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Elephant Procession

Elephant Procession

Elephants have deep cultural significance in India, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere. Students will learn about their meaning and create artwork that depicts some of the beautiful ways they are adorned for festivals and honored.

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.

Steps

  • Step 1

    Elephants are considered sacred in parts of the world such as India and Sri Lanka. In Indian culture elephants are a symbol of mental strength, earthiness, and responsibility and are worshipped by Hindus. White elephants are sacred to Buddhists. In Sri Lanka they play a vital role in traditional ceremonies such as the annual Esala Perahera in Kandy. Have students research their cultural significance. Ask them to find out about the Esahala Perahera festival, which showcases ornately adorned elephants parading through the streets, as well as the festival of Rajasthan, or "Elephant Festival" that is held in Jaipur, India.

  • Step 2

    Ask students to look at images of some of the adorned elephants in these festivals. Let the images inspire a piece of artwork depicting an adorned elephant. They can draw an elephant on paper, cut it out, and decorate it with glitter glue. Then they can design a background on another piece of paper and attach the cut-out to the background.

  • Step 3

    Have them present their art to the class and discuss what they learned about the cultural significance of elephants.

Standards

SS: Culture: Through experience, observation, and reflection, identify elements of culture as well as similarities and differences among cultural groups across time and place.

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

Adaptations

In 2012, World Elephant Day was launched to bring attention to the urgent plight of Asian and African elephants. Have students find out about the threats to their survival and the efforts to protect their survival.

Have students learn more about elephants. For instance, they are the largest of all land animals in the world; their tusks alone can weigh up to 200 pounds and can grow to 10 feet. Where do they live? What is their lifespan? How much do they weigh? What other interesting facts are there?