TEACHING GUIDE TEACHING On My Own Holidays 3rd Grade Reading Level
2 TEACHING ON MY OWN HOLIDAYS Standards Social Studies Theater Language Arts Reading Language Arts Writing Language Arts Listening and Speaking Understands folklore and other critical contributions from various regions of the United States in forming a national heritage. Demonstrates competence in writing scripts. Uses acting skills. Uses the general skills and strategies of the reading process. Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of texts. Uses general skills and strategies of the writing process. Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes. Multiple Intelligences Utilized Linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, logical-mathematical, and spatial Copyright 2004 by Lerner Publications Company All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Student pages may be reproduced by the classroom teacher for classroom use only, not for commercial resale. No other part of this teaching guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of Lerner Publications Company, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review. Go to www.lernerclassroom.com for a list of all On My Own Holidays titles. LernerClassroom A division of Lerner Publishing Group 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis, MN 55401 U.S.A. 800-328-4929 Website address: www.lernerclassroom.com Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 DP 09 08 07 06 05 04 ISBN 0-8225-1797-3 PMS Blue 286U
TEACHING ON MY OWN HOLIDAYS 3 Lesson 1 Explore a Holiday Purpose: Students will write a report about a holiday that is new or unfamiliar to them. Discuss (teacher, class) Which of those holidays have students celebrated? How are the holidays they read about alike? How are they different? Materials On My Own Holidays books pencils Explore a Holiday Worksheet p. 8 Explore a Holiday Report p. 9 Model Write When, Who, Where, Why, and How on the board. Using one holiday as an example, write responses to When, Who, Where, Why, and How questions. Use the text to help you remember details. Objectives List familiar holidays. Describe the origins of a holiday. Employ prior knowledge to understand the significance of a holiday. Compare two holidays. Summarize how a holiday is established. Organize a report. Activity Procedures Prepare Copy one Explore a Holiday Worksheet p. 8 for each student. Copy one Explore a Holiday Report p. 9 for each student. Divide students into groups of four to six. Pretest (teacher, class) On the board, make a list of holidays people celebrate. Talk about ways people celebrate these holidays. Do the students families have special customs surrounding these holidays? Do they wear special clothes, eat special foods, or exchange cards or gifts? Practice (student) Fill in the When, Who, Where, Why, and How information on the Explore a Holiday Worksheet p. 8. Refer back to the text for details. Model Use the information from the Explore a Holiday Worksheet p. 8 to create a report about the holiday you selected. Use Explore a Holiday Report p. 9. Practice (student) Use the information from the Explore a Holiday Worksheet p. 8 to write a report about the holiday you read about. Write your final draft on Explore a Holiday Report p. 9. Share the report with class and family members. Evaluate Check worksheets and reports for completeness, correctness, and references to the On My Own Holidays books. Read (small group) On My Own Holidays books, with each group reading a different title.
4 TEACHING ON MY OWN HOLIDAYS Lesson 2 Create a Holiday Purpose: Students will create a new holiday in celebration of a person or event. Materials On My Own Holidays books Create a Holiday p. 10 Objectives Recall holidays. Discuss reasons for celebrating different holidays. Determine additional causes for celebration. Explore an idea for a new holiday. Create a poster depicting a holiday celebration. Assess the appropriateness of new holiday ideas. Activity Procedures Project Evaluation Form p. 11 pencils poster board crayons or markers Prepare Copy one Create a Holiday p. 10 for each student. Copy one Project Evaluation Form p. 11 for each student. Pretest (class) Name some familiar holidays. Talk about possible reasons for celebrating certain holidays, such as to honor someone, to mark a special event, or to celebrate a season or a rite of passage. Read (class, small group) One or more On My Own Holidays books. In pairs or small groups, talk about the reason(s) people celebrate these holidays. Share these ideas with the class. Discuss (class) Discuss other possible events, seasons, people, or reasons for a celebration. What makes these special or important? Why would they be worthy of a holiday? Write these ideas on the board. Talk about ways that people might celebrate these holidays, including activities, foods, decorations, music, etc. Practice (student, pairs) Choose one of the ideas on the board or come up with a different idea for a new holiday. Using Create a Holiday p. 10, write the name of the new holiday, who or what the holiday honors, who will celebrate the holiday, how they will celebrate (special events, parades, foods, etc.), and when and where it will be celebrated. Use poster board to create a poster illustrating the new holiday. Present these posters to the class and explain the new holiday. Display posters in classroom or hallway. Evaluate Use the Project Evaluation Form p. 11 to evaluate students holiday posters. Extension (class) Have a class party to celebrate one (or several) of your students new holidays. Make decorations and do activities students have designated for the celebration.
TEACHING ON MY OWN HOLIDAYS 5 Lesson 3 Comparing Holidays Purpose: Students will identify similarities and differences between two holidays. Read (student) One On My Own Holidays book together as a class. Read another On My Own Holidays book, either independently or in small groups. Think about how the second holiday is similar to and different from the first holiday. Materials On My Own Holidays books Compare/Contrast Venn Diagram p. 12 pencils lined paper Practice (student) Write the names of the two holidays you read about above the circles of the Compare/Contrast Venn Diagram p. 12. Write the characteristics of these holidays in the circles, with shared characteristics in the intersecting portion of the diagram. Objectives Define how two items are alike and different. Discuss characteristics of several holiday celebrations. Classify characteristics as alike or different. Compare two holidays. Arrange words in a Venn diagram. Choose categories for organizing ideas. Activity Procedures Prepare Copy one Compare/Contrast Venn Diagram p. 12 for each student. Discuss (class) What characteristics do both of the holidays share? How are the two holidays different? Evaluate Check for completion and accuracy of Venn diagrams. Observe participation in class discussion. Pretest (student) Write the names of two classroom objects on the top line of a piece of paper. Under each word, list the characteristics of that object. Circle characteristics that both objects share.
6 TEACHING ON MY OWN HOLIDAYS Lesson 4 Holiday Play Purpose: Students will do dramatic performances to explain the origins and significance of several holidays. Pretest (class) On the board, list preparations that go into creating a play, including scripts, props, and costumes. Discuss the importance of these elements for a successful dramatization. Materials On My Own Holidays books Create a Play p. 13 Script pp. 14 15 Performance Rubric p. 16 pencils crayons or markers construction paper and/or butcher paper scissors glue sticks fabric props Read (small group) On My Own Holidays books Discuss (small group, teacher) Discuss the characters in each book, how the holiday began, the importance of the holiday, and any lesson it teaches. Objectives Define significant people and events in a story. Summarize the origin of a specific holiday. Dramatize the events that led to the creation of a holiday. Identify characters roles in a dramatic presentation. Create a script for a dramatic presentation. Assess the use of language, props, and actions in a dramatization. Activity Procedure Prepare Copy one Create a Play p. 13 and one Performance Rubric p. 16 for each student. Copy one Script pp. 14 15 for each small group. Divide students into three or four small groups and assign each group a different On My Own Holidays book to read. Practice (student, small group) Complete Create a Play p. 13. On Script pp. 14 15, write a script for a play about the holiday. It can demonstrate how the holiday began, why it is important, the life of one of the characters, or the lesson the holiday teaches. Create costumes and props for the play. Perform the play for the class. Evaluation Evaluate students performances using the Performance Rubric p. 16.
TEACHING ON MY OWN HOLIDAYS 7 Additional Resources WEBSITES Holidays around the World for K-12 <http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/holidays.htm#l21> This is the holidays page for the Internet School Library Media Center. It links to hundreds of holiday sites, both specific and general. The site includes both American and international holiday site links. Holidays on the Net <http://www.holidays.net> Visitors to this site can learn about many popular holidays celebrated in North America, as well as holidays in other regions of the world. It offers information about when and how holidays began and traditions and rituals surrounding various holidays. It also contains links to other holiday sites. Kids Domain: Holidays <http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/> This kid-friendly site features the history behind holidays, as well as activities, games, and holiday clip art. The site links to additional holiday sites. Web-Holidays.com <http://www.web-holidays.com/index.asp> This site features holidays and celebrations from around the world, with holiday descriptions, recipes, and craft ideas. Kolatch, Alfred J. A Child s First Book of Jewish Holidays. New York: Jonathan David Publishers, 1997. This book introduces children to Jewish holidays throughout the year. Simonds, Nina, et al. Moonbeams, Dumplings and Dragonboats: A Treasury of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities and Recipes. San Diego: Harcourt, 2002. This book explores many Chinese holidays and celebrations, with activities, recipes, and stories for readers of all ages. Thomas, John E., and Danita Thomas. The Ultimate Book of Holiday Kid Concoctions. Strongville, OH: Kid Concoctions Company, 2001. This kid-friendly book gives a brief history of 15 holidays, with craft and project ideas. CHILDREN S BOOKS Bucchino, John. Grateful: A Song of Giving Thanks. New York: Harper Collins, 2003. This book is actually an illustrated song about faith and giving thanks for nature and its wonders. Cooper, Ilene. Jewish Holidays All Year Round: A Family Treasury. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2002. This book explains the history and traditions surrounding Jewish holidays and celebrations. It includes crafts and recipes. Jones, Lynda. Kids Around the World Celebrate! The Best Feasts and Festivals from Many Lands. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1999. This book explores the ways that people celebrate holidays all over the world. Recipes, activities, and craft ideas are also included.
8 Explore a Holiday Worksheet Name Date Name of Holiday When did the holiday begin? When is it celebrated? Who celebrates this holiday? Where is the holiday celebrated? Why do people celebrate this holiday? How do people celebrate this holiday?
Explore a Holiday Report 9 Name Date Directions: Use the information from the Explore a Holiday worksheet to write a report about the holiday you studied. Name of Holiday
10 Create a Holiday Name Date Name of Holiday Why will people celebrate this holiday? Who will celebrate this holiday? When will this holiday be celebrated? Where will people celebrate this holiday? How will people celebrate this holiday?
Project Evaluation Form 11 Name Date 5 = Excellent Work, Outstanding Effort 4 = Good Work, Good Effort 3 = Average Quality Work, Average Effort 2 = Work Needs Improvement, Less Than Average Effort 1 = Little Work, Little Effort Creativity (unique, interesting, thoughtful) Quality of Ideas (accurate information, complete, and thorough) Presentation (clear, neat, organized) Teacher Comments:
12 Compare/Contrast Venn Diagram Name Date Holiday Holiday Different Same Different
Create a Play 13 Name Date Name of Holiday Main Characters: How the holiday began: Why the holiday is important: The lesson the holiday teaches:
14 Script Group Members Character Lines
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16 Performance Rubric The following rubric can be used during a student s performance. Student + = Excellent = Satisfactory = Needs Improvement Performance Skills: Spoke clearly and with expression. Used gestures, props, or costumes to portray the character. Delivered the performance on schedule. Literacy Skills: Completed the script. Used language that showed the character s background. Related the setting of the character s life. Revealed a goal of the character. Comments: