In these activities, students will learn about Ukrainian material culture, particularly textiles, vyshyvanka, children’s toys, and folktales through the story, The Mitten. They will learn about the Ukrainian-American illustrator Yaroslava Surmach Mills, how Jan Brett researched and learned about Ukrainian culture to illustrate her version of the story, and how a story can be told through different versions. The students enjoy Russian and Ukrainian folk art and discover motifs that inspired this folktale.
Activity One – Reading The Mitten
Materials: Alvin Tresselt’s and Jan Brett’s versions of The Mitten, chart paper
Day One: Whole class read-aloud of Tresselt’s version, create a chart that sequences the animals in the order they climb into the mitten, add images next to the animal’s name (cards created for sequencing). Focus on the costumes worn by the animals as they approach the mitten.
Questions to ask during and after reading: Do animals in the forest wear shirts, vests, jackets, and hats? Why does the illustrator put them in such fancy clothes? Why are they so colorful?
Day Two: Whole class read-aloud of Brett’s version, sequence the animals in the order they climb into the mitten to use as comparison to the Tresselt version.
Questions to ask during and after reading: Why are these animals not wearing clothes? Who is wearing clothes in this version, and are they fancy? What kinds of objects do you see in Nicki’s house? What do you think they are used for?
Activity Two: Sequencing
In preparation, create a set of sequencing cards for both stories for student use in Activity Four.
Materials: set of animal cards for each student (mouse, frog, owl, rabbit, fox, wolf, boar, bear, cricket), crayons
Day One: Using the chart created in Activity One, students will decorate the animal pictures from the Tresselt story and number (on the back) their place in the sequence, 1-9.
Materials: set of animal cards for each student (mole, rabbit, hedgehog, owl, badger, fox, bear, mouse), crayons
Day Two: Using the chart created in Activity One, students will decorate the animal pictures from the Brett story and number (on the back) their place in the sequence, 1-8.
Activity Three – Retelling
Staging our own retelling of the story, with students acting out the animal parts.
Materials: plain white paper plates with eye holes cut out, yarn, hole puncher
Day One: Students will make a mask of one of the animals in The Mitten. Have examples available of each animal for students to use as reference. They can choose an animal from either version. Attach the yarn for the mask to stay in place.
Materials: Masks, blanket, gathering place
Day Two and Three: Place the blanket (serving as the mitten) in the center of the gathering area. Students can sit in a circle around the blanket wearing their masks. Organize the students by each story and let them know who is performing in this retelling. Explain to the students what will occur during the retelling and what their role and responsibilities are as performers.
Read the Tresselt story. As you read, student representing the animal will crawl under the blanket; remind them that they need to be peeking out and being very still, just like the animals are in the illustrations. At the end, pull the blanket off to represent the mitten bursting open and the animals are to scurry back to their spots.
Activity Four – Designing Mittens
Materials: two mitten shapes for each student, cut from 8”x10” construction paper of various colors with 10-12 holes punched through two layers, examples of embroidery designs, markers, hole puncher, yarn, plastic yarn needles
Students will make their own mittens as a cultural object, using various Ukrainian designs. Provide examples of geometric shapes, flower designs, and patterning for students to use as ideas for their mitten designs. After completing the design, students will use the yarn and needle to sew their two mitten pieces together around the edge of the mitten. Once the stitching is done, they can place their sequencing cards inside to practice retelling the story.
Activity Five - Designing Vyshyvanka
Materials: Long-sleeved white T-shirts – one per student, permanent markers
Discuss the cultural significance of the vyshyvanka in Ukrainian culture. Have images available for students to use as reference. Students will then create their own vyshyvanka out of t-shirts using the pattern ideas from their mitten lesson. Designs should be focused on the front of the shirts, a band around the bottom of the shirt, and the forearm and cuff of the sleeves.
Activity Six – Making Toys – requires purchased materials
Materials: various wooden pieces, jumbo craft sticks, regular craft sticks, fun foam sheets, markers, toy image located in this unit
Display the image for students to use as examples of Ukrainian designs. Students will create a toy in the Ukrainian style, decorated with spirals, dots, and colorful flowers.
