10th Grade Reading comprehension Activity

NAME:______________________________
1
Reading New York, United States

ll thesequestions
A. Dlscuss with a partner.
1. Whatarethemostimportant ho idays
in yourcountry?
2. Aretheynewor old?llow dÌdthey
start?

Í=l B. FindthisÌnformarion
inrhereadlng.
'1.
thenumberof peoplewhocelebrate
NWANZAANOW
2 . the datesof Kwanzaa
3 . theyearwhenKwanzaa started_
4. the personwho startedKWANZAA

5 . threecountries
wherepeope celellrate
(wanzaa
6. the nnostimportantsyrnbolof Kwanzaa

7. the colorsof Kwanzaa

C.CircleT for true,F forfalse,

or Nl lor no
(if
ìnformatian the answerisnot in the
readÌng).
'1.
Kwanzaa iscelebrated at ShantelleDavis is a nine-year-oÌdgirl in New York. On a cold
the endofthe year. T F N night in December,her family is standing around the kitchen
2. Kwanzaa isa ho idayfor tablewhile shelights a candle. The table is decoratedwith
A'r( dn ATe'ca .. T t NI basketsoffruit and vegetablesand ears of corn for Shantelle
3. Kwanzaa lsa veryold and her two brothers.
holiday. T F NI "This candlerepresentsumoja, an African word that
4. Peope in Africaceebrate meansbeing together,"Shantellesays."That'sthe most
Kwanzaa. T F N important thing for a family."
5. People spenda ot of Tonight is the first night ofKwânzaa,and Shantelleis
timewiththeirfamiies spendingthe holiday with her family. More than 5 miÌlion
duringKwanzaa. T F NI African AmericanscelebrateKwanzaaeveryyear from
6. Childrenreceive presents December26 until January1. It's a time when they get together
Al hê ê'ìd Al Kwa.vaa. T t N with their families to think about their history and their
7. Fveryone
thinksKwanzaais ancestorsin Africa.
an Ìmportant
holÌday. T F NI Kwanzaais very unusualbecauseit was startedby one
man. In 1966,an American named Maulana Karengawanted
a holiday for African-Arnericansto honor their culture and

142 Celebrations
 Communicatior,
traditions. So he usedwords and customsfrom Africa to A. Circe youroplnionaboutthesesentences.
createa new celebration.He took the name Kwanzaafrom L A newhollday isn'ta reaholÌday
the words for "first fruits" in Swahili,an African Ìanguage.
a.lagree. il. m notsure.c. d sègtee.
At first, a few American families haclsmalÌ ceÌebrationsat
home. Now, there are also Kwanzaaeventsin schoolsand 2. Someoldho idaysareboringandnotVery
public pÌaces,and Kwanzaahas spreadto other countrieslike impottantnow.
Canadaand Jamaica. a. agree.b.l'mnotsure. c. d sagree.
The main symboÌ ofKwanzaa is a candleholder with 3. Ourcountryshoud starta newho iday.
sevencandles,one for eachof the principles of Kwanzaa. a. agree.b.l'mnotsure.c.ldisagree.
Eachnight, a famiÌy member lights one of the candlesand
4. Peope spendtoo muchmoneyforho idays.
t a l k sa b o u tt h e i d e ai t r e p r e s e n tbse: i n gt o g e t h ebr .e i n g
yourself,helping eachothel sharing,having a goal,creating, a.lagree. b.l'rnnotsure.c.ìdisagree.
and beÌieving.The candlesare red, bÌack,and green,the to keepa I of the o d
5. t'sveryimportant
colors of Kwanzaa.The parentsaÌsopour drinks to honor holiday customs.
family memberswho havedied. On the last night of Kwanzaa, 'm
a.lagree. b. notsure.c. disagree.
there is a big dinner with African food, and children receive
small presents.
fii B.Compare youropinions wlththeopinlons
of
Todaypeoplecan buy Kwanzaagreetingcardsand otherstudents.Talk
aboutthÌngsyourfam y
specialKwanzaaclothes.Storessell Kwanzaacandlesand holidays.
doesto celebrate
candleholders.Somepeopledont believethat Kwanzaais
a real holiday,
becauseit's so Writing
new. But other Choose
oneof the statements A
fromexercise
peopÌesaythat , i d w f ê , r p o Í o q Ì d p ho b o u l y o L r o p i o . B ê
customsand ' u ' e L og i \ e e d ' r o ^ \ d ^ d ^ D l d - a t i o. .
ceÌebrationsare
alwayschanging
and that Kwanzaa
showswhat is
rmportant rn
people'slives.
Shantelle
Davis saysshe
likes Kwanzaa
becauseit's fun.
"But I alsolearn ',/eo.ta
new things every
yeari' shesays.
Readyourparagraphto a partnef
or to the cJass.

'143
L e s s o nD