Celebrate Easter in elegance! Children design replicas of Faberge eggs in exquisite dioramas.

• 1.

  Research how and when Easter is celebrated in various parts of the world. Find several traditional holiday symbols. Eggs are decorated by people in many countries using various techniques. Here is how to make an egg display similar to those created by the famous artist Faberge.

• 2.

  Decorate the top and sides of a recycled tissue box with Crayola® Washable Markers. If necessary, cover the box with construction paper first and then decorate. Cut out the bottom of the box with Crayola Scissors.

• 3.

  With Crayola Colored Pencils, trace the bottom of the box twice on white construction paper. Add a little space on two ends for tabs. Cut out both pieces. On one piece, use your imagination to create a spring or Easter picture. Fold up the tabs on the picture. Cover the tabs with glue from a Crayola Glue Stick. Place the picture inside the box, near the original opening, so the picture faces out the bottom. Attach the tabs to the box.

• 4.

  On the other piece of construction paper, draw a large egg with Crayola Colored Pencils. Cut out the egg, and cut a small, round hole in its center. Decorate the egg with intricate designs and symbols of Easter using markers and Crayola Glitter Glue. Dry.

• 5.

  Fold up the tabs on the egg. Glue them to the bottom of the box. Peek through the hole in the egg to see your picture inside!

Standards

• LA: Integrate information from several texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
• LA: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
• LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• LA: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.
• MATH: Understand that attributes belonging to a category of two-dimensional figures also belong to all subcategories of that category.
• MATH: Draw points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), and perpendicular and parallel lines. Identify these in two-dimensional figures.
• SS: Describe ways in which language, stories, folktales, music, and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture and influence behavior of people living in a particular culture.
• SS: Use appropriate resources, data sources, and geographic tools to generate, manipulate, and interpret information.
• VA: Intentionally take advantage of the qualities and characteristics of art media, techniques, and processes to enhance communication of experiences and ideas.
• VA: Select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of ideas.
• VA: Use subjects, themes, and symbols that demonstrate knowledge of contexts, values, and aesthetics that communicate intended meaning in artworks.
• VA: Describe and place a variety of art objects in historical and cultural contexts.

Adaptations

• Students work in teams of two or small groups to research Faberge's family background and their relationship with Czar Alexander of Russia. Organize research into an electronic format for presentation to classmates.
• Students research the history and making of Pysanky eggs. How are they made? What materials are used to create these works of art? Investigate The Ukrainian Museum online and view the slideshow of eggs. Select an egg pattern and recreate it using construction paper and Crayola Colored Pencils.
• Students organize informational reports on other spring holidays celebrated in their culture. Bring in artifacts from home if available; share holiday recipes that are represented on the day of celebration.