ESL WORKSHEET - Easter

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

EASTER EGGS

LinguaHouse

Mar. 26, 2021

Level: Upper-intermediate (B2-C1)
Type of language: General English
Tags: Celebrations and Commemorations; Religions and Religious Activities; People and Places; Seasons; Art; Vocabulary Lesson; Video
Publication date: 03/26/2021

In this Easter-themed lesson, students start off by identifying collocations with the word egg. They prepare for a listening/video report about traditional Ukrainian and Fabergé Easter eggs by defining some vocabulary and then practice listening skills, including prediction and note-taking. There are two different options to choose from to finish the lesson: a drawing dictation activity and discussion questions. There is also an extension activity related to idioms about eggs. (by Stephanie Hirschman)

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/watch the video.

CLICK HERE to watch the video

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Narrator: Springtime is the season for the Christian festival of Easter. Around the world, this festival is celebrated in many different ways, but one common theme is eggs, which are a symbol of new life. Today we’re going to take a look at two egg traditions from Orthodox Christianity: Ukrainian decorated eggs called pysanky, and Russian Faberge eggs.
In Western Ukraine, craftsman Oleg Kirashchuk follows his family’s tradition and decorates eggs for Easter. Even though male craftsmen in this field are unusual, Kirashchuk learned his craft from his mother and grandmother, and started a market stall selling his creations in the 1990s.
Today he has a profitable business selling his eggs to collectors from as far away as the United States, Australia, Japan and Britain. Each egg sells for hundreds of dollars. Kirashchuk’s eggs are also on display in the Pysanka Museum of Easter Eggs, located in the Ukrainian town of Kolomyya. The pysanky tradition is very old.
A special tool is used to create designs in melted wax on the shell of an egg. The egg is then dyed, and the wax is removed to reveal a pattern.
The patterns are ancient and symbolic and include birds, animals, trees, flowers and suns, as well as geometric shapes. In the past, only vegetable dyes were used, so colors were limited to yellow, red, green, brown and black. Blue and purple dyes are modern introductions, and Kirashchuk uses his imagination to develop new patterns to reflect the modern world.
He even decorates ostrich eggs, which are definitely not traditional! Kirashchuk also runs egg-painting events, where he shares his enthusiasm and skills with local children. Perhaps one of these children will become a new rising star and take the tradition of pysanky forward for the next generation.
While pysanky are folk-art, the eggs created by jeweler Peter Carl Faberge are luxurious symbols of wealth and power. The Russian royal family, the Romanovs, asked Faberge to create these incredible Easter eggs for them. Between 1885 and 1916, fifty were made.
These magical eggs featured priceless jewels and precious metals and were presented in enamel casings. They often revealed small surprises when opened, like a tiny train or a golden bird. The eggs were made as gifts for the wives and mothers of Tsars Alexander III and Nicolas II. The tradition ended when the Romanovs fell from power in the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Today only forty-three Faberge eggs remain, and they sell for millions of dollars. Some of the eggs can be seen in two Russian museums. The St. Petersburg’s Faberge Museum, which opened in 2013, has nine eggs, while the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow has ten.
Modern craftsmen like jeweler Andrei Ananov continue to be inspired by the Faberge eggs. Since 1989, Ananov has been creating new eggs using enamels, crystals and natural stones. Although they have a high price tag, they are certainly more affordable than the original Faberges and are popular with collectors.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/easter-eggs. Accessed on March 24, 2025. LinguaHouse.com © 2008–2025. All rights reserved.