Ravindu Ranawaka

2750 Cimmaron Ave.

Simi Valley, CA 93065
(805)813-0173, ranawakaravindu@gmail.com
February 5, 2016
Senior Project Panel Committee
Senior Project 2016
Santa Susana High School
3570 Cochran Street Simi Valley, CA 93063
Dear Panel Member:
My name is Ravindu Ranawaka and Im writing to you in order to tell you about my
senior project. History and fashion are my two greatest passions; therefore, I wanted to develop
a senior project that encompasses these two elements in a fun and interesting way,
simultaneously educating other students on these two topics. As a teacher's assistant for a
Modern World History class, I observed students and realized that the like to receive lectures
incorporating multiple forms of media such as images, gifs, and drawings. i decided to base my
senior project on that and create a lesson plan on twentieth century fashion and teach the
presentation to the Modern World History students.

I first started out with the 1910s and the age of orientalism and expanded on the
fashions derived from World War One. Upon the completion of that segment, I elaborated on the
fashion of the 1920s; providing detailed insight on the life of the great fashion designer
Gabrielle Coco Chanel and her contributions to the contemporary feminist movement and the
liberation of womens fashion as it escaped from the conservative bonds of tradition clothing of
previous times and was developed into a more subtle, looser silhouette. Upon that, I discussed
the influences of World War two on the field of fashion dnt how clothing during that time has a
more of a purpose for utility over style.

Throughout the lesson, I incorporated plenty of images, videos, sounds, and gifs. Uing
the art of digital collage, I managed to make hundred of images fit on a single page,
overlapping beautifully and eliciting positive responses from the students. Gifs incorporated a
little bit of humor and movement into the presentation, allowing the students to interact and
relate more with the topic due to the fact that the gifs speak to their generation. All in all, my
project was something I had devoted countless of hours to and proved to be a success in the
eyes of the students I had taught.

Sincerely,

Ravindu Ranawaka
Student, Santa Susana High School