Myth Makers: All Hail the Queens

My Myth Makers have been hard at work this year getting ready for their Pegasus National Mythology Exam. Part of that prep work, of course, is reading and listening to all the stories, taking notes, and practicing their knowledge. But the other, FUNNER, part of the Myth Makers class is MAKING. This year, I've developed two new STEAM challenges that the students really enjoyed so I thought I'd share them here.

THE INCREDIBLE CROWN PROJECT: A few years ago, I wrote a STEM challenge in which the students had to design and build their own scepter to represent their personal god/dess power. You can read more about that project in this blog post. The kids loved it, but it took up a LOT of space in my classroom to store the projects. Some of these things were as tall as the students with multiple and moving parts. So this year, I thought I'd scale down the idea while still sticking to the theme of royalty and focusing specifically on Hera, queen of the gods, often demonized as the "jealous" wife of Zeus when in fact, she's more of a victim of his bad behavior. The project asks students to create a special crown for Hera, symbolizing her status. Because she was too busy to join us for a fitting, Hera had designated ME as her model. THAT detail really got some eyerolls (as I expected), but they totally used me as their mannequin. LOL

You can see the guidelines in this document. I started by demonstrating to the students how to fold a simple paper crown - this video explains it well - that would serve as a strong base for their designs, and they practiced using scrap paper before they began their actual project. It's super important to always start STEAM challenges by instructing the students in some basic skills, such as how to fold paper effectively. I know it sounds crazy, but some kids don't know how to make really flat, crisp folds. I'll never forget this incident from a couple of years ago: a new science teacher came over to my classroom to discuss an idea he had. He was going to use paper airplanes in his lesson, and I stopped him immediately, asking, "Are you sure the kids know how to make those?" He thought it was a ridiculous question, but he ended up having to rethink his lesson on the "fly" when, indeed, the majority of his students knew nothing about paper airplanes. It's a good reminder that, in today's world, teachers should not assume that students have the same experiences with making and building that our generation did. Years ago, during a lesson with arch building block kits, an 11-year-old told me he had never used building blocks before. Making is not the norm anymore!

The students worked in partnerships to make their crown designs, and some of the finished designs blew me away with their artistry!! These makers literally had paper, tape, scissors, and markers to make these things, and they totally delivered amazing works of art. After time was up (some teams worked until the very last second just like in Project Runway), we cleared a runway through the classroom, and I modeled each crown. One student asked if she could be the "commentator," and it was hilarious! As I worked that runway, the students wrote reflections on their work and the work of others (see page 2 of the linked document above). After it was over, I displayed the crowns easily by flattening them and stapling them to a bulletin board in my classroom (a plus if you have observers who like to see students' work). Can I just say how marvelous some of these were?! One team actually created paper peacock feathers that hung down from the back of the crown and shaped a paper bird on the front. It was stunning! Hera would definitely have wanted to wear these.

THE NUPTIAL NECKLACE PROJECT: The kids liked making crowns so much that I decided to keep going with the theme of adornment. Using Hephaestus as our maker model again, I challenged the students to make a necklace for Aphrodite. In the story of the mismatched love of Hephaestus and Aphrodite, he crafts many beautiful items for her, including a golden girdle (or belt) that makes her irresistable. Before the challenge, I taught the students two methods for designing their necklaces: paper chains and paper beads. They had lots of supplies to choose from, including glossy magazines and colorful papers. Some chose the simpler paper chain method, but others didn't shy away from making paper beads. These are beads made from long, triangular strips of paper that are rolled up on a stylus and glued to close them. There are so, so many tutorials online and so many materials that can be used to created these. But once I taught the students the basic methodology, they were off and running, taking the method into whatever direction they wanted to. Using the engineering design process as we do with every project, the students worked in teams of three and began with a sketch. After sketching their designs, they got to work on making and creating.

As always, they completely "ATE" this project (as they say). One team went deep into the relationship of Hephaestus and Aphrodite. They made shackle bracelets because they felt as though he was trying to restrain her from being with Ares. 

I modeled the necklaces in another fashion show, and they wrote their reflections (all linked in the document above). They learned a lot about Hephaestus, making, collaborating with partners, and had fun doing it all.

When I design maker challenges, I'm reminded of Dale Dougherty’s writings (he sums them up in this TED Talk). In case you don't know, he's considered by some to be the founder of the Maker Movement. “Makers are playful, resourceful, and experimental. They not only help themselves, but they help others. Makers do well because they can adapt to change as self-directed learners, but they are also agents of change. In this movement, makers are setting their agendas and asking others to join them.” I encourage my students to be MAKERS on a small scale because I'm hoping to inspire them to do BIGGER things later in life. They need practice!