What could I celebrate this month?
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Isn't it funny how the dishes aren't even off the Thanksgiving table and suddenly we're bombarded with images of fancy cars with ridiculously large bows and trees bursting into light. If adults find this holiday onslaught a bit overwhelming - imagine what the kids are thinking. Well, if you're a teacher, you might be putting a lot of effort into not finding out.
Because so many of the December holidays are tied to religion, there's an expectation that the season stops at the schoolhouse door. On the surface, in the interest of creating an inclusive educational environment, this makes perfect sense. But when you consider the fact that kids learn best when the subject matter is relevant to their lives - you run the risk of making December the most irrelevant month of the year!
So does that mean you should be inviting Santa over for a visit? Probably not. But could you give students the opportunity to talk about what December means to them? Definitely!
What if you tried the following?
(These activities could be adapted to any grade level.)
- How do you celebrate the season? (language arts)
Students write essays (younger students draw pictures or dictate stories) describing their winter traditions and what they mean to them. Some might write about the holidays, but others might write about playing in the first snow, celebrating the winter solstice, drinking hot chocolate, or ringing in the New Year. - What does holiday cooking have to do with math?
Students share favorite winter recipes and explore math problems multiplying the ingredients to make a feast for the class. You could then take the recipes and copy them into a classroom cookbook. If you're teaching geometry - building gingerbread houses out of graham crackers is a great way to learn about shapes, do area and perimeter calculations, and study the subject in the context of building. This is a great activity for almost any grade level - high school students love it too! Gingerbread houses are nice manipulatives for this time of year because they're seasonal, but strictly speaking houses made of candy are not denominational. - How can traditions be passed down through art? (visual arts / history)
Invite family members to teach the class how to make a craft representative of their culture's celebration. - Can you preserve history through storytelling? (language arts / history)
Students interview an elder to find out the source of a family tradition. They write up the interview as a news article or turn the story into a play. - What can we learn from a song? (music / poetry)
Students share a song their family sings during the holidays, then the class creates its own "winter celebration" song/poem that pays tribute to the various themes in the songs they've shared. - What is the winter solstice and why do people celebrate it? (science / social studies)
Students explore the astronomy behind the winter solstice and then look into the various ways different cultures will celebrate December 21. - How can we teach others what we've learned? (drama / language arts)
After exploring one another's cultural celebrations, students could write a play about the diverse ways people enjoy December. This play could be performed for the school or for families.
There's a risk involved in asking your students any of the above questions and looking for answers in the activities described. It's not common in our society to take the time to explore customs or celebrations beyond our own. But as long as you take pains to be inclusive and make sure all students have the opportunity to learn and share alike, you can create powerful experiences by opening their eyes to something new.
Consider sharing your process with parents through a newsletter home so they understand what you are doing and why. This is an easy and intriguing way to increase family involvement - invite them to participate!
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Inspired Teacher Homework:How do you celebrate the season with your students? Please send Jenna
a short description of your strategies. If your idea is selected for
inclusion in the next newsletter, we'll send you a thank-you gift! Last week we asked: How do you encourage kindness in your classroom? "When the tsunami hit in 2004, I taught my earth science students about tsunamis and earthquakes. As part of the unit I had each class compete in a penny war to raise money for tsunami victims. I taught students about 5 different relief organizations that were helping in the region and we discussed what aid organizations do. In the end the class that raised the most got to vote on which aid organization would receive the donation (from all the classes combined)." ~ Daniel Steed
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Teacher Resources
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Winter Holidays Around the World
Here's a list of several holidays celebrated by different cultures in December and January.
Winter Math Activities (elementary)
There are quite a few creative ideas on this site that use seasonal, hands-on approaches to such math concepts as estimation, geometry, and graphing.
A Seasonal Booklist (through age 12)
Browse descriptions of several children's books that explore the many celebrations of winter.
Winter Solstice Lessons and Information
Check out links to activities and resources about the Winter Solstice, which will occur on December 21 this year.
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