Lesson Overview:
In Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Lilly loves to wear nifty disguises. Students will help Lilly decide which nifty disguise she will wear, out of a choice of four masks and three dresses, through problem solving and by using a chart. Students will create a mask using either paper plate or store-bought eye masks. Students will have a mask parade and write in their Student Journal worksheets.
Length of Lesson:
One 45-minute class period
Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grades K-2.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- identify the disguises Lilly wears in Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Julius the Baby of the World, and Chester’s Way.
- problem solve to help Lilly create a nifty disguise using four masks and three dresses.
- keep a record of their predictions and answers.
- plan and create a mask.
Supplies:
- Glasses with Fake Nose
- Homemade monster mask
- Crown and red cape
- Movie star sunglasses
- Drawings of a solid purple dress, a dotted purple dress, and a striped purple dress
- Plain Band-Aids
- White paper plates, or store-bought cloth or plastic eye masks (enough for each child plus a few extra for accidents)
- For decorating the mask: sequins, fancy trim, bits of felt or fabric, netting, beads, wall paper samples, ribbon, feathers, pom-poms, and glitter
- For fastening the mask: hole punch, yarn, masking tape, paper clips, popsicle stick, or chopstick
- White glue
- Scissors
- Crayons
- Markers
- Colored pencils
Instructional Plan:
Warm Up:
Give each student a plain Band-Aid and let the student put it wherever he/she wants. Ask students why Lilly put Band-Aids on herself. (She wore them to feel brave.) Ask the students if they feel braver.
Skim through the following books, and point out pictures: Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Julius the Baby of the World, and Chester’s Way. Ask students to look for the various ways Lilly wears nifty disguises. Some disguises she wears are the following:
Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse: gold crown with red cape, false nose and glasses, and movie star sunglasses.
Julius the Baby of the World: gold crown with red cape, scary mask, black top hat and cape with mustache, glasses with false nose.
Chester’s Way: gold crown with red cape, scary mask, big hat with purple feather, cat costume and mask, cowboy hat, paper bag with face on it, black eye mask with newspaper hat, and blind-man glasses with cane.
Ask students: Why did Chester and Wilson recognize Lilly in her nifty disguise? (They noticed her red cowboy boots with a white star.)
Introductory Activity:
Discuss how Lilly’s disguises helped change her personality and behavior in good and bad ways. For example:
- Gold crown with red cape: Gave Lilly confidence; she pretended that she was the queen of everything.
- Scary mask: Gave Lilly permission to scare her baby brother Julius.
- Cat costume and mask: Gave Lilly a safe way to scare the bullies away from Chester and Wilson.
- False nose and glasses: Gave Lilly a way to be silly with the world.
Ask students again if the Band-Aids have made them feel braver yet? Has anyone noticed other kids who put on or asked for Band-Aids when they didn’t need them? Why do you think she/he did it?
Guided Practice:
Ask students if they have ever had a problem choosing a nifty disguise, perhaps for Halloween.
Lilly must choose a nifty disguise and a dress. How many different choices can she make? What will they look like? Her choices are:
- movie star sunglasses
- glasses with false nose
- gold crown and red cape
- homemade scary mask
- dresses: solid purple; dotted purple; and striped purple
Have students write their predictions in their Student Journal Handouts
Kindergarten and first grade students may need to use props to solve the problem. As the props are displayed and nifty disguises made, they should write or draw in their journals. You may create a worksheet with four crowns, four glasses with false noses, four scary masks, four movie star sunglasses, four solid dresses, four dotted dresses, and four striped dresses. Extra items will be left over. Have students cut out pairs of disguises and glue them into their journals.
Second and third graders may be more independent. Students may draw each nifty disguise, or create a written chart about each possible match. Check to see that twelve different nifty disguises are made.
Independent Practice:
Students create their own nifty disguises by making a Paper Plate Mask or an Eye Mask.
How to Make the Paper Plate Mask:
- Distribute plain white paper plates. Gently feel where each student’s eyes are and lightly mark the mask. Have students cut out shapes for the eyes.
- Punch holes into both sides of the mask. Attach yarn for tying around the head, or glue a popsicle stick or chopstick to one side of the mask.
- Display materials that may be used.
- Have students plan what the masks will look like, what materials will be used, and record their plans in the Student Journal Handout.
- Have students decorate the plates with markers, crayons, and other available materials. Let them use glue, masking tape, and paper clips to keep materials on the mask.
- Make sure that the glue is dry before students put the masks on.
How to Make the Eye Mask:
- Distribute store-bought cloth or plastic eye masks.
- Display materials that may be used.
- Have students plan what the masks will look like, what materials will be used, and record their plans in the Student Journal Handout.
- Have students decorate their eye masks on the front, from the bottom up. Have them glue or tape items on. More items at the bottom edge of the mask will hide the lower part of the face. Have students use paper clips to hold things in place while the glue sets.
- Glue or tape a popsicle sticks or chopsticks to the back side of the finished masks.
- Make sure that the glue is dry before students put the masks on.
Assessment:
Consider the following questions when assessing students' work:
Were different nifty disguises identified and were the answers identified and recorded? They should include the following:
- Movie Star Sunglasses/Solid Purple Dress
- Glasses with False Nose/Solid Purple Dress
- Crown and Red Cape/Solid Purple Dress
- Scary Mask/Solid Purple Dress
- Movie Star Glasses/Dotted Purple Dress
- Glasses with False Nose/Dotted Purple Dress
- Crown and Red Cape/Dotted Purple Dress
- Scary Mask/ Dotted Purple Dress
- Movie Star Glasses/Striped Purple Dress
- Glasses with False Nose/Striped Purple Dress
- Crown and Red Cape/Striped Purple Dress
- Scary Mask/Striped Purple Dress
Were the plans for the mask recorded?
Were masks made following directions?
Extensions:
Have a mask fashion show.
Discuss how costumes and masks are used in different countries. Explore the following Internet resources:
Students may also view the Kennedy Center's Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse Cuesheet to learn more information about Lilly's story and about the production of plays. The Cuesheet also contains activities students can do in conjunction with the story.
Sources:
Print:
- Gould, Robert. Making Cool Crafts and Awesome Art. Williamson Publishing, 1998.
- Henkes, Kevin. Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Greenwillow Books, 1996.
- Henkes, Kevin. Julius, The Baby of the World. Greenwillow Books, 1990.
- Henkes, Kevin. Chester’s Way. Greenwillow Books, 1988.
- Rump, Nan. Puppets and Masks; Stagecraft and Storytelling. Davis Publications, 1996.
Authors:
-
Mary Beth Bauernschub, Teacher
Kingsford Elementary School
Mitchellville, MD
