Ready to Get Started? Please preview the November/December project below. After you have an idea of what activities take place each week, come back here and get "connected" by visiting our "Connect Now" form to let us know which activities you plan to participate in with your class.
Theme: Holidays Around the World
Holidays are special days ordained by law or customs spent commemorating people, activities, or events. All around the world, individuals celebrate in different ways what is important to their communities. As you explore this digital dive, think about the unique characteristics of each holiday. We are changing things up this round, by not revealing all of the lessons ahead of time. Check out and share our clues below to see if your students can guess the correct country and holiday. Weekly Snapshot
Week 1: November 19th-23rd What | Description | Digital Dive | Students’ Digital Dive: Holidays Around the World
*This digital dive is the same each week. Students need only complete once.
| Mini-Lesson
| Background
Carnival is the most famous holiday in Brazil. The celebration begins on the Saturday before lent and ends on Fat Tuesday (40 days before Easter). Huge parades with elaborate floats and costumes, organized by the samba schools, are held in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo and are open to the public. This holiday became a farewell to bad things in a season of religious discipline to practice repentance and prepare for Christ's death and resurrection.
Lesson
>Using the Discovery Interactive Atlas, locate Brazil. Ask students on which continent Brazil is located and which hemisphere.
>Display these words on the board or chart paper
Carnival
Samba
Lent >Watch the video entitled “Brazil’s Carnival” located within the Atlas. Before playing the video ask the students to listen for the words listed above. Have them raise their hand when they hear the words. When they do, pause the video and discuss what they heard about each word.
>During class discussion write down student responses for each of the three words on the list. Use guiding questions to lead them to the significance of each one if the students haven’t yet provided it.
> At the end of the video, ask why they think those three words are important and why they think the people of Brazil celebrate Carnival.
Assignment/Activity
> Have students create a carnival mask or head wear. Tell them to be thoughtful about the design and think about why they are adding certain decorations.
| Class-to-Class | During your Class-to-Class Connection discuss the following:
- Does Carnival remind of you of any other holidays or celebrations? Which ones?
- Share the Carnival Mask you made and tell the significance of the design.
| Web 2.0 | Add a placemark for your celebration to the DEN Connects Collaborative Google Map:
- If you sign up to participate in the Web 2.0 activity, you will receive an e-mail invitation with a link to the DEN Connects Google Map. Click the link to access and add your placemark (pin) to the map.
- Visit our DEN Connects Help Page to learn how to add a placemark for your celebration.
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Week 2: November 26th-30thHere's a 2-1-4 to see if your students can guess the country and holiday
| 2 Facts | 1. Translation means first fruits.
2. Seven days in length | | 1 Clue | 1. Holiday to help celebrate the origins of the African American | | 4 Photos |
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* For more information on what a 2-1-4 strategy is and how to use it in your classroom visit our 2-1-4 S.O.S Page. If you like these strategies and want our weekly series, visit our S.O.S. Blog What | Description | Digital Dive | Students’ Digital Dive: Holidays Around the World
*This digital dive is the same each week. Students need only complete once. | Mini-Lesson
| Background
Kwanzaa is a Pan-African (spanning the entire continent and globe) holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from December 26th - January 1st, its origins come from the first harvest celebrations of ancient African tribes. The name Kwanzaa comes from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits" in Swahili, the most widely spoken language on the continent of Africa. Kwanzaa recognizes the power of unity, personal strength, creativity, and faith for building a better society.
Lesson
>Using the Discovery Interactive Atlas, locate Africa. Ask students if they know of any countries that are located in Africa. Point out countries and show their locations on the continent. (Egypt, Madagascar, South Africa, are just some that you could point out to students) Which bodies of water surround Africa?
>Display the following terms for the students:
Symbol
Unity
Tradition
Working in groups or pairs, ask students to write down an EXAMPLE of each of these terms. As a class, discuss the examples the students chose, and why symbols, traditions, and feeling a sense of unity is important to them.
>Watch the video segments, “Introduction,” http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/296EC71D-02FE-4A10-87E0-26CF5A794293 and “Kwanzaa Traditions and Activities,” http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/CE7011D8-7C5F-4231-9748-16A1AE941123 (both part of a larger video called, “Holiday Facts and Fun: Kwanzaa). Now, ask student pairs or groups to write down examples of Kwanzaa symbols, traditions, and why unity is important to the Kwanzaa celebration. Share these ideas as a class.
Assignment/Activity
> Remind students that family and tradition are important in Kwanzaa as a reminder of a family and community’s strength. Explain that students will make a class quilt to share their own family traditions with their classmates.
Each student should receive a piece of construction paper or copy paper. Tell students to draw or write about an event from their lives or an event from a family member’s life that made a big impact on them and their family, like the way the African “first fruits” celebrations and traditions impact African culture today. When all the drawings and descriptions are finished, connect the pieces together with tape and display the finished “family traditions” quilt in the classroom.
| Class-to-Class | During your Class-to-Class Connection discuss the following:
- What symbols & traditions are popular in your area during different holidays or certain times of the year?
- Share your class quilts with each other, and explain some of the traditions the students drew or wrote about on their “patches.”
| Web 2.0 | Add a placemark for your celebration to the DEN Connects Collaborative Google Map:
- If you sign up to participate in the Web 2.0 activity, you will receive an e-mail invitation with a link to the DEN Connects Google Map. Click the link to access and add your placemark (pin) to the map.
- Add a placemark to Africa representing your favorite tradition of Kwanzaa
- Visit our DEN Connects Help Page to learn how to add a placemark for your celebration.
| Want More?!? | Here are additional supporting resources to this week’s lesson:
Video: “Seven Candles for Kwanzaa” http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/14486E96-3D6A-416D-AD12-70A2902D43E6
Video: “The Principles of Kwanzaa” http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/89D8C1F2-CF66-4A1F-BF04-22C8049C0F3D (many segments in this one that you can pick and choose from)
Video Segment, “People in Different Cultures Have Lots in Common.” (part of a larger video titled, “Diversity Elementary: Culture and Ethnicity”) http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/B125B640-EB9A-42CA-8B79-64F088F3BB16
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Week 3: December 3rd-7thHere's a Wordle giving you clues to see if your students can guess the country and holiday
* For more information on what a Wordle strategy is and how to use it in your classroom visit our Wordle S.O.S page. If you like these strategies and want our weekly series, visit our S.O.S. Blog What | Description: Chinese New Year (China)
| Digital Dive | | Mini-Lesson
| Background:
Gung Hay Fat Choy! This is a popular greeting for the oldest and most important celebration in China, Chinese New Year! It is often referred to as the spring festival because it signals the beginning of spring. It is a time when families and friends get together to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new. The celebration lasts about 15 days and it never falls on the same day. Like all Chinese festivals, Chinese new year is determined by the lunar calendar. During the Chinese New Year's celebration, people participate in many traditional activities. The Chinese believe that as they enter a new year, they should put behind them all things of the past. They clean their houses, pay off debts, purchase new clothes, paint their doors and window panes, and even get new haircuts. These activities symbolize new life and new beginnings.
Lesson
>Using the Discovery Education Interactive Atlas, locate China on the map. On which continent is China located? Which countries border China?
>Display the following terms/vocabulary for the students to see:
“Gung Hay Fat Choy”
Fortune
Prosperous
Dragon >Working in pairs, have students discuss what these words mean (or could possibly mean), and what “dragons” represent to them. Share these ideas as a class.
>As students watch the following segments, have the clap once any time they hear any of the vocabulary words mentioned. (Click here to see a description and another example of this instructional strategy)
Video segment titled, “The Chinese New Year,”
(part of a larger video titled, “Fantastic Festivals of the World: Hong Kong: Chinese Lunar New Year”) http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/A9CAC60E-08A9-4C07-987E-1525374131DA
Video segment, “The Chinese Dragon,”
(part of a larger video titled, “The Chinese New Year”) http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/CA20ED21-0EDE-46AE-B453-D7153F60CFEB
>After watching the video segments, ask students to meet with their partners again to revisit the terms from before. What are new meanings you have, or feelings you have about the terms, or feelings others have about these terms? Share these ideas with the class.
Assignment/Activity
> Working in pairs or groups (or as a class for the younger ones), have students create a Venn Diagram or chart comparing and contrasting the traditional New Year with the Chinese New Year. What are the biggest similarities? What are the biggest differences? (make sure you mention that the Chinese New Year is not on January 1st)
>Next, have the groups discuss the importance of animals in the Chinese New Year. (dragons, fish, lions) Working in groups, have students determine which animal (real or imaginary) they would choose to represent the traditional New Year’s Day celebrations, and make sure they describe why they chose that animal. Students should create a picture (digitally or by hand) of the animal with a description of why it would be a good “New Year’s” animal. (Remind them of the words “prosperous” and good “fortune”)
| Class-to-Class | During your Class-to-Class Connection discuss the following:
- Which animal would you choose to represent the traditional New Year, just like a dragon does for the Chinese New Year? Why? Why do you believe the Chinese chose the dragon to represent so much for the New Year celebration?
| Web 2.0 | Add a placemark for your celebration to the DEN Connects Collaborative Google Map:
- If you sign up to participate in the Web 2.0 activity, you will receive an e-mail invitation with a link to the DEN Connects Google Map. Click the link to access and add your placemark (pin) to the map.
- Add a placemark to China that represents one of the most fascinating parts of the Chinese New Year.
- Visit our DEN Connects Help Page to learn how to add a placemark for your celebration.
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| Want More?!? | Here are additional supporting resources to this week’s lesson:
Video: Fantastic Festivals of the World: Hong Kong: Chinese Lunar New Year http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/68C95FA1-7728-4D71-BF0C-7133861C0FF2 (Several small video segments on this video)
Video Segment: “San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade,” (part of a larger video titled, “The Chinese New Year”) http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/C8471EA5-EBF5-4842-976A-6FA7C63F0E54
Video Segment: “Chinese New Year Traditions,” (part of a larger video titled, “The Chinese New Year”) http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/344ECCBC-49F2-448F-A1F3-5F66DC97BFDF
Clip Art: Chinese Dragon http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/29AE01BC-4613-4F6D-A120-73DA5F01C9D4
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Week 4: December 10th-15thHere's are a few images to share with your students that gives 1/2 the story... we'll reveal the whole image when we unveil the lesson. See if you can guess the country and holiday
* For more information on what a 1/2 the Story strategy is and how to use it in your classroom visit our Half the Story S.O.S. If you like these strategies and want our weekly series, visit our S.O.S. Blog What | Description: Chinese New Year (China)
| Digital Dive | | Mini-Lesson
| Background:
Yolngu culture in northeast Arnhem Land — a heartland of Aboriginal culture and land rights — is among the oldest living cultures on earth, stretching back more than 40,000 years.
Yolngu artists and performers have been at the
forefront of global recognition of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander culture. Yolngu artists,
renowned for their fine cross‐hatching paintings
on bark, have international reputations and Yolngu
traditional dancers and musicians have performed
widely throughout the world and profoundly
influenced contemporary performance troupes.
Yothu Yindi, the band, is Australia’s most successful and widely recognised contemporary Indigenous music group.
The Garma Festival is a unique combination of education, entertainment and real cultural interaction, exchange and immersion. It is indeed a privilege to experience Garma.
http://www.yyf.com.au/pages/About-Festival.html
The Darwin Festival is a free, 18-day experience filled with outdoor events of theatre, dance, music, and comedy, with sensational cuisine and traditionally good weather. The Festival is held at the end of the dry season in Darwin City, capital of Australia’s Northern Territory.
The Festival was initiated in 1978 to revive the spirits of the townspeople after Cyclone Tracy, which devastated the town of Darwin from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, 1974.
http://www.enjoy-darwin.com/cyclone-tracy.html
http://www.darwinfestival.org.au/
Lesson
> Using the Discovery Interactive Atlas, locate Australia. In which hemisphere is Australia located? Ask students if they know on what continent Australia is located? What bodies of water surround Australia? What island is also part of Australia?
> Using a Google Map, locate the towns of Darwin, at the Top End, and Gulkula, in Arnhem Land.
> Display these words on the board or chart paper:
Aboriginal
Clan / Tribe
Didgeridoo
Indigenous
Bonus Word: Yolngu or Yolηu - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yolngu
> Working in “Think-Pair-Share” review the words with your students. Are they familiar? Are they easy to say?
Videos (part of the series Fantastic Festivals of the World: Australia)
> Watch the video segment entitled Garma Festival. Before playing the video ask the students to listen for the words listed above. Have them raise their hand when they hear the words. (It might be fun if they can make a sound like a didgeridoo.) When they do, pause the video and discuss what they heard about each word.
> Watch the video segment The Darwin Festival.
>The Darwin Festival is newer than the Garma Festival. How is it different? How is it the same?
> Revisit the vocabulary words with your students. Why are these words important to the people of Australia? Why do you think they are important for you to lean?
Assignment/Activity
> Discuss with students about the different groups performing at the Darwin Festival
> Working in small groups of 4-6, or one large group, have students create a song or a dance that might celebrate their group's individuality. Will you add decoration (paint) to your face as a symbol of your group?
| Class-to-Class | During your Class-to-Class Connection discuss the following:
- Share your dance with another class.
- Discuss what you believe are the most fascinating parts of Australia's culture and history.
| Web 2.0 | Add a placemark for your celebration to the DEN Connects Collaborative Google Map:- If you sign up to participate in the Web 2.0 activity, you will receive an e-mail invitation with a link to the DEN Connects Google Map. Click the link to access and add your placemark (pin) to the map.
- Add a placemark to Australia that represents one of the most fascinating parts of their culture
- Visit our DEN Connects Help Page to learn how to add a placemark for your celebration.
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Week 5: December 17th-21st Here's an image and a few questions that give hints to what we'll reveal this week. See if you can guess the country and holiday.
What do you see, know, and wonder about this photo? What holiday do you think we'll be studying this week? Provide evidence from the photo to support your guess. (i.e. I think we're studying ___ because I see ____ in the pictures, and I know that during that holiday people _______)
What | Description Christmas in North America | Digital Dive | | Mini-Lesson
| Background: Each year, on December 25th numerous Americans observe Christmas. For Christians, Christmas celebrates the birth of the Christ child. Many others mark Christmas as a secular holiday.
Countless Americans observe Christmas customs and traditions that originated in other countries. Some of these customs include decorating Christmas trees, sending holiday cards, caroling, gift giving, feasts and family celebrations. Music and food play a prominent role in many Christmas gatherings.
On Christmas morning children rush from their beds to see if ‘Santa Claus’ has left the requested presents under their Christmas tree.
Lesson
>Using Discovery Education’s Interactive Atlas, locate the United States.
On which continent is it located? What other countries share this continent?
>Explain that the United States of America is home to citizens who came from a variety of different countries. As a result, we get to see examples of how several different cultures celebrate Christmas.
>As they watch the video, have students determine which Christmas tradition diplayed (Caroling, Lights, Christmas Tree, Nativity Scene, Cooking, etc) is their favorite.
>Watch the segment titled a "Multicultural Christmas Carol"
<If the video is starting from the beginning fast forward to begin playing the video at 20:20>
> Have students share which traditions were most common/unfamiliar. Were any of the traditions displayed ones that your students honor?
>Discuss students’ favorite carols. Ask students to share some of their favorite Christmas traditions/customs.
Assignment/Activity
Students should write down their favorite carol and it’s meaning. Draw illustrations to represent the meaning. This can also be done as a whole group activity for younger ages.
| Class-to-Class | During your Class-to-Class Connection discuss the following:
- Does your school have a Christmas tradition?
- Does your city/town have a special Christmas tradition?
- Please share photos of either/both.
| Web 2.0 | Add a placemark for your celebration to the DEN Connects Collaborative Google Map:
- If you sign up to participate in the Web 2.0 activity, you will receive an e-mail invitation with a link to the DEN Connects Google Map. Click the link to access and add your placemark (pin) to the map.
- Add a placemark for your school and information on how they celebrate.
- Visit our DEN Connects Help Page to learn how to add a placemark for your celebration.
| Want More?!? | Here are additional supporting resources to this week’s lesson:
Scandinavian Christmas Traditions: http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/D1C0DA08-9A1F-471C-B586-70ADA72264A3
South Korean Christmas Traditions:
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/DDA5713B-7944-4928-9B25-0036ED3E1708
Mexican Christmas Traditions:
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/5B4BC1C3-4FD4-4AAF-BBE6-64E1EE889D05
Native American Christmas Traditions:
http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/116B30A9-169D-4599-9EFB-08BC2BC8D59F
Holiday Traditions: http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/view/assetGuid/176AE90F-D213-48DC-8393-CFFC06CFBBB3
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