Holiday Lesson Plans
Diversify Your Classroom Using the Spirit of the Season
This article shows educators how to incorporate diversity into their lesson plans by using cultural celebrations as a springboard.
December is a month with many holidays reflecting diverse cultures and ethnicities. Educators can make December an extra wonderful time in K-12 classrooms by taking advantage of the holiday season to fulfill their diversity requirements with unique holiday lesson plans.
According to World Factbook, seventy-six percent of Americans are Christian. That means over twenty percent of Americans practice another religion besides Christianity. Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are three of the more popular celebrations you can use to teach traditional subjects while celebrating our differences. Students will appreciate the effort to incorporate the cheerful spirit of the season into the classroom.
Christmas Creativity
Christmas can play an integral role in reading classes, social studies, music and art during the holidays. In social studies, you can discuss the religious and cultural meaning behind Christmas, and in reading, the same can be done with the addition of stories, books and reading comprehension activities. Popular Christmas stories like The Gift of the Magi [William Sydney Porter "O' Henry", The New York World, 1906] and A Christmas Carol [Charles Dickens, Chapman & Hall, 1843] teach sacrifice and the importance of sharing. In art class, create holiday decorations and have each ornament symbolize something culturally significant for each student. Before each student places the ornaments on the tree, have him or her explain what the ornament symbolizes. Incorporate seasonal themes into your math word problems by replacing textbook symbols such as apples and oranges with Christmas related symbols such as angels and wreaths.
Kwanzaa Know-How
Kwanzaa, an African-American holiday, is celebrated from December twenty-six through January first while most students are home on Winter break. Before they leave, send them out the door with the seven principles of community celebrated in Kwanzaa. Pottery classes can make the vessels used in ceremonies while home economics classes can prepare the traditional meals consumed in Kwanzaa celebrations. Social Studies teachers can have students plan mock Kwanzaa celebrations paying close attention to the customs and culture of the holiday. In art classes, wares and art used in Kwanzaa displays can be exhibited in the classroom next to Christmas and Hanukkah exhibits. The skills exercised in planning will help sharpen students scheduling and organization proficiency.
Hanukkah Handiness
Hanukkah is another celebration celebrated over the course of several days. In math, young students can learn more about the meaning of candles in the Jewish celebration by counting the candles on the Menorah and counting down the days the candles are lit. In science or social studies, read the legend of the oil. Discuss how the oil should have lasted one day but ended up lasting for eight days. Observe candles and oil lamps, and discuss how oil travels through the wick. In art and literature classes, read Hanukkah themed poems and provide pictures of latkes, dreidels, and Hanukkah candles so students can make connections between the reading and reality. Home economic students can even try making latkes (potato pancakes) for lunch.
There is so much learning for your students to enjoy and unique ways of introducing culture! Before you can incorporate holiday diversity into your lesson plans, learn as much as you can about the celebrations. Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are just the tip of the iceberg. There are December holidays in Asian and Indian cultures that most people don’t know about.
For more information about Kwanzaa, read Diana Tierney’s comprehensive article on Kwanzaa titled: A Holiday In It's Own Right. For a great latke recipe, check out Suite 101 writer Michael Vyskocil’s, great recipe for latkes.
