Downloads

Comprehension worksheet on

Mardi Gras King Cakes

Mardi Gras Facts & Info

Mardi Gras is a magnificent celebration that lasts for approximately two weeks.  The term Mardi Gras is French for fat Tuesday.  Mardi Gras ends the day before Ash Wednesday, also called Fat Tuesday.  It's called Fat Tuesday because it is the day that you use up all of the butter, eggs and milk before fasting for Lent. 

Mardi Gras begins approximately two weeks prior to Ash Wednesday.   Click on some of the links below to learn more!

Ideas for Mardi Gras

Many carnival goers wear masks to Mardi Gras parades.  Your students can follow in that tradition with a mask making project.  Reproduce the Mardi Gras mask on tagboard.  Have students decorate their masks with sequins, feathers, stones, etc.  

It's time for the parade!  Have students create miniature floats out of shoeboxes.  Remove the lid and turn the shoebox upside down.  Glue the lid onto the box lengthwise to make the back of the float. Have students paint their floats and use a variety of arts-and-crafts materials like construction paper, felt, tissue paper.  Floats can be themed by adding small toys as riders or decorations.   

Mardi Gras Beads

It's a Mardi Gras tradition for float riders to throw colorful beaded necklaces to the parade goers.  The more necklaces a parade goer gets, the happier he is!  Have your students join in on the tradition by making their own necklaces.  Dye or paint macaroni noodles or use colorful beads to create a necklace.  You could even have them make patterns.

Mardi Gras King Cakes

After completing the comprehension pages above, have your students make their own personal Mardi Gras King Cakes.  

Ingredients:

*two strips of dough; unrolled from a large

          can of refrigerated cinnamon rolls.

*vanilla icing

*yellow, green and purple sprinkles.

Braid the two strips of dough together and join the ends to form an oval.  Bake according to the directions on the original container.  When cooled, spread icing on the cake and scatter sprinkles over the icing. 

Have a king cake party with your students!

Links about Mardi Gras

Lesson Plans on Mardi Gras

KU MedCenter

Holiday.net