BY I MMACULA A. RHODES

Transcription

1 BY I MMACULA A. RHODES NEW YORK TORONTO LONDON AUCKLAND SYDNEY MEXICO CITY NEW DELHI HONG KONG BUENOS AIRES

2 To Grandma, and in loving memory of Grandpa, for the gift of so many family-filled holiday memories. x Every good and perfect gift is from above James 1:17 Cover from LION DANCER: ERNIE WAN S CHINESE NEW YEAR by Kate Waters, photographs by Martha Cooper. Photographs 1990 by Martha Cooper. Reprinted by permission of Scholastic Inc. Cover from ON HANUKKAH reprinted with permission of Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children s Publishing Division from ON HANUKKAH by Cathy Goldberg Fishman, illustrated by Melanie W. Hall. Jacket illustration copyright 1998 by Melanie W. Hall. Cover from SANTA WHO? by Gail Gibbons. Copyright 1999 by Gail Gibbons. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Children s Books. Cover from SEVEN CANDLES FOR KWANZAA by Andrea Davis Pinkney, pictures by Brian Pinkney, copyright 1993 by Brian Pinkney, pictures. Used by permission of Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc. All rights reserved. Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the pattern pages from this book for classroom use. No other part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY Front cover and interior design by Kathy Massaro Interior illustrations by Maxie Chambliss ISBN: Copyright 2003 by Immacula A. Rhodes. Published by Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A

3 Contents About This Book... 4 Getting Started... 4 Celebrating Diversity With a Holiday Tapestry... 5 Connections to the Language Arts and Social Studies Standards... 6 On Hanukkah... 7 Hurray for Hanukkah! Runaway Dreidel! The Night of Las Posadas The Last Straw Santa Who? The Night Before Christmas Seven Candles for Kwanzaa Seven Spools of Thread: A Kwanzaa Story K Is for Kwanzaa: A Kwanzaa Alphabet Book Lion Dancer: Ernie Wan s Chinese New Year Happy New Year, Everywhere! Creative Winter Holiday Crafts Winter Holiday Resources... 64

4 Hooray for Hanukkah! BY F RAN M ANUSHKIN (RANDOM H OUSE, 2001) Holiday Quick Fact During Hanukkah, the lighted menorah also called a hanukkiah is placed in a window so that everyone can see its light. Often, Hanukkah is called the Festival of Lights. From the first night of Hanukkah to the last, a menorah describes the joyful activities surrounding a family s eight-night celebration. Cheerfully expressing its will to be brighter after each candlelighting, the menorah finally reaches the highlight of the holiday. With its eighth and final candle lit and the lights turned off, the menorah glows its brightest as the family soaks in memories to last the year. Hooray for Hanukkah! Throughout the story, the menorah tells about activities that surround it during the family s Hanukkah celebration. Review the story with students to find ways in which the menorah describes (or implies) its own participation and enjoyment in the festivities. For instance, it attracts visitors, it glows, it lights up eyes and faces, its flames dance, and it pushes the darkness away. Write these on chart paper. Then invite children to add other ways in which the menorah might participate and express its pleasure in the celebration. Afterward, ask children to imagine they are the menorah. Which activity would they enjoy most? How would they participate in the activity? 12

5 Extending the Book Personal Perspectives (Language Arts) This Hanukkah story is told from a menorah s perspective. Explain that to tell the story, the author imagined the menorah could think and feel as a person. On chart paper, write menorah, as well as other symbols of Hanukkah, such as the Shamash, a dreidel, gelt, and latkes. Ask students to select a symbol from the list. Then have them write and illustrate a holiday story from that object s perspective. Ask them to title their stories, create covers, and bind the pages into a book. Then invite children to share their stories with each other. Alternatively, children might retell the story from one family member s perspective or even from the cat s point of view! Folding Menorah (Language Arts and Social Studies) Invite children to make this special menorah to use in retelling the story to family and friends. 1To begin, students fold two sheets of 8 1/2- by 11-inch white copy paper accordion-style, as shown. 2Then they cut out the candle pattern on page 15, trace it onto each of the folded papers, cut out the shapes through all thicknesses, and unfold the resulting candle chain. (Make sure children do not cut through the folds at the candle bases.) 3Next, students cut out the Shamash pattern. They glue each candle chain to an end of the Shamash to create a menorah. 4Children then color the Shamash and write the book title on its flame. 5Starting from left to right, they label the other candles with first night, second night, and so on. Then students write an event from the story on each corresponding candle. When finished, they accordion-fold their menorahs with the first candle on top. To use, children retell the story, unfolding their menorahs and showing each candle as the events of the story unfold. Related Reading Eight Days of Hanukkah by Harriet Ziefert (Viking, 1997). Each turn of the page shows an additional candle in the menorah and introduces a different Hanukkah ritual, such as lighting candles, telling stories, and cooking latkes. Colorful collage illustrations complement the lively text. Hanukkah: A Counting Book in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish by Emily Sper (Scholastic, 2001). Bold illustrations and die-cut pages feature color-coded English, Hebrew, and Yiddish spellings and pronunciations for the numbers one through eight. Each spread also shows different Hanukkah symbols and the corresponding number of candles for the menorah. Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights by Leslie Kimmelman (HarperCollins, 1992). Lighting the menorah, playing dreidel, and enjoying family togetherness are a few of the Hanukkah traditions highlighted in this beautifully illustrated introduction to the Jewish holiday. 13

6 Holiday Quick Fact Latkes and jelly doughnuts, called sufganiyot, are favorite Hanukkah foods. Both are fried in oil to symbolize the oil that burned for eight days and nights during the first Hanukkah. Tapestry Tips To help weave the class holiday tapestry, you might have children add: an illustrated story about their personal experiences celebrating Hanukkah. a candle from the menorah along with an account of its role in the holiday celebration. a recipe for latkes or other favorite holiday food. a photo or drawing of their favorite Hanukkah activity. Cooperative Class Latkes (Cooking and Social Skills) In the story, the family worked together to make potato latkes. In the same spirit of cooperation, invite children to distribute the responsibilities listed below and work together to mix up a batch of this simplified recipe for latkes. (You might copy the steps below onto chart paper or sentence strips and place in a pocket chart.) Afterward, you or another adult heat oil in a frying pan and drop the mixture by the spoonful into the oil. When brown on one side, flip the latkes and brown them on the other side. Drain the latkes on paper towels, then serve them to your class with sour cream or applesauce. (Check for food allergies before serving to children.) Potato Latkes (makes 24 mini-latkes) 1. Wash 6 large potatoes. 2. Peel the potatoes. 3. Grate the potatoes into a bowl. 4. Drain the excess liquid from the potatoes. 5. In another bowl, beat two eggs. 6. Add the grated potatoes to the eggs. Mix them together. 7. Stir in two tablespoons of flour. 8. Stir in one teaspoon of salt. Even Brighter (Science) Ask children to explain the menorah s repeated lines, I am bright, but I could be brighter. To help them understand the menorah s meaning, turn off the lights. Then light a candle (or use an electric or battery-operated candle). How bright is the candlelight? Ask children to predict what will happen when a second candle is lit. After lighting another candle, have children share their observations. Continue lighting candles, one at a time, until nine are burning at the same time. What happens to the brightness of the light as each candle is lit? 14

7 Folding Menorah Shamash candle 15