Holidays

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HolidaysTraditions

• By Erin Anderson
• Christy Calvert
• Ashley Heitman

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Table of Contents

• Introduction to Unit
• Content
• Objectives
• Activities
• Evaluation
• Teacher Resources
• Student Resources
• Media Resources

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Introduction to UnitFirst Grade

• The goal of this unit is for the students to
  learn about the different holidays around the
  world and have fun while learning. This unit
  will be completed during the appropriate times
  for corresponding holidays.

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Content / Vocabulary

• The holidays and traditions that will be covered
  include
• Christmas
• Thanksgiving
• The Fourth of July
• Cinco De Mayo
• Hanukah

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Objectives

• The students will learn about a new holiday, and
  will learn new information about holidays they
  are already familiar with (cognitive).
• The students will gain appreciation for the
  reason that supports that holiday being
  celebrated (affective).

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Activity One - Christmas

• Introduction Give a brief synopsis on the
  background and history of Christmas. Show
  Charlie Browns Christmas to the children. Sing
  with the children Jingle Bells while
  incorporating the use of instruments.
• Development Read aloud "The Mouse Before
  Christmas" by Michael Garland and then read aloud
  any version of "The Night Before Christmas."
• Culminating Hand out a Venn Diagram to each
  student. (two overlapping large circles.) Have
  the students write all of the similarities of the
  stories in the overlapping section of the Venn
  Diagram. Have the students then write the
  differences in the separate parts.

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Activity Two - Thanksgiving

• Introduction Play Indian tribal tunes to engage
  the children, and show a thanksgiving video.
• Developmental Soak the corn husks in warm water
  for about an hour until they become pliable. Then
  gather several damp husks and tie them together
  tightly with twine, about 1/2 inch from one end.
  To make the head, hold the knotted end in one
  fist, then fold the husks down (as though peeling
  a banana) so that they cover the knotted end.
  Smooth out the husks to make a face, then secure
  them with a piece of twine around the doll's
  neck. To make the arms, roll up a single husk
  and tie it off at both ends. Position the arms up
  between the husks, under the doll's neck. Smooth
  the husks over the arms to form the chest and
  back, then cinch in the waist with twine. For a
  skirt or legs, arrange several husks, inverted
  (like a skirt that has blown up over the doll's
  head) around the waist. Secure with twine, then
  fold the skirt down. For legs, divide the husks
  into two parts, tying each bunch at the knees and
  ankles. Use construction paper to fashion outfits
  or use markers and watercolors to give the
  illusion of clothes or to add on facial features.
  To make hair, hats or headdresses, glue on little
  strips of construction paper. Provide an example
  of a completed doll to model for the children.
• Culminating Attach sticks to the backs of the
  dolls for mobility. Build a doll stage and put on
  a special Thanksgiving puppet production. Video
  tape the production for the children to enjoy!

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Activity Three - Fourth of July
Introduction Have the students color this page,
while listening to Im Proud to be an American.
Developmental Brainstorm ideas on a smart board
about why it is important to be
patriotic. Culminating Give each student a
sentence strip saying Im proud to be an
American because and have them fill it out, and
paste it onto a large life size American flag.
Hang this flag up in the classroom, or out in the
hallway for the whole school to see!
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Activity Four - Cinco de Mayo
I would make corn tortillas with the students!

• Introduction Play a tape, teaching the students
  how to count to ten in Spanish.
• Developmental Next, students will make maracas
  while listening to festive Mexican music.
• Culminating Make and eat corn tortillas.
• Corn Tortillas1 cup corn meal1 Tbsp. baking
  powder3/4 cup water1/2 tsp. salt (or to
  taste)2 tsp. corn oil

In mixing bowl, combine corn meal, baking powder,
and salt. Boil water. Mix boiling water and oil
into corn meal. When mixture cools enough to
handle, divide into eight equal balls. Flatten
slightly. Place flattened ball on top of an
8-inch square of waxed paper. Cover with a second
square. Roll into 6" circle. Remove from paper.
Cook on ungreased griddle until lightly brown.
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Activity Five- Hanukah

• Introduction Show the students a picture of the
  Star of
• David and then pass out their own to color.
• Developmental Lighting of the candles using
  the Chanukah. Give the students candy for every
  day that a candle is lighted to celebrate
  Hanukkah! This will allow the children to
  anticipate and participate in a huge hanukkah
  tradition.
• Culminating The Dreidel Game The four letters
  which appear on the four corners of a dreidel
  alude to the miracle of Hanukkah. They spell out
  Nes (N-miracle), Gadol (G-great), Haya
  (H-happened) and Sham (S-there, meaning in
  Israel). To begin the game, each player should
  have about 20 Peppermint Candy Drops. Each person
  puts one piece of candy in the middle of the
  table. Then each person takes a turn at spinning
  the dreidel. When only one piece of candy or no
  candy is left in the middle each player adds
  another piece of candy. When a player has all the
  candy, that person wins! For those of you who
  don't want to use candy for the game, we have
  also added "Points" to this game. You can grab a
  piece of paper and keep track of how many points
  you get! Who ever reaches 100 points first wins!

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Evaluation

• The teacher can evaluate the childs progress by
  informal observations. Teachers can also perform
  assessment by providing a worksheet at the end of
  each lesson summarizing the content that was
  taught. A checklist could be performed by the
  teacher during instruction.

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Teacher Resources

• http//www.lessonplanspage.com/LACompareContrastMo
  useNightBeforeXMasIdea36.htm
• http//www.history.com/minisites/hanukkah/
• http//abcteach.com/USA/unit/proudcolor.htm
• http//www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/ednkc002.ht
  ml
• http//jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?pageC
  raftDisplaycraftid10749

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Student Resources

• http//www.dotcomwomen.com/food/thanksgiving/tradi
  tional-pumpkin-pie.shtml
• http//www.mexonline.com/cinco.htm
• http//www.enchantedlearning.com
• http//school.discovery.com
• http//ali.apple.com
• http//school.discovery.com/lessonplans/ushis.html
  

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More Student Resources

• http//www.awesomelibrary.org/Classroom/Social_Stu
  dies/History/History.html
• http//www.awesomelibrary.org/Classroom/Social_Stu
  dies/History/History.html
• http//www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/holi
  days.htm
• http//www.geocities.com

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Media Resources

• Video- Charlie Browns Christmas
• Book-The Mouse Before Christmas by Michael
  Garland
• Book- The Night Before Christmas (Any version)
• Visual- Christmas Venn Diagram
• Audio- Indian Tribal Tunes CD
• Audio- Song Proud to be an American
• Video- Self produced video of the re-enactment
  of the 1st Thanksgiving
• Audio- Jingle Bell Instruments
• Audio- Jingle Bell CD
• Visual- Completed doll for modeling
• Visual- Use of smart board
• Visual- Class produced flag with sentence strips

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More Media Resources

• Audio- Spanish counting tape
• Interactive Website- http//www.activitytree.com/a
  ctivitytree/library/was_quiz.shtml
• Interactive Website- http//wilstar.com/holidays/t
  hanksgv.htm
• Interactive Software -http//www.officedepot.com
  Jumpstart first grade.
• Interactive Electronic Book - This ebook is an
  electronic talking book about Mexico created by
  Mrs. Miller of apples4theteacher.com and Ronald
  Guillen, a 7th grade student, who lived in Mexico
  for several years. -http//www.apples4theteacher.c
  om/elibrary/mexico-the-country.html
• The Fourth of July Story (Paperback) by Alice
  Dalgliesh
• The Story of America's Birthday (Board book) by
  Patricia A. Pingry,
• Hooray for the Fourth of July (Paperback) by
  Wendy Watson