Subsequent peoples adopted the egg and decoration thereof as part of their culture, and today, most Ukrainians celebrate springtime by decorating and sharing pysanky.

This expressive arts lesson introduces the art and history of pysanky to fifth graders, and is meant to be just one component of the students’ art curriculum. In addition, the lesson introduces students to the culture of Ukraine, one country they have learned about in their geography program, Passport Club. This lesson will take place at the end of the day (2:00-2:55) on a Thursday afternoon.

Objectives
1. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the cultural significance of Ukrainian pysanky by informally discussing this topic with the teacher.
2. By the end of this lesson, students will be able to demonstrate their understanding of the different symbols used on Ukrainian pysanky by describing the symbols used on their individual egg.

Benchmarks
1. AR.05.CP.01 Use experiences, imagination, observations, essential elements and organizational principles to achieve a desired effect when creating, presenting and/or performing works of art.
2. AR.05.HC.02 Identify and relate common and unique characteristics in works of art that reflect social, historical, and cultural contexts.
3. SS.05.GE.01.01 Know and use basic map elements to answer geographic questions or display geographic information.

Preparation and Materials Needed:
-Twelve sets of fabric “puffy paints”
-25 plastic Easter eggs
-Six newspapers
-Students’ world atlases
-Chicken Sunday, by Patricia Polacco
-Overhead transparancies and 25 paper copies of pysanky symbols, taken from Ukrainian Design Book, by Natalie Perchyshyn, et. al. (master attached).
-CD of Ukrainian music
-Personal photographs of pysanka and spring planting in Ukraine

Students will have afternoon recess from 1:45 to 2:00, during which time I will organize the materials. Students will be sitting in their normal table groups for this activity.

Lesson Introduction/Sharing Objectives: (5 minutes)
Ask students if they remember the country I lived in for two years before coming to Terra Linda. If they cannot remember, use the world map to show them Ukraine. Have students locate Ukraine in their atlases, and review the country’s general location and neighboring countries.

Tell students that we will be learning about one cultural tradition from Ukraine, making pysanky. Write the word on the white board (using both Latin and Cyrillic characters) and tell students that it refers to intricately decorated eggs from Ukraine. Show photograph of pysanky as an example. Tell students that the word comes from the Ukrainian verb pysaty, “to write.” Emphasize that these are not simply Easter eggs, but have a cultural significance that reaches back to prehistory.

Tell students what I would like them to get out of the lesson: to learn about what pysanky mean to Ukrainians and the traditions associated with them; to learn about some of the symbols for pysanky and their meanings; and to have fun decorating their own pysanka.

Learning activities:
a. Historical and Cultural Background background: (10 minutes)
Read the book Chicken Sunday to students. This book does a wonderful job of explaining the procedure of making pysanky and how important it is to Ukrainians, but students will need more information about their historical and cultural significance.

Draw students’ attention to the fact that the children in the story sell their eggs around Easter. Explain that these eggs are similar to Easter eggs, but because Easter comes in the spring, the eggs are also important in the celebration of spring. Note that in the book, the sign simply says “Ukrainian eggs,” not “Easter eggs.”

Return to the part in the book where the man thanks the children in Russian. Explain that Ukrainians speak Russian or Ukrainian. Also note that making pysanky is common in Poland, Russia, and Ukraine, but it is generally believed that the tradition was started by the Trypillian (write on board) culture in what is now Ukraine.

b. Introduce the symbols: (5-7 minutes)
Hand out the sheets with various symbols for pysanky and place the same information on the overhead. Ask students to look over the symbols and look for similarities or patterns. Discuss that most of symbols relate to the coming of springtime, the planting of gardens, and the harvest to come. Show pictures of spring planting in Ukraine.

c. Making pysanky: (20 minutes)
Give each table group two sets of puffy paints, an egg for each student, and a newspaper to protect their desks. Students should decorate their eggs as they wish, but keep in mind that the traditional symbols can be used to convey a message, and that they should try to incorporate some of these symbols to represent something that is important or interesting to them. Remind students that they already made one collage of symbols of themselves, and this can be a similar exercise.

Closure: (5-7 minutes)
Review with students the history and tradition of pysanky in an informal discussion. Ask students what they remember from the introduction and the books I read. Ask students about the symbolism of pysanky and what they represent in Ukrainian culture. Ask students to speculate about why the coming of spring is something to celebrate in Ukraine.

Ask a few students to share their pysanky with the class and describe some of the symbols they used.

Student Evaluation
I will need to evaluate students’ understanding of two aspects of the lesson. First, I will assess their understanding of the historical and cultural significance of pysanky in Ukraine through an informal discussion at the end of the lesson.

Secondly, I will evaluate their understanding of the symbols commonly used in pysanky decoration. This will be done by asking a few students to volunteer to share their pysanky and describe some of the symbols they chose. In addition, I will be able to evaluate each student’s pysanka after the lesson, as they will leave them overnight to dry.

Teacher Self-Reflection
Before: I expect that reading the books with the student will be the most challenging, as the students will know that an art project is coming up and may be restless. I think sharing the objectives with the students will help to mitigate this, and that most students will understand that learning about the history behind this art form is as important as the hands-on aspect of the lesson. Also, I will not put out any of the art materials on the students’ desks until we are ready to begin egg decoration, so students are less likely to be distracted.

After: Overall, I was very pleased with the lesson. It was so much fun for me to share some of Ukraine’s history and culture with my students, and the students were very engaged and enjoyed working with the symbols and decorating their pysanky.

I would change two aspects of this lesson. First, I would use a document camera to display the personal photographs of spring planting in Ukraine, simply to save time. Second, I would change the closure of the lesson. Instead of ending with the clean-up, I would get that out of the way and end on a note of sharing and presentation by having some students present their individual pysanky.