Fourth Grade Egyptian Masks

Materials Needed

• plastic masks-  purchased from Sax (Make-A-Mask Plastic Face Form http://store.schoolspecialtyonline.net/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?item=516866&minisite=10206

• cardboard (Egyptian headdress/"beard")

• masking tape
• plastercraft

• tissue paper- variety of colors
• acrylic paint
• jewels
• white paper (eyes)
black marker to outline eyes

Fourth grade looked at "Egyptian Mummy Case" and "Limestone Bust of Queen Nefertiti", both by unknown artists. They looked for the symmetry in the masks and the patterns that were used to decorate them. Then the students began making their own Egyptian Pharaoh’s mask. I had a variety of Egyptian resources on hand for them so that they could look for hieroglyphics, patterns, colors, etc.

 
I had a parent volunteer help me cut poster board headdresses that the students taped onto the masks. They had a hole in the middle that fit over the top of the facial form.
 

This was then covered with strips of plastercraft. 2 layers is plenty. When the plaster was dry, they removed the plastic mask and covered their work with colored tissue paper. They used paint and other accessories to decorate the mask and make it look like a pharaoh’s burial mask.