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Dia de los Muertos Sugar Skulls

Dia de los Muertos Sugar Skulls

Sugar skulls are confections made to remember lost loved ones during Día de los Muertos - Mexico's Day of the Dead - observance. Students will learn about this tradition and create their symbolic sugar skull.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Craft Materials

Steps

  • Step 1

    Día de los Muertos is a holiday widely observed in Mexico and elsewhere by people of Mexican heritage. It is a multi-day celebration when families remember and honor lost loved ones. Have students research this holiday, which has roots in the ancient Aztec civilization. How is it celebrated? What foods are eaten? What traditional "ofrendas" (offerings) are placed on the altar?

  • Step 2

    A calavera (Spanish for skull) refers to the sugar skulls that are traditionally placed on the ofrenda. They can be edible or purely decorative. Have students create a decorative calavera using chalk to draw an outline of a skull on dark paper. They can add facial characteristics and embellishments with glitter glue and other craft items.

  • Step 3

    Have students present their sugar skulls and talk about how meaningful it can be to remember and honor loved ones.

Standards

SS: Culture: Create, learn, share, and adapt to culture.

SS: Individual Development and Identity: Describe factors important to the development of personal identity and the context of identity within families, peer or affinity groups, schools, communities, and nationalities.

Adaptations

Sugar art has a long history. Because sugar becomes maleable when heated, it is a great medium for creating edible and decorative centerpieces and sculptures. Have students explore the "Trionfi" sugar sculptures created for a 1687 banquet to honor Pope Innocent XI, or the more modern 6' x 5' Hogwarts castle cake made by artist and cake sculptor Michelle Wibowo in 2021 to commemorate 20 years of Harry Potter movies.

Sugar has a tumultuous history as it largely fueled the slave trade. Have students learn about this history and investigate artist Kara Walker, who creates sugar sculptures to bring this dark history to light.