holidays -...

WEEK 1Attention HolidayShoppers■ Holiday Gift Guide

■ Spending for theHolidays

■ Exchange Gifts■ Shopping Delight■ Cybershopping

Shopper■ Holiday Help

WEEK 2All in the Family■ Food, Family and

Facts■ Family Traditions■ In the Mood■ Variety is the Spice

of Life■ Oral Histories

WEEK 3Good Will, Good Cheer■ Family Connections■ How Do We

Celebrate?■ Holiday Happenings■ A Season for the

Movies■ Celebrating the

Holidays

WEEK 4Optimism Ahead■ Hopeful Future■ Peace on Earth■ New Year

Resolutions■ Positive Thinking ■ Guess Who’s Coming

to Dinner

The newspaper is a valuable source of infor-

mation for students. Reading a newspaper

each day keeps people informed about

major issues in their lives. Helping students use a

newspaper teaches them an important skill for

lifelong learning. The topics in any day’s newspa-

per will excite young people and motivate them

to read and learn more about the world around

them. The holiday celebrations provide excellent

opportunities for students to use the newspaper

to analyze and process issues of diversity and

the richness it brings to all of our lives.

This teacher’s guide is designed to help you

use the newspaper to help students process vari-

ous issues of diversity. It contains suggested

activities as well as several activity sheets that

you may photocopy and distribute for students to

complete.

CONTENTS

The HolidaysA T E A C H E R ’ S G U I D E

The Holidays

* Includes activity sheet for students

WEEK 1

ATTENTION HOLIDAY SHOPPERSThe custom of giving gifts is an expression ofkindness and affection. We exchange gifts duringthe holiday season to celebrate historic miracles.Presents can be wrapped and given to lovedones but they can also come in other forms –with acts of service, compassion and love. Theseactivities on this page look at shopping during theholiday season.

1.Holiday Gift GuideLearning standard: generating questions

Here is a fun challenge for

students. Pair each student

with a partner. The assign-

ment is to use the news-

paper to find the per-

fect gift for the partner.

Students should begin

by writing a list of

questions they can ask

their partner in an inter-

view to find his or her likes and dislikes.

Then, based on the answers, they can "shop" in

the newspaper to find the gift. Their choice

should reflect their partner's personality, so the

key is for them to ask the right questions to get

the information needed. To help you grade this

assignment, you may want to ask the partner if

the gift was appropriate.

2.Spending for the HolidaysLearning standard: computing averages

The average household spends approximately$500 during the holiday season. Have the stu-dents choose one gift for each person in theirfamily from the newspaper. They should spend atotal of about $500 and then compute the aver-age cost per gift.

3.Exchange Gifts* Learning standard: writing letters

During this time of year, students may find them-selves spending a great deal of time thinkingabout what they want to get as a gift. But it's real-ly fun to think about what they'd like to give asgifts. They can skim today's newspaper to find agift they would like to give someone special intheir life. They can cut out a picture of the gift

they'd like to give and write a letter tothat person telling why they wouldlike to give them that gift.

4.Shopping DelightLearning standard: organizing information

Have the class look through thenewspaper to find the best places to

shop for their gifts this season. Theyshould name the store, the address and a

telephone number or Web address to getadditional information about merchandise and

store hours.

5.Cybershopping ShopperLearning standard: collecting and exploring information

Are your students interested in cybershopping?Have them look through the newspaper for itemsthat are available online. They should make achart with the following information: the item, theretailer, the Web address and the price. What pre-cautions do they think shoppers should takewhen shopping online?

6.Holiday HelpLearning standard: evaluating employment opportunities

Faced with a shortage of workers, retailers arelooking for creative ways to hire help for the holi-days. Have the class look through the HelpWanted ads to see how they are written. Thenthey can write a creative ad to attract workers forthe holiday season.

Student Activity SheetName________________________________________________________________

ExchangeGiftsDuring this time of year, you may

spend a great deal of time think-ing about what you want to get as

a gift. But it's really fun to think about whatyou'd like to give as gifts. Skim today'snewspaper to find a gift you would like togive someone special in your life. Cut out apicture of the gift you'd like to give andwrite a letter to that person telling why youwould like to give them that gift.

MYGIFT


WEEK 2

ALL IN THE FAMILY

If your students are like manypeople, they probably love the

family atmosphere of the holidayseason. Ask them to talk about what their familiesdo when they come together at holidays or anytime. Invite them to share ideas about what kindsof activities families can do to bring them closerto each other. These activities will help studentsfocus on the family and the traditions that bindthem.

1.Food, Family and Facts*Learning standard: locating specific information

Eating together with family during the holidaysoffers a wonderful opportunity for conversation.Have the students find a story in the newspaperthat would be a good one to talk about with thefamily over dinner. Have the students write a fiveW summary of the story by identifying who, whatwhen, where and why.

2.Family TraditionsLearning standard: understanding how cultures influencethe characteristics of regions

Ask students to define the words "tradition" and"traditional." Then have them think about howsome aspects of life have tra-ditional roots (e.g., clothing,religious customs and rituals,holiday customs, art). What isthe value of traditions to oursociety? Have the studentsskim the newspaper to findexamples of traditions thatare part of our culture. Are anyof those traditions unique to your area?Are any of those traditions part of theirfamily culture? Ask students to writevivid descriptions of a favorite tradi-tion. Their descriptions shouldcover all five senses by discussing the looks,tastes, smells, feels and sounds of the traditions.

3. In the Mood*Learning standard: describing settings

Holidays often mean warmth andtradition among family members.Ask students to talk about theirfamily traditions this time of year.They can look through the ads intoday's newspaper to find thingsthey could put in their homes toenhance the mood and atmosphere.Have them clip what they found in the newspa-per and create a collage of those items. They canwrite a paragraph about their favorite holiday tradition.

4.Variety is the Spice of LifeLearning standard: drawing conclusions

Brainstorm a list of holiday traditions. Ask stu-dents why there is so much variety in the cele-brations. They should understand, from that dis-cussion, that peoples' beliefs and heritage con-tribute to the various celebrations. Have them finda newspaper article that pertains to one of theholidays celebrated at this time of year. What con-clusions can they draw about the holidays basedon the information they found?

5.Oral Histories Learning standard: generating questions

During this time of year, many families sharetraditions and customs. Explain to students thatsome of these traditions are passed orally fromone generation to the next, as one person tells

the story to another. Oral histories within familiesare important in studying how families work. Yourstudents can record an oral history by askingquestions of someone in their family and writingtheir answers. Then, in order to generate somequestions about contemporary issues, assign thestudents to skim the newspaper for ideas andwrite three more questions of their own.

The Holidays


Eating together with family during the

holidays offers a wonderful opportuni-

ty for conversation. Find a story in the

newspaper that would be a good one

to talk about with the family over din-

ner.Write a five W summary of the

story by identifying who, what when,

where and why.

WHO:

WHAT:

WHEN:

WHERE:

WHY:

Food, Family and Facts


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In The MoodHolidays often mean warmth and tradition among family members. What traditions does your family have at this time of year? Look throughthe ads in today’s newspaper to find things you could put in your house to add to the mood and atmosphere. Clip them out and paste them in theframe below to create a collage of the things you found. Then, on the back of this sheet, write a paragraph about your favorite holiday tradition.


Celebrations are as varied as the people who par-ticipate in them. Your students probably havemany ideas of ways to celebrate the holiday sea-son. Invite them to talk about their favorite activi-ties for this time of year. These lessons help themthink about ways we all spend our time duringthis season.

1.Family Connections Learning standard: understanding the impact of technology

Technologyis making iteasier forfamiliesseparatedby distanceto keep intouch. Cellphoneskeep peopleconnectedwhereverthey go.

Laptop computers help us reach out and toucheach other via e-mail. We can send photos overthe Internet so that far-flung family members cansee how we are doing. Allow time for students todiscuss technology's impact on their personallives. Then direct them to skim the newspapersfor stories about families or stories that have fami-lies in them. Students can write an analysis ofhow technology affects or could affect the familyin the story and the story's outcome.

2.How Do We Celebrate? Learning standard: appreciating diversity of various culturesand religions

How do your students spend the holidays? Allowtime for them to talk about their holiday traditions.They can check the newspaper for holiday sto-ries and ads to add to the list of ways in whichthe holidays are celebrated.

3.HolidayHappeningsLearning standard:writing for fluency

Can your studentsfind any stories intoday’s newspaperabout events forthe holidays?Have them draw apicture of theirfamily going toone of theevents. Thenthey can write aparagraph tellingwhat they think would happenthere.

4.A Season for the Movies*Learning standard: designing graphics

Movies are often released during the holiday sea-son. Direct the students to use the movie listingsfrom the newspaper to make a list of five moviesthey would like to see and five that they wouldnever see. Then each student can design aposter to advertise one of the movies they wantto see.

5.Celebrating the Holidays*Learning standard: outlining

‘Tis the season to be jolly. Have the studentscheck out the newspaper for celebrations of theholidays. They can make an outline sequencingthe events of the celebration. What other ways dopeople observe the holidays? Have the class dis-cuss the different types of celebrations.

The HolidaysWEEK 3

GOOD WILL, GOOD CHEER

Name________________________________________________________________

A Season for the

MoviesMovies are often released during the holiday season. Use the movie listings from the newspaper tomake a list of five movies you would like to see and five that you would never see. Design a poster toadvertise one of the movies you want to see.

MOVIES I WANT TO SEE

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

MOVIES I DON’T WANT TO SEE

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Student Activity Sheet

I. EVENT 1 ________________________________________A. __________________________________________B.___________________________________________C.___________________________________________

II. EVENT 2 ________________________________________A. __________________________________________B.___________________________________________C.___________________________________________

III. EVENT 3 _______________________________________A. __________________________________________B.___________________________________________C.___________________________________________

Celebrating the Holidays’Tis the season to be jolly. Check out the newspaper for celebrations of the holidays.

Make an outline sequencing the events of the celebration. What other ways do people

observe the holidays? Discuss the different types of celebrations with your class.

Name________________________________________________________________ Student Activity Sheet


The holiday seasonleads into a new year.That brings a wonderfulopportunity to start anewwith a fresh sense ofoptimism about the yearahead. It’s a time forreflection, too, so thatplans can be made tomove forward. What do

your students plan to do to get ready for theirfresh start? These activities will enable studentsto reflect and to plan.

1.Hopeful FutureLearning standard: summarizing

A new year is always a good time to look aheadwith a positive attitude. Have the class find astory in today’s newspaper that gives them hopefor the future. They should write a summary ofthe story and tell why it makes them hopeful.

2.Peace on EarthLearning standard: analyzing information

This time of year we hear much about peace onEarth. Ask the students if they think we are get-ting close to peace on Earth. Using today's news-paper as a source, have them find examples ofstories that show that we either are or are notapproaching a peaceful time on our planet. Theycan find three stories to prove their point.

The Holidays

WEEK 4

OPTIMISM AHEAD

3.New Year Resolutions*Learning standard: justifying a personal perspective

People like to make promises to themselves,called resolutions, at the beginning of the year.What promises would your students make aboutissues in the news they would want to work onthis year? The class can scan the newspaper forthe five most important issues they would makeresolutions about. Then they can write their ownresolutions.

4.Positive ThinkingLearning standard: revising writing

Each student can choose an article from the frontpage. What changes would the students make tothe news to make the story more positive? Theyshould rewrite the article to show the optimism.

5.Guess Who’s Coming to DinnerLearning standard: communicating to entertain

Students can find a person in the newspaper andthink about how he or she spends the holidays.Have them imagine bringing that person to theirhouse. How would they welcome the guest intotheir home? What family traditions would the stu-dents share with their person so he or she wouldfeel welcome?


People like to make promises to themselves, called resolutions, at the

beginning of the year.What promises would you make about issues in the

news you would want to work on this year? Scan the newspaper for the five

most important issues you would make resolutions about.Then you can

write your own resolutions.

New Year Resolutions

The Holidays

EXTENSIONSHere are some suggestions for extending the “Holiday” lessons.

1.Holiday FeastsHave the students design their own menu for theholidays. Encourage them to include foods thatare unique to their culture. Perhaps they can findsimple recipes for their favorites and those dishescan be made in school. Or, they can cook themat home and bring some in for their classmates tosample.

2.Class Test TakingJust for fun, have the students test theirknowledge about the holidays. Each student can write a question for class discussion. The questions can be com-piled and discussed with the class.

3.Signs and Symbols of theSeasonThe class can skim through newspapers andmagazines and clip out signs of the upcomingholiday to create a classroom collage. The stu-dents can find articles, headlines, words or pic-tures to be part of the creation. Have them drawtheir own pictures and write poems about the hol-idays to include in the collage.

4.Good Works Action PlanThe holidays are a good time to show our grati-tude. Giving of ourselves is a good way to showthat we are thankful. Have the class come upwith a plan for providing a service for a charity,the community or a worthy cause. Then put theplan into action.

5.Family TreesWe celebrate our family’scustoms and traditionsduring the season of holidays. Have the students interview their family members to findinformation about theirancestors. Then they can create their own family trees.

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