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Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year)SeptemberBrief Description of the Activity:The students will discover what makes the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the secularNew Year different. The similarity between the Jewish New Year and the secular new yearis the idea of "resolutions." Jewish culture sees Rosh Hashanah as a time for human beingto grow and change. Hearing the sounding of the shofar is the first commandment on RoshHashanah. The shofar is a ram's horn is a three-thousand-year-old musical instrument thatis blown into like a trumpet.The high-pitched blasts of the shofar make an urgent sound thatremind all to reflect on the past year and the year to come. Students will make a shofar outof brown paper bags. Each student will cut the paper in a triangle, then write on the triangle aresolution that they have for the upcoming year, roll it into a horn and the teacher will secureit with tape or a staple. Each student will blow their resolution through the horn during a RoshHashanah celebration.Religion of Origin:JewishBooks:Happy New Year! by Emery BernhardThe Family Treasury of Jewish Holidays by Malka DruckerEngineer Ari and the Rosh Hashanah Ride By Deborah Bodin CohenSliding Into the New Year By Dori WeinsteinWeb Sites: Activities:Students can research how other countries or cultures use sound as an observance. Thestudents can share the sound (using a computer or other audio device) and the reason for thesound’s with the class.Students will pick a sound that is prevalent in their life and share it with their classmatesexplaining why it is an important sound in their life.Groups of students can use Happy New Year! to find other cultures that celebrate New Years.They will jigsaw by creating 3 different symbols of the specific culture’s new year and writesomething about the specific New Year on each symbol.Lesson in Appreciating Others:Students will see that people in multiple cultures create goals for themselves to make their lifebetter and reflect on their past. They will also learn about how sounds relate to celebrations.El Grito de Independencia(Mexican Independence Day)September 16thBrief Description of the Activity:The students will listen to the story of Mexican Independence Day and learn aboutthe colors of the Mexican Flag. Each color is symbolic to the Mexican people; greensymbolizes independence, white symbolizes religion, and red symbolizes union.Each student will make a trumpet decorated with green, red, and white for El Grito deIndependencia. On each color the student will write something that they believe is whyMexicans tried to gain their Independence. At 11:00 a.m. (not p.m. as the students wouldnot be at the school) the teacher will ring a bell and all the students will give the grito (cryof Independence) by shouting “Viva Mexico!” and making noises with their trumpet.Country of Origin:MexicoBooks:Mexican Independence Day and Cinco de Mayo by Dianne M. MacMillanStories of Mexico's Independence Days and Other Bilingual Children's Fables byEliseo "Cheo" Torres and Timothy L.,Jr. SawyerMy Mexico / México Mío by Tony JohnstonWeb Sites: Activities: .Students can research different other countries’ flags. Displaying the flags on a bulletinboard or around the room, each student will share what the flag colors represent with therest of the class.Groups of students will learn more about Mexico’s culture by creating brochures toentice people to visit Mexico. Each student in the group will have one section of thebrochure; general facts, historical places, common vocabulary, traditional dishes, ect.Lesson in Appreciating Others:Students will relate to the idea that people want freedom and this can be seen aroundthe world. The idea that Mexico celebrates it’s freedom with a great celebration allowsstudents to see the pride that Mexico has in it’s accomplishment. Students will be able toobserve different colors representing different or similar values for different countries.Rosh HashanahSeptemberBrief Description of the Activity: I will first start off by reading the literature, Sammy Spiders First Rosh Hashanah, by Sylvia A. Rouss. Then I will send them back to seats to make their own Shofar and explain what it symbolizes in this holiday. Once that is complete I will set out apples and honey for them to eat as a snack while we discuss what we learned.Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: JewishBooks: Sammy Spiders First Rosh Hashanah, by Sylvia A. Rouss.Web Sites: website shows the blowing of the Shofar on this particular holiday.Extension Activities: After we discussed the holiday and ate the apples and honey, I will extend the activity by having the students write letters to the world by stating what they learned about the holiday and what they thought was most interesting about it. Lesson in Appreciating Others: I will explain to them that just because they don’t have the same religion, doesn’t mean that anyone is different than they are. I will then make it a point to do a similar and different list of traditions the students have as well as Jewish people have during Rosh Hashanah. This will help the students see the similarities this holiday has as well as the differences that they should be educated on so they can expand their knowledge on holidays other than their own. Mexican Independence Day SeptemberBrief Description of the Activity: I will begin the activity by reading the literature, Stories of Mexico’s Independence Day. After, I will tell the students a story of a tradition that I have been a part of during my life. I will then ask students to identify a few traditions that they are familiar with as I write the ideas on the board. After I will show the students where Mexico is on the map and briefly describe the country. I will inform them of what a fiesta is and that an example of one in Mexico is Mexican Independence Day. I will then explain to the students that just as the United States have reasons from history as to why we celebrate our independence, so does Mexico. Each student will think of reasons why a country would want to have independence or freedom from another country. The students will then pair up and share their ideas with two other classmates. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: MexicanBooks: Stories of Mexico’s Independence Day, by Elisea Cheo TerresWeb Sites: website shows a Mexican Fiesta in progress which will help give the students a visualization of how they are gone by.Extension Activities: I will explain that different countries have holidays with which we may be unfamiliar: In Mexico, holidays are called festivals or fiestas and I will go over what a fiesta is and some ways they are celebrated. I will then have a Mexican Independence Day celebration in the classroom. The students will make Mexican hot chocolate and I will bring in polvorones, a Mexican food, to eat. They can wear green, red, and white while Mexican music is playing: dancing will be involved as well. Lesson in Appreciating Others: I will review information regarding fiestas once more and explain the events that take place in Mexico on the eve of Mexican Independence Day and on Mexican Independence Day. We will define as a class the concept of tradition and then I will ask the students what they do every year the same way. Examples of traditions I will provide for the students for them to relate to will be, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and Birthdays. Lastly, the students will write a story of a tradition that they have; some students will share out load to the class.Yom KippurOctober 7, 2011??Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?The first thing I will do for this activity is to give the students a little bit of background about Judaism.? I will pass out small sheets of paper with characteristics of the Jewish religion, or not, and ask them to categorize the statements as either true or false on the board.? This will help me to determine what students know already about the Jewish religion, and to explain certain aspects that they do not already understand.Next, I will read On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur by Cathy Goldberg Fishman.? Before I begin reading I will tell the students that this is the story of a Jewish holiday, and to pay special attention to the ways that people celebrate in this story.? I will point out some pictures while reading and help students identify things such as the lighting of a candle.? This book is the story of a Yom Kippur celebration from the viewpoint of a young girl.? It explains the traditions of Yom Kippur and walks us through the importance and good feelings of the Jewish celebration.? After the story we will discuss the way they celebrated in the book, and how it is similar to how we celebrate and different to the way we celebrate holidays.? We will create a class venn diagram on the board comparing the way we celebrate and the way our characters celebrated in the story.? Third, I will ask the students to take out their journals and I will give them two prompts.? 1. How do you feel when you do something wrong?? 2. How do you feel when someone forgives you? I will ask them to choose which one they would like to complete and write a paragraph response.? We will link our feelings to how the Jewish people feel during the times of Rosh Hashanah (the 10 days leading up to Yom Kippur) and Yom Kippur.? ?Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: Judiasm ?Books:The Magic of Kol Nidre : A Story for Yom Kippur?Yom Kippur with Bina, Benny, and Chaggai Havonah (Artscroll Children's Holiday Series)?High Holy Days Machzor: A Prayer Service for Young Children and Their Families?Yom Kippur: A Family Service?On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (Aladdin Picture Books)????Web Sites:? Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.) ??????????? Another activity we will do is to have students become familiar with the Hebrew calendar.? We will look at this calendar and compare it with our 12 month calendar.? Then the teacher will explain how to use it to find the date for the start of Rosh Hashanah and the date of Yom Kippur.? I will give each student a Hebrew calendar and a standard calendar (for October only) and we will record or findings on our classroom calendar.? I will also ask them to decorate October 7, of their calendar with one of the celebration techniques we talked about in class.?? ??????????? Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)??????????? Developing respect for others starts by getting to know their customs, traditions and the way they feel.? In this activity, we will be comparing the way Yom Kippur is celebrated with the way we celebrate holidays.? In addition, the journal activity will help students think about the feeling of forgiveness and wrongdoing, and how Jewish people feel during this holiday.? We will learn that Yom Kippur is not much different than a holiday we would celebrate in America.? ??Deepavali “Festival of Lights”October 26-30??Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children???????????? For this activity, students will break up into different centers.? The first center will be a web search.? Each student will be given a worksheet of questions to answer about Deepavali and will use the web pages provided at the top of the worksheet to find the answers to the questions.? Students will be able to work together or divide the task.? However, each student will fill out their own worksheet.??????????? The second center will be pictures of fireworks in American and Deepavali celebrations.? Students will be asked to look at these pictures and draw a picture of their favorite type of firework.? They will also be asked to write about an experience where they saw fireworks, and share their experience with their group members.??????????? The third center will be the “how to center.”? At this center there will be cards and rules about how to play rummy.? Rummy is a game that some families play to celebrate Deepavali.? It is a game that we now play in America.? ??????????? Once the students have gone to all three of the centers, we will gather together as a group and debrief. For the first center we will go through the research worksheet and record the correct information about Deepavali.? For the second we will take a closer look at the pictures and discuss the similarities and differences between the celebrations.? For the third, the teacher will be prepared with additional pictures of common games we play in America.? I will tell the students that all of these games, just like rummy, are borrowed from other countries.? The students will try to determine what country the games were originally created in.? The answers will be revealed on the back of the picture.???????? ?Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: Singapore, Malaysia and India?Books:Lights For GitaLighting a Lamp: A Diwali StoryDiwali: Hindu Festival of LightsDiwali by Denise M. JordanDiwali by Christina Mia GardeskiDivali Rose by Vashanti Rahaman??Web Sites: Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.) ??????????? For the rest of the year we will set up a once a month game day.? Every month two or three students will bring in their favorite game, along with instructions how to play and a background of the origin of the game and how it came to America.??????????? Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)??????????? The fireworks and game center of the classroom in this activity each help the students to relate an aspect of this holiday to their own life.? For example, students will realize that they celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks just as people in Malaysia, Singapore and India celebrate Deepavali using fireworks.? Also, learning the new (or maybe old) game, and incorporating this extension activity, will help the students see that we are all connected.? People all over the world play the same or similar games, and we all have fun playing them.? ??????????? ???United Nations DayOctoberBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children? The students will break into four groups and will each be assigned one of the four main purposes of the United Nations (To keep peace throughout the world, to develop friendly relations among nations, to help nations work together to improve the lives of their citizens, to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations). Each group will be asked how they feel they could best carry out their purpose. The students will then write a letter within their group to the United Nations explaining their strategies to better the world.Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: InternationalBooks:United Nations from A to Z by Nancy Winslow ParkerUnite or Die: How Thirteen States Became a Nation by Jacqueline Jules and Jef CzekaWeb Sites: Cyberschoolbus. Extension Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.The students will refer back to the four main purposes of the UN and model them in our classroom. As a class, the students will create a contract addressing how peace can be kept within the classroom, how the students can have friendly relations with one another, how the students can work together to improve the day of other students and how the classroom can be a centre for all of the students and their ideas to come together. The students will create these contracts (one for each purpose) on chart paper and they will be hung around the room for students to follow as a code within our classroom.Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)The students will learn to appreciate others through the extension activity. They will have to consider how to resolve conflict, when someone has a different belief other than theirs, in a positive way. They will learn to appreciate each other’s talents that are brought into the classroom by practicing how they can make their peers feel happy and valued. The students will practice working together and having positive interactions with one another in order to present a unified class. Finally, the students need to join together, regardless of their differences, to make the classroom a place where they can all exhibit their best qualities and feel confident and secure with their peers.Yom KippurOctoberBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?During the activity I will read from the book Lent, Yom Kippur, and Other Atonement Days and the students will discuss the different traditions of Yom Kippur such as fasting, prayer, candle lighting and not wearing leather shoes. For this activity, the children will all make slippers to wear throughout the day. We will have a discussion about giving up wearing shoes for the day. I will ask the students how they feel about this. How others will perceive them? Is this is fair?Materials: CardboardSequinsGlueScissorsShoelacesThe students will create their shoes and wear them for the remainder of the day. At the end of the day, we will then have a class discussion about how they felt about wearing the shoes. I will ask them if they felt comfortable. Why or why not? Did it make them realize anything?Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: JewishBooks:The Hardest Word: A Yom Kippur Story by Jacqueline Jules and Katherine Janus KahnLent, Yom Kippur, and Other Atonement Days (Holidays and Celebrations) by Amy Hackney BlackwellWeb Sites: Extension Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.For an extension to this activity I would ask the students to go home and suggest their families practice spending a Saturday without shoes on. I would ask them to discuss with their parents the questions we discussed in class and then come back and share with the group on Monday.Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)The children are accepting others by literally putting themselves in someone else’s shoes. They are practicing a tradition that they would not normally practice to see how it feels to be a Jewish boy or girl celebrating Yom Kippur. It’s something they may think is silly but once they see how they are treated they may feel differently.DiwaliOctoberBrief Description of the Activity: First the students will need to complete a scavenger hunt set up online about Diwali, to find information on why and how it is celebrated. Once the students have gathered all their information, they will get in groups to discuss their findings. Next, the students will have to discuss how his or her own religion or faith celebrates the New Year. Here the teacher will give the students about five minutes to discuss and then switch groups. During this the teacher will monitor the groups to make sure that they are comparing and contrasting what they just learned with their own lives. Then in groups the students will get materials needed for an activity. These include: strips of colored paper, glue/stapler, and markers. One each strip of paper the students will write down each other’s religion or faith, as well as one New Year tradition. Then place the strips on top of one another, and staple or glue all of them in the center. Once the strips are together, hold the center of the pile and fold the paper up and down. This will create a firework shape that can be hung on the ceiling throughout the room. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:Diwali is known as the Festival of Lights. People who follow this Hindu religion around the world celebrate this holiday between mid-October and mind-November. This holiday celebrates the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom. This holiday is in conjunction with the Hindu New Year. Diyas, which are special lamps, are lit to light so the goddess Laksmi can find her way into people’s homes. Laksmi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. The diyas are lit as well as other candles and fireworks to symbolize the guiding light. Books:Diwali: Hindu Festival of Lights by Dianne M. MacMillanLighting a Lamp by Jonny Zucker (Top six Diwali books for children)Web Sites: (information) (information) (information and resources) (information and resources)(resources) (information) (resources)Extension Activities:Venn diagramCreate a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Hindu New Year with American New Year.Can be a whole class discussion, group work, or individual work.Create rangoli patterns with chalkSee resources links for instructions on how to make patterns.This can be done as an individual art project or as a whole class mural.Make paper lanterns See resources links for instructions on how to make the lamps.The lanterns can be placed in the classroom to represent lighting a pathway for the goddess Lakshmi.Sculpt diyas from clayCreate these lamps by making small clay pinch pots. Also, see resources links for other methods.The lamps can be lit at a calming or quiet time during the day.Prepare traditional Diwali foods (sheera, kheer, muruku)See resources links for recipesSong:LITTLE LAMPSTune: "London Bridge" Little lamps are burning bright, Burning bright, burning bright.Little lamps are burning bright.It's Diwali.See them lighting up the night,Up the night, up the night.See them lighting up the night.It's Diwali.Liz RyersonIn small groups, have the students talk about the significance of the song, and why the song was made.Students can also create their own song to go along with the holiday and perform it.Lesson in Appreciating Others: This activity will allow students to explore other cultures and their celebrations. From this the students will take what they have learned and compare it to what they already know, and what is similar to his or her own life and culture. Many cultures celebrate the New Year, but many cultures celebrate it in a different way. This activity provides students with the opportunity to talk to other students about the unique ways different faiths and even cultures celebrate the New Year. The firework activity is another way for students to have hands on experience when learning about this celebration. The firework holds all of the faiths and traditions of all the students in the classroom. All are bound to each other in the firework, representing a light of the new year. Many faiths and cultures share this light in multiple ways through candles, lamps, and fireworks. This activity will help bring the classroom together culturally. El Día de la RazaOctoberBrief Description of the Activity:For this activity the students will participate in creating a classroom heritage quilt. The quilt can either be made out of real fabric (with fabric paint or markers) or out of paper. This activity can also be done with puzzle pieces to form a complete puzzle at the end. The students will have to each talk to their parents, grandparents, and/or guardians about his or her heritage. The students will be looking to ask questions such as: What traditions and symbols of their heritage are most important to them? Then the students will write down at least three things that can be put on their square of the quilt. This is a great way to get family members involved. After the three or more facts, each student decorates one square of the quilt with the important information they have gathered about their heritage. After the students finish their square, each student will share what he or she put on their piece of the quilt. After everyone has shared, the class will need to put the quilt together, and all of the different squares of the quilt will represent the cultures and heritages of the classroom. Lastly, hang the quilt either in the classroom or hallway so others may look and see the quilt everyday. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:This holiday is celebrated in Latin America as well as a few countries in South America. This holiday is based off of Columbus Day, but it has a different meaning to the Hispanic population. It celebrates heritage and pride in where you came from. It is called, “the day of the race.” It was named this because of the new race that was formed when the Europeans integrated with the Spanish population. Nowadays, the holiday is a celebration of heritage. Books:Latino Holiday Book: From Cinco de Mayo to Día de Los Muertos--the Celebrations and Traditions of Hispanic-Americans by Valerie Menard David A. Adler (Author)? Visit Amazon's David A. Adler PageJean Marzollo, “En 1492”, Scholastic, NY, 1991. (Ilustrado por Steve Bj?rkman.)Un Libro Ilustrado Sobre Cristobal Colon/Picture Book of Christopher Columbus by David A. Adler and illustrated by John WallnerWeb Sites: (resources) (information) (information) (resources) (resources)Activities:Venn DiagramCreate a Venn diagram that compares and contrasts Columbus Day with El Día de la Raza.Can be a whole class discussion, group work, or individual work.Prepare Hispanic food for the students to try (empanadas, tortillas, gazpacho)See resources links for recipesSong:PAZ Y LIBERTADPara los ni?os de todo el mundoqueremos paz y libertad.Para los ni?os de todo el mundoqueremos paz y libertad.Paz, queremos pazy libertad en este mundo.Paz, queremos pazy libertad en este mundo.Ya no más hambre, ya no más guerra,queremos paz en esta tierra.Ya no más hambre, yo no más guerra,queremos paz en esta tierra.Paz, queremos pazy libertad en este mundo.Paz, queremos pazy libertad en este mundo.Poem:A Cristobal Colón (Poema)Del puerto de Palospartió Colón,con tres carabelasy un gran corazón.So?aba con tierraslejanas tal vez,adonde llevarlessu amor y su fe.Un doce de octubrea ellas llegóy en nombre de Espa?atomó posesión.Lesson in Appreciating Others: The quilt is a tool to show the students just how different but similar people are to one another. Each student can take turns explaining their heritage and the items on their squares. Students that have the same or similar heritages may have different items on their squares. This allows the students to see the differences and similarities between each student and their heritage. Explain to the students that the quilt shows that despite how different each one of us is we can become united, like the quilt. Differences and similarities still allow us to become one. NovemberWHAT IS AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH?In 1990 President George Bush Sr. declared November National American Indian Heritage Month on November 3. The purpose of National American Indian Heritage Month is to honor and recognize the original peoples of this land. This month is to promote awareness of the American Indian culture, events, and achievements. We have gained a better understanding of the history of Native Americans through oral stories and stone pictures. Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?This activity would be an introductory lesson to a unit on Native Americans. Students will listen to the teacher read a tale written by the American Indians. The teacher will introduce the genre folklore and tales. Students will be able to identify American Indian values and importance of the community and nature. Students will then be asked to write a folktale based on their families values. As an extension students will paint the story on a stone similar to the Native Americans of the past. Teachers should encourage their Native American students to share their knowledge on Indian folklore. Parents and family members should be invited to the classroom to share tales and the history of Native Americans. Country of Origin:This holiday is observed in the United States. Books:The Storytelling Stone: Traditional Native American Myths and Tales?by Susan FeldmannCoyote Stories for Children: Tales from Native America?by Susan StrausWeb Sites:Teaching Resources – Smithsonian Education – list Native Folk stories Activities: Students will be called to the reading rug. The teacher will read the book Coyote Stories for Children: Tales from Native America?by Susan Straus.The class should have a discussion on the values of Native Americans. Students should be scaffold to mention important values and adjectives/characteristics of the Native American culture. Students will be asked to write their own personal folklore based on their families values and traditions. Students will then have the opportunity to paint their story on a stone block. Students will be encouraged to use natural paints such as fruits and vegetables as the native Americans would have in the past. Lesson in Appreciating Others: This lesson will help students get a better understanding of the mind set and value of Native Americans. As an introductory lesson, students will use their knowledge gained from the folklore to conduct further research. 876300-504825Dia de los Muertos "Day of the Dead" November 1What is Dia de Los Muertos? Dia de los Muertos is also known as the Day of the Dead is predominately celebrated in Mexico and other areas in South America. Many Latin Americans celebrate this holiday in Texas and California where the make up the majority of the population. This holiday serves as a day of remembrance where family members celebrate the lives of their dead family members. Dia de los muertos is celebrated between October 31st and November 1st. Although this might seem like a holiday of mourning, Dia de los muertos is a day of color, celebration, and happiness. Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?Students will construct an ofrenda after listening to the story Chatter Blash! A Day of the Dead Celebration by Richard Keep. Students will be asked to make personal connections to the celebrations by creating their own ofrenda and will participate in a fiesta. Latin American students will be asked to help educate other students in the classroom. * These students can bring in a family member to educate the class or a personal item that will be appropriate for the holiday. Country of Origin:This holiday is observed in Latin America and MexicoBooks:-952507286625Clatter Bash!: A Day of the Dead Celebration by Richard KeepWeb Sites:Movie clip on student created Ofrendas - Dia de los Muertos: Young People's Ofrenda. Information, articles and pictures galleries , crafts, glossary, and teacher/students website Activities: Decorate the classroom with colorful streamers and age appropriate skull decorations. Ask students before conducting lesson to bring in pictures of family members that have died.Group students on the reading rug and read Clatter Bash!: A Day of the Dead Celebration. Prior to reading the book, show students pictures and discuss their meaning.Display pictures of ofrendas on the whiteboard or smart board. Write Ofrenda on the white board and call on students to discuss what it is and stands for. Who is it for? What is displayed in the picture?Have students create their own ofrenda. Students are encouraged to research online and in books what is put in ofrendas. Provide students with craft materials and time to construct it. Have students share completed ofrendas as a class. Ask students if they know any other ways to honor the dead. Students are encouraged to make connections to dia de los muertos to their own lives. Show students pictures of shrines from the Japanese and Chinese cultures. Have students create Venn diagram highlighting similarities and differences. Teachers might choose have a fiesta and give skull candy to their students after student allergies are reviewed.Lesson in Appreciating Others: This lesson will help students gain a better understanding on the many different ways people celebrate love ones that died. Students will gain this understanding by creating their own ofrenda for their family members. Teachers should emphasize this day as a happy celebration and students should gain similar feelings rather than fear when remembering the deceased. Dia De Los Muertos-“Day of the Dead”November 2nd/3rd Country of Origin: MexicoBackground Information: Day of the Dead is celebrated in Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala and other areas of Mexican/Latino culture. Day of the Dead is celebrated around the same time as Halloween and the Catholic celebration of All Saints Day. This holiday is a way to celebrate and remember family members who have died. Although this holiday is associated with death, it is not a sad, depressing time, but a celebration of life and happiness. The main symbols of the holiday are skulls and skeletons. Families usually visit the gravesites of their deceased relatives during this celebration. This celebration stresses the importance of recognizing the cycle of life and death. Brief Description of the Activity: To teach students about the Day of the Dead I would begin by telling them some background information, reading them a story about the Day of the Dead (from list below) and asking any students if they have ever celebrated Day of the Dead. Together, we would make a list of some important aspects of the holiday. Then we would create another list comparing the Day of the Dead celebration to our own American celebration of Halloween. I would ask students for both similarities and differences between the two. As an activity for the students, they would create their own Calavera masks, similar to those worn by people during the Day of the Dead celebration. If students have any family members that have passed, they may want to decorate their mask in remembrance of them. Students can also share their masks with the class. Materials (for mask):Calavera mask sheetsCrayons, markers, colored pencilsGlitter, buttons, feathers, etc.GlueYarnScissorsBooks:Ancona Daz, George. Pablo Remembers: The Fiesta of the Day of the Dead. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books,1993.Carmichael, Elizabeth and Chloe Sayer. The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1992.Muller, Birte. Felipa and the Day of the Dead. New York: North South Books, 2004.Winter, Jeanette. Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book. New York: Sandpiper Books, 2006.Web Sites:Teacher resources: information about Day of the Dead: Activities: To extend students knowledge about the Day of the Dead, you could include Spanish integration activities. Students could learn a few Spanish vocabulary words, especially those found in the Spanish poem, Calaveras. Students could also write their own poems about Calaveras, using some of the Spanish words. “Calaveras Poem” (Spanish)Ahi viene el aguapor la ladera,y se me mojami calavera.La muerte calaca,ni gorda ni flaca.La muerte casera,pegada con cera.“Calaveras Poem” (English)Here comes the waterDown the slopeAnd my skullIs getting wetDeath, a skeletonNeither fat nor skinnyA homemade skeletonStuck together with waxSpanish Words--Day of the Deadflores - flowersofrenda - offering dulces - candies calavera - skull naranjas - oranges calaca - skeleton canas - sugar canes pan de muertos - Day of the Dead bread cultura - cultureEid-al-Adha-“Feast of the Sacrifice”November 6th Religion of Origin: IslamBackground Information: Eid-al-Adha is one of the major holidays of Islam. This holiday celebrates the sacrifices Abraham to show his commitment to Allah. Today, Muslims celebrate by having a large feast. An animal is sacrificed and the meat is divided with some given to the poor and the rest eaten at the celebration. Eid-al-Adha takes place on the last day of Hajj, the celebration of the pilgrimage to Mecca. Brief Description of the Activity: To begin teaching students about Eid-al-Adha, I would ask students what they already may know about the Islam religion. Together, we would come up with a list. Since many students may not be familiar with the religion, I may read a book to introduce the religion, focusing on a few of the main parts such as the Five Pillars. I would then talk to the students about the generosity of the Islam culture (Pillar 3: Almsgiving), by reading the book, Aminah and Aisha’s Eid Gifts. As a class, we would discuss what it means to be generous and why that is important. As an activity, I would have students write a paragraph about who they would give gifts to and what kinds of gifts they would give. Students will also illustrate their writing. Books:Giliani-Williams, Fawzia. Aminah and Aisha’s Eid Gifts. Goodword Books, 2003. Walker, Robert. Eid-al-Adha: Celebrations in My World. Crabtree Publication: 2010. Web Sites:Teacher resources: information about Eid-al-Adha:. htm Activities: As an extension activity, we would further our discussion on generosity. I think it is important for students to see the benefits of giving rather than receiving. Together, we will brainstorm ideas that we could share our gifts with the community. Students could bring in canned food items to give to their local food pantry. This could be incorporated into a school wide giving effort as well. Students could also share gifts that aren’t materialistic, such as helping Lesson in Appreciating Others: There are many ways this lesson can connect to appreciating others. As students brainstorm gifts they can give to others, they will also be thinking about gifts they have received. I think it is important to stress the idea that gifts do not have to be materialistic, but can be more of personal gifts you can share with others. Students should be able to see different ways they can share their talents and gifts with others, as well as how fellow students, friends and family members share their gifts with them. Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)November 1 and 2Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?The activity will begin with me giving the students a brief background of Dia de los Muertos. After, I will read the story, Maria Molina and the Days of the Dead by Kathleen Krull and I will ask the students to listen to the story and brainstorm ideas of any similar holidays that we have here in the United States (Halloween and Memorial Day). After the story is finished the students will share any similarities/differences to any holidays that are here in the United States. We will create a chart and come to the conclusion that Dia de los Muertos is a combination of our Halloween and Memorial Day. Next, I will show the students examples of papel picado which are paper designs that cover the towns during Dia de los Muertos. We will briefly discuss materials and designs found on typical papel picado in Mexico. I will have multiple examples the students can compare and contrast. This will help the students realize that the holiday is a time for celebration, not mourning. The students will then make their own papel picado with tissue paper and scissors to decorate our classroom. The student’s designs do not have to be typical of what is seen during Dia de los Muertos. They can be simple organic shapes or more detailed depending on the grade level.Country of Origin: MexicoBooks:A Gift for Abuelita: Celebrating the Day of the Dead, Nancy Luenn Beto and the Bone Dance, Gina FreschetDay of the Dead: A Mexican-American Celebration, Dian Hoyt-GoldsmithDay of the Dead, Tony Johnston El Dia de los Muertos: The Life of the Dead in Mexican Folk Art, Maria Teresa PomarMaria Molina and the Days of the Dead, Kathleen Krull Pablo Remembers: The Fiesta of the Day of the Dead, George Ancona DazThe Spirit of Tio Fernando:A Day of the Dead Story, Janice LevyWeb Sites: Extension Activities: 1. Creating a calavera mask. These masks are worn during Dia de los Muertos and usually have a skeletal look to them. There are many templates on the internet. The students can decorate them with markers, stickers, glitter, or feathers. The students will create the mask in honor of someone they have lost. If they are comfortable sharing the student can share their mask to the class and explain who it is in honor of. Each student will write a brief description of their mask and who it is in memory of. I will display the masks and descriptions around the classroom. 2. Analyze traditional calavera poem as a class and then have students write their own Dia de los Muertos poemLesson in Appreciating Others:This lesson will help students appreciate others by looking at Dia de los Muertos and similar holidays that we celebrate in the United States such as, Memorial Day and Halloween. By creating a chart and comparing and contrasting these holidays the students will see that people in Mexico celebrate similar holidays to us. Although some of the traditions they do during Dia de los Muertos, such as picnics in the cemetery are different there is still the same underlying theme that we celebrate during Halloween and Memorial Day. My extension activity of creating calavera masks ties in a Mexican tradition to beliefs we have here in the United States of honoring our deceased. Overall, the students will learn that although there are different traditions that people use in Mexico they are still celebrating similar holidays to us in the United States. Lesson in Appreciating Others: In order to use this lesson as way to appreciate others, I would have students reflect on the similarities and differences between the Day of the Dead celebration and Halloween. Students may write about their own personal similarities and ways they can see connections to other holidays they celebrate. I would also teach students about the idea that although people may celebrate different holidays, we all still have many of the same values, such as remembering family members who have passed and taking the time to remember and acknowledge them. Eid al-AdhaNovember 7Background on Eid al-Adha:Eid al-Adha is one of the most joyful of Muslim holidays. “This festival, which comes at the end of the Hajj, remembers an event in the life of Ibrahim, which is the Arabic name for Abraham. Ibrahim was chosen by Allah to share the word of the Unity of God. He had a single son, Ishmael. The Koran tells the story of how Ibrahim was commanded by God to take his son, Ishmael, to the mountaintop and there to sacrifice him to Allah. Allah wanted Ibrahim to prove to him that he truly was obedient. Ibrahim took his son to the mountain with a heavy heart. He built a fire. He bound Ishmael. As he was about to kill his son, Allah sent Gibril, a messenger angel, to stop him. He brought the message that by being obedient, Ibrahim had truly made a sacrifice. Muslim people gather in the Mosque to remember Ibrahim’s sacrifice. They gather in their homes later to feast and to share gifts.” () The family will slaughter an animal and eat a third, give a third to friends and give a third to the poor at this time as well.Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?To begin this lesson I believe it will be important to give the students some background on Mulisms and Islam since many students will have minimal knowledge or only a negative view on these two topics. I will read any of the books I have provided below (except the first) to give the students background knowledge on the topic. After we will have a short discussion on how Muslim’s and Islam is different than some of the things we believe in. I will mention the five pillars of Islam and that Eid al-Adha is part of the third pillar, Zakat (almsgiving). Next I will read the story Aminah and Aisha’s Eid Gifts. After the book is finished we will discuss the types of gifts that are talked about in the story, they may be different than gifts we exchange here in the United States. We will define the terms “generous” and “almsgiving” and the students will learn that gifts do not always have to be material things, but can also be things we cannot see. The students will color and decorate a present and write their gift on their. I will encourage the students to think of a gift that makes the world a better place and makes people more accepting of others. The students will share their “gifts” and I will display them on the wall in the classroom. Country of Origin: IslamBooks:Aminah and Aisha's Eid Gifts : Ramadan and Eid Stories Series by Fawzia Gilani-Williams)Holidays Around the World: Celebrate Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr by Deborah HeiligmanIslam: Budi’s Story by Holly WallaceMuslim Child: Understanding Islam through Stories and Poems by Rukhsana KhanWeb Sites: Extension Activities: 1. Look more in-depth into the five pillars of Islam and do a small activity for each pillar.2. Since families on Eid al-Adha give a third of the meat of the animal to the poor our class could do a food drive and donate the supplies to a local food shelter. 3. Bring in a typical Muslim food, such a kheer which is eaten on holidays like Eid al-Ahda. Have the students try kheer and discuss if they like it or not.4. Have someone who practices the religion on Islam come into the class and discuss the importance of Eid al-Adha and the typical traditions.Lesson in Appreciating Others: This lesson helps students learn to appreciate others because they are learning about a holiday that many of the students have not heard of before. They will be learning about another culture and religion at the same time. By reading the books in the beginning of the lesson the students will hopefully remove any negative stereotypes they have developed. The students will see that although their traditions and reasoning behind the traditions are different that they are still similar to us. They spend time together as a family and feast like we do during many of our holidays. On Eid al-Adha they also donate food which sometimes people do during the holiday season in the United States. HanukkahBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children? For this activity a read a-loud will be preformed by the teacher with the students using the books listed below.Country of Origin: Israel, Jewish religion.Books: Polacco, P(1996).?The tree of the dancing goats. New York: New York: Simon & Schuster Books For Young People. Kalman, B(1993).?We celebrate hanukkah. New York: N.Y.: Crabtree Publishing Company.Web Sites: Activities: The teacher will put the students in groups of fours and ask them to do research on Hanukkah using the internet. Using the websites listed above and the books that were read each group will write two facts on an index card and then share their facts with the rest of the class (Tonello).Lesson in Appreciating Others: The teacher would send home a letter home to the parents of the students requesting that if they are from the Jewish culture, would they like to come in and speak about Hanukkah and prepare some of the traditional dishes that accompany the holiday (Tonello). However, if no family members or students are available from the culture the teacher and students will prepare some of the traditional food and the students will create a dreidel to take home. The instructions on how to make a dreidel can be found on the following website. HYPERLINK "" , B(1993). We celebrate hanukkah. New York: N.Y.: Crabtree Publishing Company., P(1996). The tree of the dancing goats. New York: New York: Simon & Schuster Books For Young People. Tonello, T. Teacher.KwanzaaBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children? For this activity a read a-loud will be preformed by the teacher with the students using the books listed below.Country of Origin: Africa, African American Heritage.Books: Ford, J(1997).?K is for kwanzaa: a kwanzaa alphabet book. New York: Scholastic Inc. Medearis, A(2000).?Seven spools of thread. New York: Scholastic Inc.Web Sites: HYPERLINK "" Activities: The teacher will break the students of into groups of four and assign each group one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa to research using the internet websites and the books read in class. After each group has researched their principle they will write on an index card what the principle is. What it means and how they can apply it to the classroom community (Tonello). Lesson in Appreciating Others: The teacher would send home a letter home to the parents of the students requesting that if they celebrate Kwanzaa, would they like to come in and speak about Kwanzaa and prepare some of the traditional dishes that accompany the holiday (Tonello). However, if no family members or students are available from the culture the teacher and students will prepare some of the traditional food and the students will create a weaving cloth belt to take home. The directions for making the belt are located in the back of the story Seven Spools of Thread.ReferencesFord, J(1997). K is for kwanzaa: a kwanzaa alphabet book. New York: Scholastic Inc. , A(2000). Seven spools of thread. New York: Scholastic Inc.Tonello, T. Teacher.HanukkahDecember 20th – 28th Brief Description of the Activity: After reading a book about dreidels to the class, I will teach the students about the symbols on the different sides of the dreidel. Then I will tell the students the meanings of each symbol. Students will then construct their own dreidels out of cardstock which will have the dreidel pattern on it. The students will just need to cut it out and glue it together. Once assembled, the students must draw the symbols on the sides, and find a partner. Using one of the dreidels, each group of two will play the dreidel game. This will allow the students to take part in a traditional game that is played during Hanukkah. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday. The name of this holiday translates to “festival of light.” Hanukkah originated in Jerusalem after the Jews reclaimed their Holy Temple.Books:Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights by Leslie KimmelmanThe Menorah Story by Mark H. PodwalPapa’s Latkes by Michelle EdwardsThe Magic Dreidels by Eric A. KimmelOne Candle by Eve BuntingRunaway Dreidel by Leslea NewmanWeb Sites: Activities: While the students are constructing their own dreidels, I will teach them the dreidel song. I will play Jewish music, and prepare ingredients to make Jewish food such as latkes and sufganiot. After the students have completed the dreidel activity, I will have them each make their own latke. I will have a Jewish speaker come in and talk about Hanukkah, and then he/she will show the students how to make sufganiot. I will also allow any parents/guardians of the students who celebrate Hanukkah to come into the classroom. This enables the students to learn directly from someone that celebrates the traditions of Hanukkah every year. Lesson in Appreciating Others: Students will make paper menorahs, and on each candle, they will write one thing that they have learned about a student in the class. The students will be allowed to go around the room and ask each other for one interesting fact about their classmates. Once all of the candles are completed, I will explain to the students that we are all each other’s “guiding lights.” We will discuss what they have written down on the candles, and I will hang the menorahs up on the wall, outside of the classroom, for all to see.KwanzaaDecember 26th-January 1stBrief Description of the Activity: I will start the activity by asking the students what they already know about Kwanzaa. After a classroom discussion, I will read a book about Kwanzaa to the students. Since seven candles, which represent seven different principles, are a major part of the holiday, I will have the students make their own seven candles. I will buy little candles with small wicks on them, and I will set up different stations with various colors of hot wax. Each student will be allowed seven candles, and they will have to decide what color each candle is going to be. For each candle, they will have to come up with their own principle which they feel will make them a better person. The student then needs to record the reasons as to why they chose certain colors to go with certain principles. Once each student has seven finished candles, they will decorate a small block of Styrofoam. This block will represent the Kinara, or wooden candleholder, that is used during Kwanzaa. Alternative: If it is too difficult for the students to dip existing candles in wax, you can bring in all different types of birthday candles. The students can come up with seven principles, and then choose a candle to go with each principle. There must be a reason for the pairing of the principle and candle. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:Kwanzaa is an American holiday which is inspired by African traditions. Kwanzaa was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, who worked at California State University as a professor and chairman of Black Studies. The purpose of this holiday is to celebrate the values of our ancestors. The name Kwanzaa is in the African language of Swahili. The English translation of this word, however, is “first fruits of the harvest”. Books:Imani’s Gift at Kwanzaa by Denise Burden-PatmonKwanzaa by Deborah M. Newton ChocolateLet’s Get Ready for Kwanzaa by Joanne WinneSeven Candles for Kwanzaa by Andrea Davis PinkneySeven Days of Kwanzaa by Ella GrierSeven Spools of Thread by Angela Shelf MedearisThe Gifts of Kwanzaa by Synthia Saint JamesThe Story of Kwanzaa by Donna L. WashingtonTogether for Kwanzaa by Juwanda G. FordWeb Sites: Activities: I will invite someone into the classroom that celebrates Kwanzaa, so that they may help us make some authentic Kwanzaa dishes such as Popcorn Nut Crunch, Date and Peanut Salad, Muhindi (corn), or Jambalaya Salad. I will also open the classroom up to any parents/guardians that celebrate Kwanzaa. I will have students bring in a cultural food from their own cultures so that everyone would get to try different types of food. This potluck meal will allow them to celebrate their cultures, as well as learn about Kwanzaa. I will ask our classroom guest and all of the students to bring in the recipe of what they have brought in, so that I can compile all of the recipes into a recipe book for each student. Lesson in Appreciating Others: I will give each student a square of fabric. On their own piece of fabric, each student will draw, with fabric markers, something which demonstrates at least one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa. This should be something that they have learned throughout the Kwanzaa unit, as well as something that they have encountered at one point in their lives. The seven principles are unity, self-determination, working together, sharing profit, purpose, creativity, and faith. Once the squares are completed, I will have them assembled into a quilt. I will give the students the opportunity to choose which African fabric, which I have purchased, will go around each of their squares. Once the quilt is complete, I will show the students that all of their separate squares, which represent their knowledge and experiences, came together to complete a quilt, which represents the unity of the classroom. I will have some of the students share what they have created. We will discuss how even though all of the students do not have identical backgrounds, they still can form a united class and learn from each other. 5486400-342900-685800-342900DECEMBER 21st, 2011: CHANUKAH/ HANUKKAHBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?-1028700864870The teacher can read a story about Hanukkah/ give a lesson on the history of Hanukkah and then have the students make a dreidel. It will be a 3-D dreidel and the students can decorate them using the Hebrew letters: Nun, gimel, hay, and shin. It can be a fun activity/game for them, but it can also be used as a decoration. The dreidel represents the phrase “A great miracle happened there” and will be a constant reminder of this holiday, its traditions and its beliefs. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: JUDAISM “Chanukah is celebrated every year by Jewish people around the world. It is observed starting on the 25th day of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar and lasts eight days and nights. It is a festive holiday to commemorate miraculous events that happened many centuries ago” (). Books:5029200128270Hanukkah by Kate Ohrt and Lily KarrHanukkah Around the World by Tami Lehman-WilzigLight the Candles: A Hanukkah Lift-the-Flap Book by Joan HolubChanukah Bugs by David A. CarterHanukkah Haiku by Harriet ZiefertHappy Sparkling Hanukkah by Elizabeth SpurrMy First Chanukah by Tomie dePaolaLight the Menorah Jannie HoEight Winter Nights: A Family Hanukkah Book by L aura Krauss MelmedDreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel Amy Cartwright Web Sites: Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.)-1028700342900This activity can be connected to the Kwanzaa activity because they are two holidays that share similar traditions. For example, the teacher can compare the candle activity from the Kwanzaa activity to the candles in the Menorah. Also, the teacher can discuss how both of these holidays are celebrated over numerous days. In addition, the students can connect the dreidel activity by continuing this activity at home with their families. They can bring their dreidel home and play the game/give their families a synopsis on what they learned in class. It will be a great way for them to reiterate what they learned and be an opportunity for them to compare/contrast these ideas to their family beliefs/traditions. A third activity that the teacher may include is teaching his or her class about the Star of David. It is an important Hebrew symbol and can be a great way to bring together a unit on Judaism. Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)I will assist my students in accepting and appreciating others by making sure they feel welcomed by their peers. By incorporating the ideas of Judaism, the teacher could create a classroom Menorah in which each day the students could light a candle and devote their day to finding value in their peers. It would not be an activity that would force the students to change their familial beliefs, but rather, appreciate their peers for their diversity. The teacher can also allow the students to do reports on their classmates and truly learn about the community that comes together to make up a classroom. They will get to know their peers on a first hand basis and can take the time to appreciate their own beliefs as well. 114300-2286004572000-228600DECEMBER [26th]: KWANZAA Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?-914400125730The teacher will read a story about Kwanzaa and the students will create an origami candle that represents the seven- day celebration focused around giving. The students will be given the supplies, and shown how to create an origami candle. On the candle the students can write a fact about the holiday/decorate it based off of the lesson. After completing the assignment, the students will then be able to give the candle to someone they love. It will reiterate the holiday as well as teach students the true meaning of Kwanzaa. If the students are having trouble making the candle, the teacher can provide pre-made candles, which then can be decorated. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: AFRICAN AMERICAN CELEBRATION548640080010“Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, created Kwanzaa in 1966. After the Watts riots in Los Angeles, Dr. Karenga searched for ways to bring African-Americans together as a community. He founded US, a cultural organization, and started to research African "first fruit" (harvest) celebrations. Karenga combined aspects of several different harvest celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti and those of the Zulu, to form the basis of Kwanzaa” () Books:The Children’s Book of Kwanzaa: A Guide to Celebrating the Holiday by Dolores JohnsonMy First Kwanzaa by Karen KatzMy First Kwanzaa Book by Deborah ChocolateKwanzaa by Trudi Strain Truet Seven Spools of Thread by Angela Shelf Medearis and Daniel MinterIt’s Kwanzaa Time! by Linda GrossThe Gifts of Kwanzaa by Synthia Saint JamesWeb Sites: Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.)To connect this activity to my students’ lives, in addition to giving their origami candle to someone they love, I may also have the opportunity to ask them to bring in can goods for the less fortunate. It will reiterate the idea of giving and coming together as a community. It could also incorporate the idea of harvesting fruits and vegetables. The students can come together as a class, and whether they celebrate Kwanzaa or not, they can give to others who are less fortunate. Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)45720001371600I will assist my students in appreciating/ finding value in others by truly stressing the importance of diversity. Each student can share with the class their December traditions, whether it is Kwanzaa, Christmas, or Chanukah and they can help others understand their family celebrations. It is important that students do not judge their classmates, but rather try to understand/ welcome them into the school community. A teacher can even create a holiday dinner party (potluck) with his or her class and have each student bring in a dish from their culture. It will give them an opportunity to share their beliefs, but also an opportunity for their classmates to listen and appreciate their diversity. PONGALJanuaryBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?The students will take a virtual trip to India through this series of lessons surrounding the Indian/Hindu Thanksgiving, Pongal. The first day of the festival is dedicated to the Sun, the second day to the rain and the third day to the cattle who have helped them plow their fields. We will spend three days celebrating Pongal because that is how long the tradition lasts, beginning on January 14th. We will read legends of Pongal that are traditionally read during this holiday as a reminder of the origin of this festival, such as the Legend of Mount Govardhan and the Legend of Lord Shiva. We will also draw our own henna designs representing one of the 3 themes (possibly transfer them onto our hands) and learn a traditional Hindu dance. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: India/HinduBooks: -Kids Around the World Celebrate: The Best Feasts and Festivals from Many Lands by Lynda Jones-Do! By Ramesh Hangadi-The Ghost Catcher- A Bengali Folktale by Martha HamiltonWeb Sites:General Information- Dances- Designs- Activities: An extension of this activity would be to connect the Indian Thanksgiving to our tradition of Thanksgiving in the United States. Students could even explore how other countries other than the US and India celebrates Thanksgiving. It would be interesting to create a venn diagram or other kind of organizer to display the similarities and differences between the two holidays. Lesson in Appreciating Others:These activities will help students to appreciate the cultures of other people because they will be learning about another religion that people celebrate on the other side of the world. People often stray away from things that they do not know much about, but if they learn about the religions that exist in the world I think they will in turn become more tolerant of the traditions that people practice even though they are different than their own. SOLNAL/SOELLALKoreaBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?The Korean New Year is centered on family and the community, but is based off of the phases of the moon. This would be a good time to teach the students about the phases of the moon and allow them to track it for themselves. Solnal begins on the lunar New Year, which varies, but usually occurs between mid-January and early February. Students will track the phases of the moon leading up to Solnal. On solnal, we will have a small celebration in which we play the traditional Korean board game Yut Nori. We will also try a dish from this celebration and read about the things children do when celebrating this holiday. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: KoreaBooks: -Green Frogs: A Korean Folktalk by Yumi Heo-New Clothes for New Year’s Day by Hyun-Joo Bae-This Next New Year by Janet WonWeb Sites:General Information: Games: Extension Activities: Students can draw pictures of the people that they normally spend New Year’s with as they celebrate in their own ways. They may also wish to challenge their parents and other family members to a board game night like the tradition of playing family games on Solnal.Lesson in Appreciating Others:Students can compare the New Year’s celebrations of the United States in to other countries. Partnered students can research a specific country’s New Year celebration. They can then find a way to bring the celebration to life in front of or by involving their classmates. In this way, students learn about other New Year’s celebrations and then teach each other what they have learned. The students then wind up learning about many different New Year’s celebrations and can appreciate the traditions of other countries. JanuaryJanuary 23, Chinese New YearBrief description of the activity: 41148002192655We will learn about the traditions of the Chinese New Year (The “Spring Festival” in China) and all of the different events that take place. Shooting firecrackers, withholding the consumption of meat, gift exchanges, red envelopes, lighting candles and praying are a few things that take place during the Chinese New Year. We will then read Sam and the Lucky Money by Karen Chinn to introduce the students to the events of a Chinese New Year outside of China. Then we will have our own celebration of the Chinese New Year (with music, dancing and coloring in pictures with red, gold) and then the students will reflect on the celebration of the Chinese and how it may be similar and different to our New Year celebration. The students will also figure out their zodiac sign for the Chinese New Year. They will also create their own red envelopes and instead of including money in the envelope, they will write down something important to them and we will share them with the class. Country of Origin: ChinaBooks:Sam and the Lucky Money by Karen ChinnWeb Sites: Activities:In order to connect this lesson to the students’ lives, they will reflect on the Chinese New Year and how it may be alike or different from our New Year celebration. Having the opportunity to reflect further on what they have learned and relate it to our culture and tradition will tie together the lesson and provide them with information they will remember throughout their education. Also, reading the book and answering questions (What would you do with 4 dollars? Why do you think he gave his money away?) will help them apply what they have learned to real life situations.Lesson in Appreciating Others:I will bring up the story again, and remind the students how Sam did not originally appreciate the money he was given for the Chinese New Year. I will then ask them to tell me what made him change his mind, and why they think it caused the decision he made. Then we will talk about appreciating others and helping people who cannot help themselves, similar to the way Sam helped the homeless man by giving him his money. Even the Chinese seem like a “different type” of people so when the students learn about their traditions, they will hopefully appreciate the Chinese as well. JanuaryJanuary 7, Rastafarian Christmas (Lid?t)Brief description of the activity: Ethiopians celebrate Christmas just like we do, but they celebrate it on January 7. Because of their religion and beliefs, they celebrate their Christmas differently. It is against their religion to eat meat, so they celebrate with a vegan or vegetarian feast. They do not celebrate with trees or snow, and only children receive presents. To introduce this holiday, I will ask them to reflect on the way they celebrate Christmas. Then we will talk about Rastafarian Christmas and their traditions. We will listen to Rastafarian music, burn frankincense incense, and discuss the similarities and differences between a Rastafarian Christmas and the way we celebrate Christmas. They will be introduced to new vocabulary words (vegetarian, vegan, feast, Genna, etc.) and they will be asked to make sentences about this holiday using the new words they just learned, tying everything together. After they form their sentences, we will post them on the wall and make a collage about Rastafarian Christmas. 4343400-1270Country of Origin: EthiopiaBooks: Websites: Extension Activities:What do we do on our Christmas day that the Rastafarians do as well? We go to church, we have a nice dinner with our family (Rastafarians don’t eat meat, but they still celebrate with their family!), we enjoy the company of others and we enjoy sports. Giving them the opportunity to see that we do some of the same things may also provide them with a chance to apply what they are learning to the real world. We will then watch a short video of the Rastafarians playing “Genna” or “Leddat”, which is their version of traditional hockey. This will also help them make real-world applications from this lesson. Lesson in Appreciating Others:The students will have an opportunity to reflect on what their favorite part of Christmas is and what they think is most important. Similar to the Rastafarian Christmas, the most important part of Christmas for us is family. Although the Rastafarians have a different religion than us, we are all alike in the sense that we just want to be around family during Christmastime. We should appreciate all other because although they may look different or celebrate differently than we do, we all work toward the same goal and beliefs: Family is important and we all just want to be loved.CHINESE NEW YEARJANUARYBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?In this activity, the students will be read the In this activity, the students will learn the traditions of the Chinese New Year by enacting the parade of the dancing dragon. The students will read the books about the holiday and learn about the “dancing dragon.” Then the students will work in groups of 4 and create a dragon costume that will fit all of them. The students will show off their costume while creating a dance and taking turns under the head of the dragon.Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:This holiday is part of the Chinese culture and it celebrates the beginning of a new calendar year. The traditions of this holiday originated from a myth of a beast call Nian. “Nian would come on the first day of New Year to eat livestock, crops, and even villagers, especially children. To protect themselves, the villagers would put food in front of their doors at the beginning of every year. It was believed that after the Nian ate the food they prepared, it wouldn’t attack any more people. One time, people saw that the Nian was scared away by a little child wearing red. The villagers then understood that the Nian was afraid of the color red. Hence, every time when the New Year was about to come, the villagers would hang red lanterns and red spring scrolls on windows and doors. People also used firecrackers to frighten away the Nian. From then on, Nian never came to the village again. The Nian was eventually captured by Hongjun Laozu, an ancient Taoist monk. The Nian became Hongjun Laozu's mount.” Books:Tikki Tikki TemboBy Arlene MoselThe Dancing DragonBy Marcia K. Vaughan, Stanley Wong Hoo Foon (Illustrator)Dim Sum for EveryoneBy Grace LinWeb Sites: Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.An activity that would connect this holiday to the student’s lives would be creating red paper cuts and couplets. The Chinese use these to hang on their doors during the new year festivities. A couplet is a vertical line of poetry that a usually printed on scrolls and hung from doors. On the couplet, the children will create a poem that explains what fortunes they desire in the coming year. Then these poems will be hung from the doors on the day of the holiday, January 26.Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)In this activity I will assist the children in understanding and appreciating different people’s cultures, beliefs, and religions. The Chinese culture is very different from many found in the U.S. so it is important for the children to realize other children’s backgrounds.AUSTRALIA DAYJANUARYBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?An activity that can be done for Australia to teach the students about Australia’s, geography, culture, animals, people, etc. would be to use the jigsaw teaching technique. There will be different stations that teach facts about Australia. Each person in a given group will go to different stations, then return to their original groups and share what they have learned with their group.Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:Australia's holiday to look back proudly on their achievements and celebrate the prospect of a successful future. the date commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 and the proclamation at that time of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of New Holland. This day is celebrated similarly to the United States Fourth of JulyBooks:Are We There Yet?: A Journey Around Australia by Alison LesterWhy I Love Australia?by Bronwyn BancroftMy Farmby Alison LesterPossum Magic?by Mem Fox and Julie VivasWeb Sites: Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.To extend on the original activity, students will be able to compare Australia to the Unites States. They can compare the animals that are considered “wild” and the resources available in the different regions. Also, they will be able to compare the countries as originally British settlements, but understand that before the British settled, there were indigenous people living there, many of which, do not appreciate and celebrates Australia Day and the Fourth of July.Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)In this lesson, I will assist the students on understanding the indigenous people that lived in both countries before the settlement, that now live on reservations. Valentine’s DayFebruaryBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?Discuss ways that students’ families observe special days. If holidays are observed in the school, discuss ways that this is done in school as well. Elicit the exchange of Valentine’s Day cards as an example. Discuss the ways that different cultures celebrate Valentine’s day. Asian countries have two Valentine’s days- Feb. 14 and March 14. February is the time when females send males chocolate and in March the males return the favor and send white chocolate to their Valentine. ?In other countries like Bangladesh, Nepal and India, not everyone is allowed to celebrate this day. ?In Spain only people in love get and give presents. Friends or families do not exchange notes or presents. ()In Denmark, February 14 is mainly a day for the young. It's a time for romance and exchanging of love tokens. Here, the festival is celebrated in a very conventional manner. Young people send to their beloveds a valentine card on this occassion. The Danish valentine card is famously known as a "lover's card". Earlier, these came in the form of transparent cards which, when kept before light, reflected the picture of a lover handing over a wonderful present to his beloved. Nowadays, many newer varieties of lover's cards have come up and every year before Valentine's Day card shops all across the country are seen to be stacked up with colorful and musical lover's cards containing lovely Valentine messages. Another Danish Valentine's Day custom is to send pressed white flowers called Snowdrops to friends. The season of love is also a time for fun what with many Danish men sending to their ladylove a form of valentine known as a gaekkebrev (or "joking letter"). This gaekkebrev is a type of romantic letter that contains a rhyme penned by the sender himself. The fun part of this custom is that the letter doesn't have the name of the sender. Instead, the lover signs the message with dots...one dot for each letter in his name. If the lady whom he sends the gaekkebrev correctly guesses his name, he rewards her with an Easter egg during Eastertide. In Germany, it is customary for a young man to present his beloved with flowers on February 14 ()Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:Ancient Rome (Saint Valentine)Books:Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda- a story about how Valentine’s day beganI Love You the Purplest by Barbara M. Joosse- a great story about loving people the same amountSomebody Loves You Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli- a story to show how much people can really just need to be lovedWeb Sites:Suggest that nowadays we often send ecards (electronic greetings) instead of paper cards. Review previous discussions of internet safety. Tell students that they will be able to take turns sending greetings to their parents. Valentine’s day around the world: History of Valentine’s Day Math related Valentine’s Day activities More Valentine’s Day vrafts, activities, printables, etc. Extension Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.Have each child draw a name out of a basket. Each child is to decorate a large heart with the child’s name written in black. After they decorate the large heart, they hand them in. Every morning for 20 days (the number of days depends on class size) the children come in and have a heart on their desk. They have to write one positive thing about the name on the heart. They cannot repeat a comment. It does get difficult but if they really think about the person they can come up with something.When all the hearts have 19 comments, they make a great bulletin board for all to read and feel great about!This is a great way to show students how important it is to show love and positivity to each other all the time. Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)Valentine’s day is a very widespread holiday that is celebrated around the world in almost every country. Each family celebrates it differently, though, depending on their culture. The important message that children should gain from this lesson is that it is important to show our love throughout the year. although Valentine’s day is a significant holiday in our culture, we need to show love ever day of the year.Milad un Nabi (Birthday of the Prophet Muhammad)FebruaryBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?I will inform students on the significance of Muhammad and the significance of this celebration in Islamic culture. This date is important to Muslims because the birth of the Prophet Muhammad is regarded as a great blessing for the whole of humanity. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:Islam8th Century MeccaBooks:Eid Milad An Nabi: (Birthday of the Holy Prophet) - Sall Allahu Alaihi Wa SallamWeb Sites:Information about Muhammad Extension Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.One major component of this celebration for Muslims is donating to charity. I think that charity is important to teach to students as well. This can carry over to other holidays as well. If we celebrate the holiday and find a way to give back to the community, students thereby gain a connection between the holiday and charity. Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)I think it is important that this is a holiday that I knew nothing about before searching for it. This lesson can be taught to the students as well. Students should seek knowledge about other cultures and religions in order to understand who they are as people. Even if it is not a religion that is typically celebrated in their home, having a respect for other religions and having knowledge about other religions will help to bridge the gap between differences and sameness.Ayyam-I-HaFebruaryBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?With the children I will read some stories about Ayyam-I-Ha and explain that this holiday is about gift giving, much like Christmas and Hanukkah, but it also it very important to give and share and celebrate service for others. The children can brainstorm ideas how to help someone in the community i.e. decorate cookies for the nursing home, make a mitten tree for the local children’s home, or make cards for veterans or sick patients. Also, we can make an Ayyam-I-Ha countdown chart filled with fun facts and quotes, which is something that Baha’i families often do.Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: Baha’iBooks: Maggie Celebrates Ayyam-I-Ha Patti Rae TomarelliThe Ayyam-I-Ha Camel Cher Holt-FortinThe Giving Book: Open the Door to a Lifetime of Giving Ellen SabinWeb Sites: Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.)I think that bringing this idea of service into the classroom during various holidays around the world will help students relate the gift-giving holidays back to giving to others that are really in need. I.e. for Christmas, we can learn about the holiday and then go sing carols at a nursing home or hospital. The idea that everyone needs to give back will be reinforced by a number of holidays from all different religions and cultures. Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)I think that teaching about the camel that brings the Baha’i children’s presents is important. By comparing this back to the gifts children receive from Santa, we can see the similarities between the two religions. This holiday has such intrinsic value in it and by teaching its roots and about why giving is important and should be celebrated by everyone we can see that not only Baha’i people have celebrations like this one.El Dia Del Amor Y La AmistadFebruaryBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?I will begin by introducing children to key words that have to do with the holiday in Spanish. (Amistad, amor, te quiero, te amo) These words will be written on the board along with “El Dia Del Amor Y La Amistad” which means “The Day of Love and Friendship”. I think that the description of the holiday is very good, so I will read that out loud to the class. The holiday is very much about telling the people you love and care about that you appreciate them, and I think it is important that it is also about friendship. For an activity we will make handmade cards for loved ones using our new Spanish vocabulary. Another possible activity (for older children) would be to use Spanish/English dictionaries to write poems in the cards.Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: Mexico Books: Franklin Dice ‘Te Quiero’ (Franklin Says ‘I Love You’) Paulette BourgeoisAdivina Cuanto te Quiero (Guess how Much I Love You) Sam McBratneyEveryone Says I Love You Beegee TulpaWeb Sites: amistad/#axzz1XtUSEDxX l_Languages.htmExtension Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.)I think that an “I Love You” Around the World game would be helpful because all cultures say “I Love You” and celebrate their loved ones. One good way of doing this would be assigning different locations to students and having them do a web quest on how to say “I Love You” in that language. Then the class can label a big map with all the different ways to say “I Love You”. I think this would help students apply it to their own lives because they will see how maybe their ancestors or even relatives say “I Love You” in native languages.Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)The entire celebration is about appreciating the people we care about, so by learning that other cultures celebrate holidays that are similar to our own, we can see that this appreciation for love is spread over the world. The students will be challenged to use a new language to tell the people they love, that they love them and will become proud that they can say it in a new language (which some of their classmates may speak).Chinese New YearFebruaryBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?First I will explain to the children what that just like their classmates celebrate New Years differently from one another, so do different cultures. I then will break the class into two different groups. Each group will have an activity to complete then they will switch and complete the other activity. The first activity will have the children decorating a “dragon” to parade around the classroom. There will be a worksheet at the station explaining the importance of the dragon to the Chinese. The students will then take a sheet and decorate it together to make a dragon of their own. In the second activity the students will learn that the Chinese identify each year with an animal. The year 2011 was the year of the rabbit and the year 2012 will be the year of the dragon. The students will have a template of a dragon to decorate using sequins, crayons, tissue paper, pipe cleaners and glitter. After both groups have completed each station they will come back together as a class and parade their sheet dragons around the room and hallway.Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:ChinaBooks:Dragon Dance Chinese A New YearBy: Joan HolubWeb Sites: website has many different resources on it, but what I liked most was the music links that you could play while the children were working in their groups.Extension Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.Before breaking the kids into their groups I will have them meet me the floor in front of the board. Here I will ask the students, “A month ago was our New Years, how did you and your family celebrate New Years?” This will get the students thinking about the topic. I will make a list on the board of the different ways to celebrate New Years and show the students that there so many different ways to celebrate something and we need to appreciate these different ways. Then use this to introduce the children to the Chinese New Years. Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)The extension Activity could also be used as a lesson in appreciating others.Mexican Flag DayFebruaryBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?First I will have an American flag next to a Mexican flag and ask the children to compare and contrast the two flags. After talking about the flags I will read the book Domitila: A Cinderella Tale from the Mexican Tradition to give the children a better idea of the Mexican culture. Then I will have the children listen to Mexican music while creating paper plate maracas using two paper plates and dried beans. The Mexican flag will be incorporated on the maracas. Once the maracas are completed the children will create their own Mexican song using their maracas.Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:MexicoBooks:Domitila: A Cinderella Tale from the Mexican TraditionBy: Connie McLennanWeb Sites: website has many different resources going along with not just the Mexican Flag Day, but Mexico in general. There are tons of great activities that can be used.Extension Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.As an extension to broaden the children’s knowledge about Mexico, I could have the children go home and ask their parents what type of Mexican foods they eat as a family and have them bring in their recipes to create a classroom cook book of Mexican food they enjoy.Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)To do this I could explain to the children that Mexicans have a different way of life than we do, but they have a lot of similarities to us also. For example they have a flag day like we do, they celebrate like we do, they may do things differently, but they do the same things we do and we should appreciate everyone’s differences.World Day Of PrayerMarch (First Friday of March)Brief Description of the Activity: One of the mottos for the World Day of Prayer is “What are your gifts? What can you share?” To keep this activity relevant to prayer, we will start by talking about prayer and asking if anyone has heard of it, what it means to them, if their religion has a prayer they know, if they want to share, etc. We will then talk about the motto of the World Day of Prayer and how this day unites people all over the world because no matter what religion, they can pray in their own way to their own god/s. Instead of asking the students to write a prayer or come up with their own, in case of parental disagreement, I will create an extension off of the motto. Each child will write down two or three things that they can share with the classroom ie: talented artist, singer, very organized, can keep track of homework, etc. We will then discuss how everyone is special and can share and influence our classroom positively. We will also create a set of classroom rules promoting peace and respect within the class. They will be positive and affirmative rules, however, and will not start with “no” or “do not”. As a class we will go over our rules, agree upon them, and hang them somewhere to be seen for everyone. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: All over the globe, some read about were Australia, Chile, all different religions, not just ChristianBooks:“I'm Like You, You're Like Me: A Child's Book About Understanding and Celebrating Each Other” by Cindy GainerWeb Sites: Activities: Taken from the above website, take each student’s thumbprint and put it on a white sheet of paper titled, “I am Thumbody!” Then have each student write two or three more details about themselves that make them unique or that they can share with the classroom. This will again emphasize the individuality of each student but still bring the entire classroom together. Lesson in Appreciating Others: After each of us share our thumbprint facts about ourselves, I will lead the class in saying, “We celebrate you in all your individual differences”. The first time I say this, I will ask the students what they think that means, then going into a class discussion on why we should celebrated differences in one another. Unity Day, SudanMarch 3Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?This activity will help emphasize and promote unity within the classroom, while learning about unity day in Sudan. The first website I give has information on what takes place on Unity Day in Sudan every year and what it stands for. We will read about the day together and learn about why this holiday takes place. As a classroom activity, I will have the children each make a tile for a wall mosaic that we will create. Each student will receive a pre-cut piece of white paper that they will start with, but they will be given plenty of materials to use such as tissue paper, construction paper, paint, glue, stickers, pom poms, pipe cleaners, etc. The only rule is that there is to be no white paper showing. No names will be put on their tiles so that when we put them up, we make a sort of mosaic quilt that is hung up on a bulletin board and all meshes together. I will not make a model of what I am looking for just so that the students do not try to follow my example and then in turn we have 20 of the same tiles. I will, however, make my own to show that I am part of the class too. When the children are done, I will collect the tiles and wait until the end of the day to hang them up in random order. The next day when the students come in, all of their tiles will be on the wall and we will point out how everyone’s is different, but they all work together to make up our mosaic quilt on the wall. We will relate this to how people are all different, but all still make a difference, and how everyone in our class is unique, but is part of the class as a whole. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: SudanBooks:Soder, R., J. I. Goodlad, and T. J. McMannon, eds. Developing Democratic Character in the Young. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., 2001.Tomlinson, C. A. The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1999.Web Sites: Activities: Another activity to extend the previous one is to have a unity day within our own classroom. We will start the day off by looking at our mural/mosaics on the wall and describing what we like about each specific tile. Out unity day could include many activities throughout the day to correspond to unity and bring our classroom together. The students would each get a sheet of paper and a partner and would write something nice about their partner. We would read them aloud and applaud for earch person. This way, the entire class could see something special or unique about one of their classmates. As the day goes on, we would participate in group projects, problems that only groups can figure out together, play group games, and again talk about what kind of classroom we might have if no one got along or if we did not respect everyone in the class. Lesson in Appreciating Others: In our activity above about writing down something nice or special about one of their classmates, students learn to look for the positives in people and learn to respect others’ differences. As the teacher, I may make statements during our unity day about students’ special talents ie: “Johnny really did a great job drawing that picture. He helps to make our art project complete”, “Wow, Sara really took a different spin on how to dance to that song. Why don’t you show us what you were doing so we can all try?” These comments would just be to show that even though students are different, we can all respect each other’s differences and learn from each other. -825500342900Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: Greek Independence Day – March 25th To celebrate their Independence Day, towns and villages in Greece hold a school flag day parade where the school children march in traditional Greek costumes carrying the Greek flag. Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?To get the students thinking about Independence Day, I will ask the students how they celebrate the 4th of July, which is America’s Independence Day. I will explain to the students that other countries celebrate in similar ways. I will show them pictures and videos of the parade and celebrations from last year, and explain we are going to have a parade of our own. Instead of holding a Greek flag, we are going to make a flag they will create and decorate themselves to carry just like the Grecians. However, their flag will be two-sided. One side of their flag will be the American flag, but on the other side of the flag they will draw the flag of their heritage (Italian, Spanish, German, etc.)Books:Joint Resolution Designating March 25, 1993, as "Greek Independence Day: a National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy." By: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Web Sites: Here is an example to show the children of last year’s parade.Extension Activities: -800100160020As an extension of this activity, I would have the children find out the Independence Day of the country of their heritage. Since we already know the Independence Day of the American side of their flag, we can share with each other the other side of our flags we created for this activity. It could be a group project, or individual, but the students can share with the class a little bit about their country’s Independence Day and culture, on the specific day it is celebrated.This could also be a way to get the parents or grandparents involved in their child’s education. If the grandparents or parents were born in that country, they could come in and talk to the children about their background or traditions. If they wish, they can make an authentic meal for the students to try. Lesson in Appreciating Others: 34588133581960Making the connection to the Fourth of July, something we all celebrate and can relate to, helps the students create a better understanding of other cultures and their traditions. Through this activity, they can see that, yes, they are from a different country, but they celebrate in the same ways we do. On the Fourth of July, all of us wear authentic American costumes when we put on a shirt with the American Flag on it, and we also have parades where we wave our country’s flag. By showing the students the video of the parade, they will be able to make the connection to their own traditions in America and how similar they are to us.-8001000Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: Holi Festival (Hinduism) – March 20thIn places such as India, the Hindu people celebrate the Holi Festival or “Festival of Colors” to commemorate the Hindu gods Radha and Krishna. But most all it celebrates the coming of spring. In this celebration the Hindu people paint each other with bright colors. Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?To get the students thinking about the holiday, I will ask the students what they usually do to celebrate spring? I will read Here Comes Holi: The Festival of Colors, by Meenal Atul Pandya and show them the YouTube clip of how people in Indian celebrate spring. Since we can’t paint each other like the people in the video, we are going draw ourselves and trade with our friends so we can paint each other. I will have a few templates (attached below) for the children to share so they can trace on heavy card stock paper and cut them out. After they have cut out their bodies, they can decorate it to make it look like them. Once they are finished creating themselves, and they have put on their smocks, they can trade with someone or everyone at their table so they are painting each other without making mom and dad mad. The teachers can also participate in this, because in India, no one is safe from being painted!Books:Here Comes Holi: The Festival of Colors, by Meenal Atul PandyaA Calendar of Festivals: Celebrations From Around The World, by Cherry GilchristWeb Sites: video shows exactly what goes into making the Holi Festival so much fun!-1104900114300Extension Activities: This celebration of spring is similar to the way we celebrate spring. We color eggs, and people of Hindu religion color each other. We can make colored water and dip the eggs in one color, or many different colors like the Hindu people do. This is also something the students can do at home with their parents to involve them in what they are learning in school. Another extension activity could be looking at different religions and how they celebrate spring. We know Christians celebrate by coloring eggs, and Hindus celebrate by coloring each other, but how do the Buddhists celebrate spring? Do they use colors as well? Maybe if there someone in the class who is not Christian or Hindu and would like to share with the class how they celebrate spring, they could show the class differences in celebrations. Looking at all different religions and finding similarities and differences between them will help the students realize we are not all the same, but we are not as different as we think either. Lesson in Appreciating Others: By making the connection between typical Easter, or spring, traditions that are most commonly celebrated and the way the Hindu people celebrate, we are learning as a class, community, that there are similarities between those of different religions and backgrounds. For one, we all celebrate the end of winter, or more importantly the different seasons. By showing the students the video of the Holi Festival, they are able to experience something they have never seen before, but just because they have never seen it before does not mean it didn’t look really fun! It shows them that something different is not bad. 30844461673421Child Template-34290024130Japanese Doll FestivalMarch 3rd Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?To begin this lesson, I will tell the students that in Japan March 3rd is Girls' Day, which in Japan is known as Hina Matsuri. Hina means small doll and Matsuri means festival in Japanese. It is a holiday that celebrates traditional female values. The people make dolls of their girls and pray for their future, health, growth, and happiness. The doll displays go up around mid-February, and families will take down the platforms immediately after the festival. It is their belief that leaving the dolls out past March 4 will result in a late marriage for the daughter of the house. We will then make our own dolls out of eggs. The instructions can be found at this site: . Country/Religion of Origin: JapanBooks:Girls' Day by Minako Ishii Web Sites:'s-hina-matsuri-festival-lesson-plan/ Activities: Set up a doll display for the children to place their dolls on.Bring in/make Japanese snack. HYPERLINK "" the children the Hina Matsuri song:Let's light the lanternsLet's arrange the peach flowersFive court musicians are playing flutes and drumsToday is a joyful Dolls' FestivalTeach some basic phrase words of Japanese –?Hello - Konnichiwa. (kon-nee-chee-wa) ?How are you? - O-genki desu ka? (o-gen-ki-des-ka) ?Yes - Hai (hah-ee) ?No - Iie (eeee-eh)?Thank you - Domo arigato (do-mo ah-ree-ga-toh) ?Good Morning - Ohayou (o-ha-yu)?Good Night - Oyasuminasai (o-ya-sumi-nasai)?Good Bye - Sayonara (sa-yo-na-ra)Lesson in Appreciating Others: This lesson helps students learn to appreciate others by learning how other cultures appreciate each other. By doing this the children will find it easier to adapt to other cultures traditions. They are learning about a tradtion that they otherwise would not know and the girls will get to feel special on this day, while the boys can make a girl in their life feel special. (Boy’s day is May 5th) PurimBeginning of MarchBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?To begin this lesson, I will give the children a little bit of background knowledge of the Jewish culture. I will then read the book Purim Play by Roni Schotter. After we finish the book, we will discuss the story of Ester and what freedom meant for the Jews. Once the children understand what it means to be free, why it is so important, and what would have happened if they were not freed. We will then discuss if there was ever a time if another group of people had to fight for their freedom. (African Americans, the Colonists, etc)Country/Religion of Origin: JewishBooks:Purim Play by Roni SchotterA Costume for Noah: A Purim Story by Susan Remick TopekThe Jewish Lights Book Of Fun Classroom Activities: Simple And Seasonal Projects For Teachers And Students by Danielle DardashtiQueen Esther The Morning Star by Mordicai GersteinWeb Sites: Activities: 1. Make the masks at and put on our own version of the play.2. Make the cookies from the back of the book or from this site: . If there is a Jewish family in the class, they can come in and talk about their tradition and how they celebrate Purim.Lesson in Appreciating Others: This lesson helps students learn to appreciate others by showing that many cultures and types of people that have had to fight for their freedom. They will learn that freedom is not something that comes free and that we need to be thankful for the people that fight for us to live this way.Kurt ZimmermannVesak – Buddha’s BirthdayApril 8th The Children will begin by watching a Youtube video that provides an overview of Buddha’s life. The teacher will occasionally pause the movie to lead a discussion about what the video shows about what Buddhism teaches, specifically focusing on how it finds all aspects of life (including people) to be connected. After the video the students can Think Pair Share about at least three aspects of their world that displays some level of sameness or connectedness to the rest of the world. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:Buddhism originated in India and since then has spread throughout Asia and the rest of the world. Some consider Buddhism to be a religion but others maintain the belief that it is simply a philosophy. Books:A Pebble in Your Pocket – By: Thich Nhat HanhWeb Sites: Activities: The class will make a Bulletin board that will keep track of the number of times the students do something selfless in the class during the month of April. Also as a homework assignment, every day a different student will be responsible to go home and discover something about their life that somehow shows connectedness to the rest of the world.81915019431008858255551170Lesson in Appreciating Others: Buddhism is all about respecting others. The students will observe in this lesson how this is not always the case. Specifically we will focus on the caste system in India by analyzing pictures and identifying a class of people in India known as the untouchables. We will then connect how it was meeting this class of people for the first time that shocked the Buddha into a life of understanding and compassion. Emancipation Day April 15th The holiday will be introduced to the students by asking if they know what the word Emancipation means. If they do not know, then as a class we will look up the word on the internet. The purpose of this will be to demonstrate proper internet use to the children. Once we have established what emancipation means. Following this, as a class we will discuss why this holiday may be important in respect to community and humanity. We will then briefly observe the long ordeal that has taken place from the time of Emancipation to our first African American President. In order to briefly cover this long historical time period we will begin by looking at primary sources from the Gettysburg Address. This will demonstrate for the students how long the fight for racial equality has been. After this we will have a reader’s theatre of the book Martin’s Big Words. This book has many powerful utterances that children will appreciate more hearing from their peers as opposed to the teacher. Finally if there is time we will watch a video clip of President Barack Obama’s Inaugural address.Country: United States of AmericaGrade Level: 1st-6th Possible Books:Martin Luther King Book Martin’s Big Words By: Doreen Rappaport, Bryan CollierFollow the Drinking Gourd By: Jeanette WinterThe Color of Us By: Karen KatzWeb Sites:exhibits/treasures/images/platform.jpg watch?v=VjnygQ02aW4 Extension Activities The students will write and draw in their journals about why they are happy to be free. Also they will write about something that they are thankful for that they wouldn’t be able to have if they were slaves. The purpose of this is to allow the students to take what they have learned and put it in their own words and/or image. This will help solidify the information as it will be in a context they relate to.Lesson in Appreciating Others: The story Martin’s Big Words is truly a wonderful piece of children’s literature. It addresses the issue of civil rights in a very vivid and historically accurate lens. It mentions and depicts tragic times of violence in America; Violence that came about as a result of the fight for civil liberties. In the end of the book, Martin dies. I feel like this will sincerely hit home with children, particularly if we ask them at some point in the book if they feel Martin is a likeable man, and someone perhaps they would like to be friends with.Heroes’ Day April 11thBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children? We will have a discussion about what a hero is to us. What makes a hero? We’ll then talk about why this holiday is celebrated in Costa Rico. I will have the children create an illustration of their hero and write under the illustration why they consider this person a hero. Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: Costa Rico Books:50 American Heroes Every Kid Should Meet by Dennis Denenberg and Lorraine Roscoe (Sep 2005)Heroes by Ken Mochizuki and Dom Lee (Apr 1997)The Children's Book of Heroes by William J. Bennett, Michael Hague and Amy Hill (Oct 6, 1997)George Washington -- Soldier, Hero, President (DK Readers, Level 3: Reading Alone) by Justine Fontes and Ron Fontes (Jan 17, 2001)Web Sites: Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.I would ask each of the kids to be a hero in their own life. I want them to help someone in their community or volunteer in their community. I would then have a class discussion about what the students did. We would create a chart of the hero qualities each of our good deeds possessed and ask why what we did was important and how it made a difference. Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)The extension activity would help the students to appreciate people and their needs. It will help them to understand that everyone needs help at time and being a good person and citizenPassoverAprilBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?Students will learn about Passover by watching the video from the BBC website called A Passover StoryAn important member from the Jewish community (such as a priest) would be asked to come into the classroom to show the items from the Seder meal and explain why each is importantAfter the demonstration students will complete the matching activity (website provided below)With the help of this person and myself, students would create their own Seder meal in groups and understand its significance to this Jewish holidayCountry (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:JewishBooks:Miriam’s Cup by Fran ManushkinCelebrate Passover by National GeographicWeb Sites: Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.Miriam’s Cup by Fran Manushkin will be read to the students. The lesson in the story is that Miriam was encouraged by her faith. The cup which is a symbol of Miriam’s strength and perseverance is often used in the Seder meal. Therefore, students would decorate their own plastic glasses with things that encourage them in life written on them. They would then use these glasses during the Seder meal which will be held in the classroom. Students will fill out the worksheet (see attachment) including at least one traditional food they enjoy during the holidays.Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)Through the demonstration, students will get a firsthand look at the Seder meal. They will be able to understand that other cultures and religions have traditions as well although they may be differentStudents will share what they have written on their glasses as a class. This will help them understand that just like Miriam, they each have something that encourages them to do good in life Throughout the activities the book Celebrate Passover will be passed around for students to see pictures of what celebrating Passover looks like. We will have a discussion for any questions which students may have about the holiday and how it may or may not be similar to anything holidays they have celebratedName _____________________________ The Seder Meal is eaten as a traditional holiday meal for Passover. Fill out the lines on the plate below explaining atleast one traditional food which you enjoy eating during the holidays!Qing MingAprilBrief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?The blurb from the book Moonbeams, Dumplings, and Dragon Boats by Nina Simonds will be read to the classTo reflect on the reading, students will create kites in groups just as the Chinese culture does during this festival. They fly these kites and cut the strings. This represents the release of bad luck from their livesOnce students have created their kites they will have a chance to fly them and cut the strings exactly as they do at the Qing Ming FestivalCountry (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:ChinaBooks:Moonbeams, Dumplings, and Dragon Boats by Nina SimondsWeb Sites: Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.Students will watch the video of the Qing Ming FestivalThey will have an understanding that it is a festival which pays respects to ancestors which have passed away. Pinwheels are often made at the festival (as explained in the reading) just for decoration or to play with. Students will create their own pinwheels and write on at least three sections what aspires them to succeed in life as the Chinese culture believes their dead ancestors help them succeed (one of the reasons for celebration).Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)The extension activity along with the main activity will develop a greater understanding for students of the Chinese culture. They will see that certain cultures follow superstitions that they may not and that this culture is like most in that they honor the dead. They will understand that it is different in that they have a specific day to do so. I hope they will find value in this by relating it to their own lives while writing on the sections of the pinwheel. Yom HaShoahMay 1st ?Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?Students will set up and create a blog, supervised by the teacher and write as if they are a child their age living at the time of the Holocaust. They will do research using books mentioned below and outside sources as well and write the blog from the perspective of themselves at that time. Students will also be asked to comment on at least one other student’s blog as well. The idea behind this is that students will understand and empathize with the children who lived at that age and what they went through. ?Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:This celebration originated in the religion of Judaism as a way for Jewish people to remember those who had been killed in the Holocaust by the Nazis. It is celebrated on the 27th day of the month Nissan, which this year falls on May 1st. Traditionally, ceremonies of remembrance and other events are held to remember those lost in the Holocaust. ?Books:Diary of Anne Frank by, Anne FrankNumber the Stars by, Lois LoweryWho Was Anne Frank? by, Ann Abramson Otto, the Autobiography of a Teddy Bear by, Toni UngererSix Million Paper Clips by, Peter Schroder and Dagmar Schroder-Hildebrand?Web Sites:Teacher Vision: League: Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.Students will also write a letter or a few journal entries to themselves to be opened ten years in the future. This letter should detail what is going on in their lives and anything they deem important or worth remembering or noting for the future. The letters will them be sealed in an envelope and given to the teacher to be passed on to future teachers. ??Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)Students will also brainstorm ways that we can remember those killed in the Holocaust similar to the book Six Million Paper Clips. We will also play Walk the Line to help students to see that even though we may be different, there is always something you can find in common with someone else. ?Cinco de MayoMay 5th ?Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?After covering some background information and traditions surrounding Cinco de Mayo, students will create a comic strip depicting either what happened in 1862, or celebrations that occur in modern day honoring this event. Students will brainstorm and create a rough draft of their comic strip; it should be able to fit on an 81/2 x 11 sheet of paper. After the rough drafts have been created and reviewed, students will create and color a final copy that will then be put in a class comic book in chronological order.?Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin:This is a holiday celebrated in Mexico to celebrate the expulsion of the French militia from Mexico in a city called Puebla in 1862. It is traditionally celebrated with traditional Mexican food, music and dance such as Mariachi and Folkloric. ?Books:El pi?tero/The Pi?ata Maker, by George AnconaCinco de Mayo: Celebrating Hispanic Pride, by Carol GnojewskiMexican Independence Day and Cinco de Mayo, by, Diane M. MacMillanWalt Disney’s Mickey Mouse by Floyd GottfredsonThe Complete Peanuts, by Charles M. Schultz?Web Sites:Apples 4 the Teacher: : Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.I will communicate with another teacher in a younger classroom and arrange for my students to go and read their comic book to the younger class and teach them a little about Cinco de Mayo. We can also connect this to our whole school community by organizing a school wide celebration of the Mexican liberation from France with traditional Mexican food, music and dance.?Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)As a class, we can talk about why this day is significant in Mexican history and focus on the oppression that preceded it. I will ask students to identify one thing they would have felt if they lived during that time in Mexico on a sheet of paper to put in a jar. On another sheet of paper, students will write one thing they could have done to help, one thing they like about the celebrations, or one question they have about the Mexican culture to put in another jar. Together we will explore these feelings and create a wall of ways in which we can care for others. ?June Multicultural Activity 1Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children? The teacher will ask the students if they have a favorite holiday? Why people hold celebrations and what kinds of events are worth celebrating? The teacher will then read the story “Juneteenth Jamboree” written by Carole Boston Weatherford. The students will then each make a poster advertising the celebration and the events that will be taking place during the celebration. The class will then put on their own Juneteenth celebration. They will eat Texan food and listen to African Gospels and then create dances that they feel slaves would dance.Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: African Americans in Galveston, Texas USABooks: “Juneteenth Jamboree” Written by Carole Boston WeatherfieldWeb Sites: Activities The teacher will ask the students what is the day that celebrates the United States of America’s Independence? The teacher will then ask them what they do to celebrate the 4th of July? The teacher will then talk about what it means to have freedom. Afterwards the teacher will then explain to the students that they are going to make a bulletin board. The teacher will ask the students, “What freedom means to them.” The students will then write their responses on their own personal heritages flag. The students will present them and then the flags will all be hung up.Lesson in Appreciating Others: The teacher on the front board will make similarities and differences chart between African American Culture back in the 1800’s and them selves. The class will work as a whole to fill it out the chart by what they learned about the culture. The teacher will start off the task by asking probing questions. Family traditions? What they enjoy doing with their family? Foods they eat? The way you dress? The music you listen to? Etc…June Multicultural Activity 2Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children? The teacher will start off by asking the students these questions and will put the answers on the board. Have you ever noticed how the Sun moves across the sky during the course of a day? Does the Sun change its path through the sky from month to month? Are there certain times during the year when you know through which part of the sky the Sun will travel? The teacher will then go to the website and go through each stage that the sun goes through. After the students have learned about the four stages of the Sun’s movement the teacher will explain that the summer solstice is celebrated in Sweden on the Eve of the summer solstice and is called Midsommar. The students will then read “Midsummer Night’s Dream.”Country (Culture) (Religion) of Origin: Religion - Lutheran, SwedenBooks: Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”Web Sites: HYPERLINK "" Activities After reading “Midsummer Night’s Dream” the teacher will talk with the children about the holiday Midsommar. This holiday happens on the eve of the summer solstice, which is usually celebrated on the Eve of June 21. The teacher will ask the students to research how people in Sweden celebrate this holiday and she will ask them if it is similar to the way it was celebrated throughout Shakespeare’s play. Afterwards the class will celebrate Midsommar in the classroom just like they do in Sweden.Lesson in Appreciating Others: The teacher will have the students look up how people celebrate festivals all around the world. The teacher will use a world map and will pin post it’s to the different areas and the characteristics of their festivals. (For example: What they eat, entertainment, dress…) The festivals and areas the class will look at are: Carnival in Brazil, Day of the Dead in Mexico, Chinese New Year in China, May Day in England, Trung Thu in Vietnam, and finally 4th of July. After going through all of these countries the students will compare them with our own festivals and celebrations. Thus then students will be able to see how similar all of the world’s festivals are. Bastille DayJuly 14Background:Bastille Day is usually compared to America’s Independence Day which is celebrated ten days before. Bastille Day is the French celebration of a new form of government. Before the French Revolution, France had a monarchy where the king ruled the country. On this day in 1789, a group of French citizens stormed the Bastille where a large number of prisoners were kept that often just didn’t agree with the king so were imprisoned. The French citizens now held the power in politics instead of the kings and queens. Every year fireworks are displayed, just like Americans do on the fourth of July as a sign of celebration. Brief Description of the Activity: What will you do with the children?I would open this activity holding an American flag- asking the students to explain to me why we celebrate the Fourth of July. Once we came to the conclusion that we celebrate the fourth because it was the day the colonists had won their independence from Great Britain and that America was now a free country, and free from the king’s control, I would move on. I would then explain that before France was ruled by kings and queens, just like America was before the American colonists had fought for their independence. I would then connect this to the French Bastille Day. I would do a mini lesson on the significance of Bastille Day was and then I would ask the students to decorate French flags to hang in the classroom. They could include phrases such as “Vive le France.”Country/Culture of Origin: FranceBooks:Madeline by Ludwig Bemelman- Due to the fact that the story takes place in France, you could connect what the students had just learned to the setting of this story. Web Sites: Activities: (Describe a specific activity that will connect this celebration to your students’ lives. Use these activities to reinforce and follow up the original activity above.I would directly connect this holiday to the Fourth of July because most students in the United States celebrate every year. They at least understand the idea that this is a celebration that they see during the summer, every Fourth of July and this directly relates to their everyday lives. They can directly relate to the French because they too celebrate their country’s independence or freedom by a firework display. This will allow them to understand the holiday a little better. An extension of this activity could be to have the students act out the storming of the Bastille. I would decorate large boxes to look like a jail, and then let the students act out this historic event. The significance of letting the students act it out allows them to learn by doing. They will hopefully take on the roles and emotions felt by the French citizens and they will then understand why it was such a historic and significant day in French history, and also why it is still celebrated today. Another extension that would tie right into the original activity would be to create a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting France’s Bastille Day and America’s Independence Day. Students could then discuss these two holidays and gain a deeper understanding about each individual holiday and how similar these two holidays really are. Lesson in Appreciating Others: (Describe how you will assist children in accepting, appreciating, and finding value in others who are different than they.)After connecting Bastille Day to something that the students are familiar with celebrating yearly- the Fourth of July, it will be easier to get them to gain a deeper understanding of the significance of this holiday. Students will learn to appreciate their own country, as well as France because they had just learned that every country has their own special holidays in which they celebrate things, some of which are similar to America- such as this particular holiday. I will explain to students that it is important to take time to learn about other cultures and countries because not everybody celebrates the same holidays as they do. ................
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