Learning Activity 4
Hat or Hand Tricks
Setting the Scene
In this activity, your learners will engage with and have time
to explore materials to make wizards’ and witches’ hats
and hands that will glow under ultraviolet light.
Once created, you could use the hats throughout the rest
of the unit. For example, each time the learners engage
in an activity using the whiteboard or touch screen, they
could wear the hats. This will help to connect learning and
maintain continuity throughout the theme.
What to Do
For Witches’ and Wizards’ hats
Using stiff paper or card, create a tall cone shaped wizard’s
or witch’s hat with a wide brim for each learner. Encourage
your learners to indicate the colour of card they prefer
and to choose which materials they would like to use for
decoration.
Create a magical feel by using an area or room with
ultraviolet light and mirrors for the learners to see
themselves.
Witches’ and Wizards’ hands
Prepare your learners for the activity by introducing them to
a plastic witch’s hand and encouraging them to explore it
and compare it with their own hands.
Offer your learners a choice of different paint colours.
Encourage the learner to choose which hand they would
prefer to have painted. Paint the learner’s hand in their
chosen colour using different textures such as thin brushes,
large decorating brushes, sponges or kitchen scourers.
Support the learners to make a handprint, where possible
encouraging them to make their print independently.
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Our Academy for Witches and Wizards
Create the fingernails using various materials such as
silver card, brightly coloured paper, pieces of sandpaper
or strips of coloured plastic bags. Don’t forget to curl the
nails around a pencil for a 3D effect. Use glue to attach the
fingernails onto the hands.
Search online to find alternative wizard or witch themed art
and craft activities.
Further Suggestions
Pictures
Take photos and videos of your learners to project onto a
screen so that they can see themselves as wizards and
witches. You could use image manipulation software to
distort these images to create a more magical feel.
Areas of Learning
Post-Primary
The Arts (Art and Design)
Mathematics
What You Need
• Glue
• Scissors
• Camera or device to take
photographs and/or videos
For witches’ and wizards’ hats:
• Large sheets of coloured
cardboard
• Wizard hat template or
instructions available from
www.firstpalette.com
(search for wizard hat)
• Materials that glow in
ultraviolet light, for example
flourescent card, paint or
material, white material
• Sticky tape or stapler
• Mirrors
• Ultraviolet light
For witches’ and wizards’
hands:
• Plastic witch’s hand
• Poster paint
• A4 paper to make
handprints on
• Aromatherapy oils to match
each of the paint colours for
example lemon for yellow or
mint for green
• Shiny paper, brightly
coloured card, sandpaper,
plastic bags cut into pointy
nail shapes
Our Academy for Witches and Wizards
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