4th grade Egyptian Portraits

I cannot take full credit for the idea behind this project as I was inspired by a post I found over at Dali's Moustache. I would have never, ever thought to have my students do a portrait study in the Egyptian style! It was so fun (for me too) and the kids loved it. I think it was their favorite project all  year and I definitely think it turned out great! Before the project began, I introduced Hieroglyphics to the kids and allowed them to spend a day transcribing their name using the symbols. This was also a good way to get them wondering why we were learning about Egypt! It turned out to be an excellent hook!

Day #1: Students created a 12x18 weaving using construction paper strips. This took the whole class period and then some!

Day #2: We looked at a handout of Egyptian funerary masks and I guided the kids on getting all the facial features in the correct spot. Once that was complete, they were able to make design decisions as to what kind of headdress and clothing they wanted to include. When students were ready, they used a Sharpie to trace their work. I encouraged crayons for everything except the skin tone. The last step was to add a wash of thinned tempera for the skin color.

I love how this one looks like a super woman Egyptian!

Students finished up their portraits and/or weavings until our last week of school. The last step was attaching the portrait to the weaving (some students just couldn't bear to put the two together, so I didn't push it if they were really set on keeping them as separate pieces)