The Best International Holiday Unit
A Fun Way to Teach Kids About Holidays Around the World
Nov 14, 2009
Holiday breaks are fast approaching. The students are excited with anticipation of the upcoming break from school and holidays that go with it. Teachers can embrace this holiday excitement and teach a unit all about multicultural holidays.
Background Information for the Teacher
The class will be exploring major holidays from around the world for this unit. There are eight or nine holidays that can be used for this assignment. A couple of them the students will be very familiar with. Others they will not know at all. The holidays (with a brief description of them) that can be used are:
- Christmas – Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated on December 25.
- Los Posadas – Mexican holiday celebrating the search by the Virgin Mary and Joseph for a place for Jesus to be born, celebrated nightly from December 16 to 24.
- Santa Lucia Day – Swedish festival celebrating the martyr saint whose name means light, celebrated on December 13.
- Kwanzaa – African American holiday honoring African heritage and culture, celebrated December 26 to January 1.
- Hanukah – Eight day Jewish holiday celebrating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Israel, dates determined by Hebrew calendar but usually in December
- Diwali – Hindu festival of lights, national festival of India and Nepal, celebrated for five days starting in late September/October and ending in early October/November
- Ramadan – Muslim month of fasting from sun-up to sun-down, celebrated during Ramadan the ninth month of the Islamic calendar,usually during September or October
- Chinese New Year – celebrates the beginning of the year on the Chinese calendar, celebrated teh second new moon after the winter solstice on a date between January 21 and February 20.
- Thanksgiving – Celebration celebrating a good harvest in the new world, celebrated in Canada on the second Monday in October and in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November.
Explaining the Unit and Dividing up the Class
The first day the teacher introduces the unit of study to the class. The class will be divided into groups of two or three and assigned an international holiday to research. The research will be used to teach the rest of the class about the holiday. A presentation lasting between 10 and 15 minutes should be created. The students are given a guide of the information that needs to be presented. Information to be collected includes:
- Who celebrates this holiday?
- Where is it celebrated?
- When is it celebrated?
- What is the significance of this holiday?
- What are special symbols of the holiday?
- What kinds of special foods are eaten as part of this holiday?
- What are some other traditions associated with this holiday?
- Give three interesting facts about this holiday.
As a part of the unit a couple of special assignments are included. Each student must participate as everyone will be grading the members of the group on participation which the teacher will then use as a part of the grade. The second special assignment is that a tangible symbol of the holiday must be created. For example for Kwanzaa, a placemat in the Kwanzaa colors could be made or for Hanukah, a Menorah could be created. If desired rather than creating a decoration, a special food served as part of the festival could be made.
Completing the Assignment
Once the groups are formed and the holidays assigned, the groups are given one or two class periods to do the research. The Internet is an excellent source of information about all of the holidays. There are several books available that also provide information about the holidays. Books can be borrowed from other schools or libraries to help complete the assignment.
One or two days will be needed for the presentation of the projects. Groups should be scheduled so that all groups with food are not on the same day.
On the presentation day a worksheet with information to be gathered from the speeches is passed out. Using the worksheet forces the students to be attentive to each other as they must listen for the information on the worksheet.
Students will gain a better understanding of people who are like them and different than them through this holiday study.
HOL101
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