OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to describe and differentiate holidays and traditions from around the
world.  
Students will be able to compare and contrast their traditions to others.
Students will be able to explain in their own words traditions of different cultures and
countries. 
Students will be able to explain to a partner what they have learned.
Students will be able to discuss with a whole group.

1 INTRODUCTION

We will begin the lesson by discussing holiday traditions the students in our class know.  We will
talk about what they do in their homes, and what we do at school.  They will explain in their
own words what they do each year.  My students all celebrate Christmas, but that will vary
from class to class.  So we will talk about Santa, Christmas trees, and family dinners.  

STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS

We will make a KWL chart about what students know about Christmas and other winter
holidays.  These answers will come from the students.  I will also have the students discuss
what they want to learn. When they have completed the class KWL chart, they will go back to
their seats and add it to their own personal KWL chart. We will then watch a video on Brainpop
about winter holidays. 

2 GUIDED INSTRUCTION

We will begin by reviewing what the students have added to their KWL chart to the previous
day. The students will also review the holidays and traditions within their own family. We will
begin the lesson by talking about Christmas.  Christmas is very common to most students, so it
it just a way to get them to understand that we are learning about other cultures tradition and
how they are similar and different to our own.  We will discuss the various aspects of Christmas.
We will talk about how we often celebrate Christmas as well as Christmas eve.  We will talk
about Santa and how we leave out cookies and how he leaves presents and fills ours stockings.
We will read the Night Before Christmas.  We will talk about all things similar to their own
traditions, and all things different.  

STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS
Students will add to the group KWL chart what they have learned.  They will also go to their
seats and add to their own personal KWL chart.  Students will create a Christmas craft. We will
make beaded candy canes.  Students will use red and white beads and create a pattern that is a
candy cane.  We will discuss how the candy cane is a traditional symbol of Christmas. Students
will then get a partner and an iPad.  they will explore The Globe Smart Education App.  They will
view one student each day. This will help them further understand others how their world is
different from others. 

3 GUIDED CONTINUED

We will begin by reviewing the KWL chart and discussing what we learned the previous day. We
will discuss Hanukah. We will read the Story of Hanukkah.  We will discuss traditions of
Hanukkah and how they do not have Santa, but they get a present each night, and also light the
menorah. I will have an example of a menorah and explain to the students have they light one
candle each night and how they follow a pattern and light them in a specific order. We will also
look at the app, Light My Fire, which allows us to look further at the tradition of lighting the
menorah. We will then discuss the various traditions of Hanukkah including games and food.
We will work together to play the dreidel game.  We will discuss the symbols and what each
one means.  We will play the game. 

STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS

We will do a Venn Diagram and compare and contrast Hanukkah and Christmas.  Students will
tell me what is the same and what is different.  They will also add to their class KWL chart and
go back to their seats and add to their own.  Students will make their own menorah using crafts
sticks.  They will need glue and paint or marker.  When they are finished, they will once again
view Globe Smart Education 1 app and view the life and story of one of the children on there.
They will do this with a partner.  They can also play Super Dreidel app, which allows students to
play the game.

4 EXPLORATION

We will begin by reviewing what we have learned in previous days.  We will review our KWL
chart. Once the third day, we will be looking at countries around the world and discuss their
traditions.  We will begin by watching the video Winter Holidays on BrainPOP Jr.  We will then
pull out our globe.  We will pull out the book Christmas Around the World. 
This is a great resource to view holidays and traditions around the world.  As we come to a
country, we will find them on the globe, and discuss their holidays.  As we talk, we will write
notes on chart paper.  We will make notes of the country, and the similarities and differences to
their own traditions.  

STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS

Students will add to the class and their own personal KWL charts.  They will also view the Globe
Smart Education App to further investigate the world around them. 

5 CONCLUSION

On the last day, we will discuss all we have learned, we will complete and review our KWL
chart.  We will also conclude our studies with a multicultural feast that includes our families.
Students will be encouraged to discuss the dish they brought and families will be invited to
share about their own traditions and celebrations.