Day of the Dead Shoe Box AltarA Day of the Dead altar is meant to honor the memory of someone who

touched your life. This can be anyone from the family pet to Mother Teresa. Anyone who had a positive impact on your life that has passed away can be the subject of your Day of the Dead altar. People who celebrate Day of the Dead or Día de los muertos believe that for one day, the dead come back and walk amongst us.

We are going to make a shoebox altar for someone who we know has passed. It can be a family member, celebrity, a pet, etc.

These items must be included with your shoebox altar:

1. A picture of the one being remembered 2. Items they were fond of

1. For example, think of the altar is Ms. Johnson’s room for her grandmother. There is a deck of cards and UofL Sticker placed on the altar.

2. You may also include their favorite food, snack, or candy.3. 4 Elements

1. Fire- Candles They do not have to be real candles. They also should not be lit.

2. Air- Tissue Paper Wrap the shoebox in tissue paper to symbolize air. You may also

use it to line the inside of the box.3. Water-Cup or Bowl of water

Once the altar is brought to school, we will fill the cup or bowl with water to represent one of the four elements of the earth.

Cup or bowl should be plastic. 4. Earth- Dirt or Flowers

Real or Fake flowers will suffice

You could include items such as these for your altars:

1. Pictures of saints or religious icons Remember, these pictures would be placed on the top of the shoebox

2. Toy skeletons, skulls or bones 3. Sugar skulls or pictures of Sugar Skulls

A Dia de los Muertos altar can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. The purpose of an altar is remembrance, with that in mind feel free to do what you think your honoree would enjoy. While we have included a few guidelines, these are by no means rules to live by. You need to include a total of 8 items in your

altar. That is starting place. Where you end up is completely up to you. The point is, size doesn’t really matter, what matters is the heart you put into it.

How to make the altar:You will need to make your altar out of a shoe box. You will not need the lid of the

shoe-box for this project. Take one of the longer panels of the shoe box and cut down the corners all the way to the bottom of the shoe box. Fold down the panel to make it open, you can now cut that panel completely off.

Written Summary:Once you have finished your altar, you will need to explain why choose each item

in your box. This summary needs be at least one paragraph (containing 5 sentences) and to be glued or taped on the back of the box. If Ms. Johnson were to write a paragraph about her altar, she would write…

I constructed an altar for my grandmother for Day of the Dead. I included on her altar some of her favorite items such as a deck of cards and a UofL sticker. My fondest memory of her was playing cards with her whenever I would visit. She also was a huge sports fan, so I placed the UofL sticker so she could represent her team. I represented the four elements of the earth by candles for fire, squash and pumpkins for earth, a bowl of water for water, and tissue paper flowers for air.

Oral Presentation:Before the altars are displayed, each student will explain to the class the

components of their altar. It can be as simple as reading their written report to the group. This is a great way for everyone to see and understand everyone’s altars!

Rubric

Cut here

Fold down

Cut here

Poor – 10 points Fair – 20 Points Good – 30 PointsPresentation of

AltarAltar is not sturdy and secure. Items are loose.

Box is not covered

Less than 6 items on/in the altar.

Altar is semi-sturdy. Items are fairly secured. Tape is not visible.

Box is semi-covered.

Less than 7 items on/in altar.

Altar is sturdy and durable. Items are secured and are able to withstand handling.

Box is completely covered.

Tape and adhesive is not visible.

8 or more items on altar.

Written Report Report was not turned in or incomplete.

Less than one paragraph.

Report did not cover all of the items inside of the altar.

Less than one paragraph.

Well written and thoughtful report.

Covers all items in altar.

More than one paragraph.

Presentation Incomplete or no verbal presentation.

Informative about the chosen deceased individual.

Poor verbal presentation.

Informative about the chosen deceased individual.

Good verbal presentation.

Informative about the chosen deceased individual.