates

•Pages 11-12: Rubric (2 options)

***Click the "Preview" button to see the FULL Packet!***

This simple format makes it applicable for 5th-12th grade students...and beyond! This All About Me Art can be used in any school subject as a Get to Know You Activity at Back to School Time, as a Halloween Mask activity, during Black History Month (Paul Laurence Dunbar is an African American poet), during your poetry unit, as an art integration activity, for a Back to School display, Open House display, hallway display, or wonderfully colorful classroom display that makes students feel at home in your classroom!

This Me Mask Helps You:

•Get to know your students and show them you care about them as a person!

•Integrate SEL into your classroom in a simple way that helps your instruction throughout the year

•Create a positive classroom culture

•Help students understand themselves better

•Help students distinguish between inside character traits and outside traits

•Open conversation about how students feel “on the inside”

Ways to Use...with students, staff, and friends!

•Beginning of Year Get to Know You Activity

•As a character analysis

•Binder Cover

•Cubby Cover

•Bulletin Board Display

•Back to School Display

•Open House Display

•Thematic unit

•Poetry Unit

•Black History Month

•Halloween

•Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)

•Data notebook

•Professional Staff Development

•Advisory meetings

•Specials classes

•Counseling group

•Afterschool club

•Summer camp program

•With your family and friends!

•Just for fun!

How I Use It In My Classroom:

I have used this with my 5th-8th grade students for years. You can see Personality Art Extension Activities and inventoriesin my store here.

We do it at the beginning of the year as a Get to Know You Activity. I have students complete the Personality Inventories to learn more about their "inside selves". We then watch the videos and read the poems about "masks" we wear. This leads to a wonderful discussion every time! They then brainstorm their inside and outside character traits to put onto their masks. I hand out the Direction sheet (in page protector so I can reuse it). Students follow the directions, present it, and then put this as their Binder Cover or Cubby Cover.

**This can also be used to analyze characters in books or novels.

Related Resources

Check out the “Getting to Know You” section of the Megan Memories store for these related resources:

Personality Inventories:

•Book Genre Personality Inventory

•Science Personality Inventory

•Social Studies Personality Inventory

•True Color Personality Inventory

•Harry Potter House Inventory

•And many more!

Self-Discovery Inventories:

•Learning Style Inventory

•Group Work Style Inventory

•Big 5 Personality Traits Inventory

•Brain Dominance Inventory

•Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory

Personality Art Extension Activities:

•Me Mask (Inside/Outside Character Traits)

•Acrostic Personality Poem

•Name Tent Glyph

•Picasso Personality Portrait

•We Wear the Mask (Poetry + Inside/Outside Personality Mask)

•Two Voice Poetry (Inside/Outside Personality Poem)

To earn TPT credits to use on future purchases:

•Go to your My Purchases page (you may need to log in). Beside each purchase, you’ll see a Provide Feedback button. Simply click it and you will be taken to a page where you can give a quick rating and leave a short comment for the product.

•You can check your credit balance on your TpT Credit Balance page. Every 100 Credits is worth $5 that you can apply towards future TpT purchases in my store or any TpT store. I value and appreciate your feedback!

•Be the first to know about my new products, discounts, and freebies:

•Look for the green star next to my store logo and click it to become a follower or click here.

•You’ll receive customized email updates about this store and be the first to know when new products are added.