Holidays Around the World

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Audrey Shepherd
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1 December Sampler

Holidays Around the World A festive display of ornament books will brighten your classroom as students learn fun facts about upcoming holidays around the world.

sample of this project to show your class. The visual reference will help them construct their own ornament books. Creating the Ornaments Give each student three sheets of copy paper.

2 Holidays Around the World A festive display of ornament books will brighten your classroom as students learn fun facts about upcoming holidays around the world. Materials ribbon or yarn scissors colored pencils oaktag glue sticks 1 8 /2 - by 11-inch copy paper one bead for each student with a hole large enough to hold doubled ribbon Setting Up Prepare a sample of this project to show your class. The visual reference will help them construct their own ornament books. Creating the Ornaments Give each student three sheets of copy paper. Ask students to pull the top left corner of one sheet down diagonally to the right so that the top edge of the paper aligns with the right edge of the paper. Crease along the fold (figure 1). Then have them cut off the bottom strip of 1 paper so that they are left with an 8 /2 -inch square (figure 2). Students should fold the square in half vertically, crease it, and open it. They then fold it in half horizontally and crease it again. When opened, the paper will have three creases (figure 3). Ask students to repeat these steps for all three pieces of copy paper. Have students place the paper in front of them so that the bottom corner is pointing at them (figure 4). There will be two diamonds and four triangles created by the folds. figure 1 figure 2 figure 3 figure 4 23 Month-by-Month Bulletin Boards Michael Gravois, Scholastic Teaching Resources

3 December In the top diamond on each page, students should use creative lettering to write the name of a December holiday that they researched. Suggested holidays include Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, La Befana, Boxing Day, or Twelfth Night. They should surround this title with a related border. In the bottom diamond on each page, students should draw and color a picture that illustrates an important aspect of the holiday. In the two triangles on the left side of each page, have them write a complete, detailed paragraph that describes the origins and significance of the holiday. In the two triangles on the right side of each page, ask them to write a complete, detailed paragraph about the holiday s country of origin and how it is celebrated throughout the world. Each page should now look similar to the picture in figure 5. figure 5 Instruct students to turn over their three sheets and use colored pencils to color the triangular shapes (figure 6). figure 6 Then have them fold the paper in half along the diagonal crease so that the writing is on the inside (figure 7). They should push points A and B into the inside to point C, making a smaller square (figure 8). They can now do this to all three pages. 24 B D Holidays C C figure 7 figure 8 Ask students to glue the back of the bottom diamond of page 1 to the back of the top diamond of page 2, making sure to line up point D on both pages. Then they should glue the back of the bottom diamond of page 2 to the back of the bottom diamond of page 3, making sure to line up point D on both pages. Have them glue a 36-inch ribbon around the stack of pages along the C D line on both sides, leaving tails of equal lengths hanging from point C (figure 9). 1 Students should cut two 4 /4 -inch squares from the card stock and glue one piece to each side of the stack of pages, covering the ribbons. Then they can thread both ends of the ribbon through the bead. Tie the ends of the ribbons with a couple of knots to prevent the bead from sliding off (figure 10). A figure 10 To open the ornament book, slide the bead up to the knot and open the pages so that the covers meet. Slide the bead down to lock the book into place. Creating the Display To display the ornament books, hang a string across the classroom. Tie varying lengths of thread from the string. Tie a paper clip to the end of each piece of thread and hang the ornament books from the paper clips, allowing them to spin freely. B D B D C figure 9 A A Month-by-Month Bulletin Boards Michael Gravois, Scholastic Teaching Resources

4 The Winter Solstice Discover humankind s fascination with astronomy through the ages by creating learning posters of ancient civilizations. Materials posterboard glue sticks colored pencils or markers scissors Conducting the Activity The change of seasons and the length of the days played a central role in the lives of ancient cultures. Ask your class to explain why they think this was the case. Then ask them to tell you what they know about the change of seasons, discussing the concepts of planetary rotation and orbit, Earth s axis, the winter and summer solstices, and the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. Divide the class into groups of three or four. Ask each group to research the ways in which ancient civilizations tracked the seasons and observed the heavens. Suggested research topics include Stonehenge; Mesopotamia; the ancient Greeks, Indians, Chinese, and Egyptians; and the Toltec, Incan, Mayan, Aztec, and Anasazi peoples. Groups should explore astronomical discoveries these cultures made, the methods they used for observing celestial movements and the change of seasons, and how astronomy influenced their belief systems. Creating the Bulletin Board Each group should design a learning poster that features the information they found. Groups can vary the way information is displayed graphic organizers, drawings or pictures of the culture, lists, maps, graphs, snapshots, semantic maps, Venn diagrams, vocabulary words, icons, do/learn/feel responses, and descriptive paragraphs. Have each group present their findings to the class. Then, as a class, discuss the similarities and differences of the ancient cultures studied, their understanding of astronomy, and their methods of calculation. Hang the posters in the hall under a banner that reads ANCIENT ASTRONOMY. 25 Month-by-Month Bulletin Boards Michael Gravois, Scholastic Teaching Resources

5 December (sung to I ve Been Working on the Railroad ) 50 Thematic Songs Sung to Your Favorite Tunes Meish Goldish, Scholastic Teaching Resources I ve been waiting for December, All the long, long year. I ve been waiting for December, And at last it s finally here! Now the autumn time is over, Winter has come to take its place. Snow is falling all around me, With snowflakes on my face! I ve been waiting for December, For a whole year long. I ve been waiting for December Just to sing a holiday song! Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, New Year s Eve is here, oh boy! Let s all celebrate December, A month of fun and joy! 15

Winter Is Here! Skill Number Words Getting Started Display five or more die-cut snowflakes on the chalkboard. (Attach them with removable adhesive.

Was the child s response correct? After checking with the class, have the child return the snowflakes to the display.

6 Winter Is Here! Skill Number Words Getting Started Display five or more die-cut snowflakes on the chalkboard. (Attach them with removable adhesive.) Then write each number word for 1 to 5 on separate index cards. To use, give a child a word card. Ask the child to read the word aloud, then remove that many snowflakes from the board. Was the child s response correct? After checking with the class, have the child return the snowflakes to the display. Continue until every child has had a turn to read a number word and remove the corresponding number of snowflakes from the board. Completing the Mini-Book Ask children to write their name on the cover, then cut out and glue the patterns onto the pages, as shown. Finally, have them complete the activity on the last page. Reproducible Pages mini-book: pages patterns: page 46 Winter Is Here! by One pretty snowflake falls on my hat Two p tty n flake f on y at e et n t two five hree four o r pr t y s wfl k f l o t st t F e p t y s wfl k s fal i t ai Sn wfl k s wfl k e e ywh e! D aw s wfl k to m t e h n mb wo d Taking It Further Use blue and white paper to create a simple outdoor scene of a sky and snow-covered ground. At the top, add the title Signs of Winter. Then brainstorm with children a list of things they might see in winter that signifies the season. Their responses might include snowfall, ice-skaters, snowmen, icicles, hibernating bears, and so on. Afterward, invite children to draw, cut out, and add their own pictures to the scene to depict signs of winter. Cut & Paste Mini-Books: Around the Year 2011 by Nancy I. Sanders, Scholastic Teaching Resources Draw snowflakes to match each number word. 39

7 One pretty snowflake falls on my hat. 1 Cut & Paste Mini-Books: Around the Year 2011 by Nancy I. Sanders, Scholastic Teaching Resources (page 40) by Winter Is Here!

8 Two pretty snowflakes fall on my cat. 2 3 Cut & Paste Mini-Books: Around the Year 2011 by Nancy I. Sanders, Scholastic Teaching Resources (page 41)

9 Three pretty snowflakes fall on my feet. 4 5 Cut & Paste Mini-Books: Around the Year 2011 by Nancy I. Sanders, Scholastic Teaching Resources (page 42)

10 Four pretty snowflakes fall on the street. 6 7 Cut & Paste Mini-Books: Around the Year 2011 by Nancy I. Sanders, Scholastic Teaching Resources (page 43)

11 Five pretty snowflakes fall in the air. Snowflakes, snowflakes, everywhere! 8 9 Cut & Paste Mini-Books: Around the Year 2011 by Nancy I. Sanders, Scholastic Teaching Resources (page 44)

12 five two three four Draw snowflakes to match each number word Cut & Paste Mini-Books: Around the Year 2011 by Nancy I. Sanders, Scholastic Teaching Resources (page 45)

13 Winter Is Here! Cut & Paste Patterns 46 Cut & Paste Mini-Books: Around the Year 2011 by Nancy I. Sanders, Scholastic Teaching Resources

14 Using the Mini-Books Once children have assembled their mini-books, you might walk them through the pages as a preview before they glue the pieces in place. Here are some suggestions for Ask children to place all of the patterns face-up near their mini-book. Beginning with the cover, read aloud the text on each page. If a page has a blank for children to fill in, talk about what they need to do to find the answer to write in that blank, but tell them not to fill it in yet. As you preview each right-hand page, encourage children to use clues from the text on the spread to decide which pattern belongs on the page. Invite them to place the pattern on the page (but not glue it down yet) and then read the text again. Does the pattern make sense with the text? When finished, ask them to put the pattern back with the others. When you preview page 11 of the mini-book (the last page), talk about what children need to do to complete the activity. If desired, work together to find the answers, but have children wait until later to fill in the answers. After previewing the mini-book together, have children read it by themselves. This time, ask them to fill in the blanks, glue each pattern to its corresponding page, and complete the activity on page 11. Assembling the Mini-Books The cut-and-paste mini-books require very few materials, and children can complete them at their desk or a learning center. To get started, provide children with copies of the reproducible pages for the selected mini-book, then demonstrate the steps below. (Or you might assemble the books in @@ scissors crayons or markers glue stick or stapler Ready for School! Ready for School! by by 2 1. Fold the front cover/page 1 in half along the solid center line. Keep the fold to the right side. 2. Repeat step 1 for each of the remaining page pairs: pages 2/3, 4/5, 6/7, 8/9, and 10/11. Stack the pages in order with the cover on top and all of the folds on the right side. 3. Staple the pages together along the left edge. Cut & Paste Mini-Books: Around the Year 2011 by Nancy I. Sanders, Scholastic Teaching Resources 5

15 Gingerbread Cookies Yum! YELLOW COOKIE: Sugar cookie tastes best FOUR BUTTONS: Eat 4 cookies Creating the Glyph December Distribute copies of the gingerbread cookie glyph patterns and the legend to students. Review the legend, one characteristic at a time, as you display a cookie glyph you have completed. Then distribute the other materials, and invite students to create their own personal gingerbread cookie glyph Critical Thinking EYES ARE TRIANGLES: 6 letters in first name PURPLE MOUTH: Like eating warm cookies BELT: Like chocolate milk best Ask students to display their completed cookie glyphs. Then ask them to form three groups: those with brown cookies, those with tan, and those with yellow. Collect the glyphs from each group. Create a large wall graph by making rows of cookies of each color. Discuss what the graph shows. Ask questions such as: How many children in our class like chocolate cookies best? How many more like chocolate than sugar cookies? How many like sugar and gingerbread? Math Skills geometry: shapes one-to-one correspondence greater than/less than/ equal to counting addition, subtraction Materials reproducible glyph patterns and legend from pages completed gingerbread glyph scissors glue or paste crayons Great Glyphs Around the Year Patricia Hughes & Dr. Honi Bamberger, Scholastic Teaching Resources

16 Literature The Gingerbread Man by Eric Kimmel. Holiday House, In this retelling of a favorite childhood tale, a gingerbread boy escapes when he is taken out of the oven, and has many adventures. Explore More Home/School, Math, Language Arts Have children collect data from members of their family to determine which of the following is their favorite type of cookie: sugar, peanut butter, chocolate chip, or gingerbread. Once everyone has brought in this information, decide on a way to graph the data. For example, students could make a bar graph with a bar to represent each of the four types of cookies. Then have students make observations about the data that has been collected. Older students can write about their observations. Math Bring in a bag of chocolate chip cookies and give each student a cookie. (Try to find the bag that claims to have 1000 chips.) Ask students to look at their cookie and estimate how many chips it has. Develop a range based on the number of chips estimated. Then have students break their cookies apart and count the chips. Ask each student to find a way to represent on paper the number of chips their cookie had. For example, students might write the number, draw a circle for each chip, draw a cookie with dots to represent the number of chips, use tallies, and so on. Then invite students to eat their cookies. Language Arts Read the story The Gingerbread Man. Find different versions of this classic tale, and compare them. Then invite students to write their own tale of a gingerbread boy or girl. Ask students to incorporate numbers in their stories. Math Make gingerbread cookies with the class. Sequence the steps for baking cookies. Calculate how many times the recipe must be increased in order to make enough cookies for your class. Have students do the measuring, bake, and enjoy! Math Use the gingerbread cookie pattern. Have students make a gingerbread boy or girl and then use their cookies as a nonstandard unit to measure classroom objects and distances. For example, students can measure the length and width of their desk or tabletops, the length of a bulletin board, the distance from the front to the back of the classroom, and so on. 26 Great Glyphs Around the Year Patricia Hughes & Dr. Honi Bamberger, Scholastic Teaching Resources

17 Name Legend Gingerbread Cookies Yum! 1 What kind of cookie tastes best? Color of Cookie brown tan yellow chocolate gingerbread sugar 2 What flavor milk do you like with cookies? Pattern on Belt chocolate plain strawberry 3 How many cookies do you eat for a snack? Number of Buttons 0 none 1 one 2 two 3 three 4 four 5 five 4 How many letters are in your first name? Shape of Eyes exactly six fewer than six more than six 5 What is the best part of making cookies? Color of Mouth red pink purple measuring and stirring tasting the batter eating warm cookies 27 Great Glyphs Around the Year Patricia Hughes & Dr. Honi Bamberger, Scholastic Teaching Resources

18 Gingerbread Cookies Yum! Gingerbread patterns 28 Great Glyphs Around the Year Patricia Hughes & Dr. Honi Bamberger, Scholastic Teaching Resources

19 Gingerbread Cookies Yum! Gingerbread patterns 29 Great Glyphs Around the Year Patricia Hughes & Dr. Honi Bamberger, Scholastic Teaching Resources

20 l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l uu l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u December: Week 3 In winter, it s fun to look closely at the snow! Write about what you might see in the snow on the ground. Example: My boots leave fancy prints in the snow. l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l u l Prints on Fresh Snow The snowplow leaves. My boots leave. A dog comes bounding by, and it leaves. When I drag a bare stick behind me, it leaves. When we lie on our backs and flap our arms, we leave. So many pictures in the snow! by 24 Week-by-Week Poetry Frames 2011 by Betsy Franco, Scholastic Teaching Resources

21 DECEMBER HOLIDAYS How I Celebrate... by Draw a picture of yourself celebrating your winter holiday. The winter holiday I celebrate is In this picture, I am I celebrate this holiday with My favorite part of this holiday is Month-by-Month Draw & Write Prompts Scholastic Professional Books

KraftyKid s Winter Holiday Projects

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