Cultural Practices and Holidays

Hello colleagues, As we approach the holiday season, I'm thinking about ways to integrate cultural practices into my teaching related to the winter holidays. How do you approach this issue in your classroom? Can you recommend tried and true resources?

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, AELL CoP

Comments

During the month of December I share reading materials about Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and the Winter Solstice. There is a great reader's theater about the Gift of The Magi that is available for free at Scholastic.org We also share readings throughout the year about Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim holidays. I utilize Holidays, Festivals, and celebrations of the World Dictionary. Check out your local library's children's department most have a section of books on holidays that can be read aloud by the teacher and then discussed. I invite students to share their own stories of holidays and food.

Naomi Levine

Hello colleagues, Thanks so much for these recommendations, Naomi. Today, I discovered that readworks.org has a number of articles at different levels focused on holidays-- including the holidays Naomi mentioned as well as Diwali, Eid el-Fitr, and Los Posadas. Readworks also features passages on winter themes, such as science articles on why we have winter and how snowflakes are formed. I just discovered that these two articles about winter include audio as do some of the other lower level ones. I love being able to add audio to a lesson that is not just listening to the teacher's voice.

What additional resources can members recommend for holidays and/or the winter season?

Cheers, Susan Finn Miller

Moderator, AELL CoP