Car and Truck Heroes and Heroines

Objectives:
1. Students will understand how the images of saints portrayed by New Mexican santeros change and evolve over time (historical and cultural understanding.)
2. Students will learn about the images and forms used to create santos and retablos (perceiving, analyzing and responding.)
3. Students will find their own solutions in the process of creating their own images of heroes and heroines in vehicles (creating and performing.)

New Mexico Educational Standards
Art 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Social Studies II
Native Languages 1, 2, 3

Materials
pencils, scrap paper, foam sheets 12" x 9", glue, sharpie markers, scissors, sequins, feathers, buttons, decorative papers (optional)

Motivation
Have students look at traditional images of saints as found in New Mexican retablos. Also show them images of contemporary retablos created by Charlie Carrillo, showing innovation by placing saints in vehicles that they are driving. Ask the students who their heroes and heroines are. They can discuss religious figures, political figures, musicians, actors, actresses, whoever they look up to. Why do the students admire certain people? What qualities do their heroes and heroines have? Have the students imagine the type of vehicle they would be driving and where they would be going. Tell the students that they will be making car and truck heroes and heroines and to use their imaginations to create a convincing work of art.

Procedure
1. Have the students draw their ideas for a car or truck on the scrap paper along with the figure they want to place inside it.
2. Cut out the images of the car and the hero or heroine from the scrap paper to use to trace onto the foam.
3. Cut out the foam.
4. Glue the figure into the vehicle.
5. Decorate with feathers, buttons, sequins, decorative papers and sharpie markers.

Evaluation
Have the students write labels for their Car & Truck Heroes and Heroines, including information about the characters they selected and vehicles they are driving. Create a display of the students work and utilize the labels.

Use the Car & Truck Heroes and Heroines to stimulate writing and character description. Have the students make lists of adjectives that could describe the heroes and heroines and another list to describe the cars. Students can merge lists and read them aloud. How do the descriptive words make them feel?

Students can research some of the heroes and heroines as well as the cars and the trucks. What are the heroes and heroines known for? When did the specific vehicles come out? How popular were they? Who drove them?

Intro | Vocabulary | Artists | Storyteller Project | Bibliography