South Carolina ETV

South Carolina ETV
1101 George Rogers Boulevard
Columbia, SC 29201-4761
Phone: 803-737-3545

Christmas Around the World (Grade 2)

Master Teacher
Marie Ingram

Time Allotment
Nine 30- to 45-minute sessions

Overview
The USA is so multi-cultural that you find many different ways of celebrating Christmas. In this lesson students will learn how people from Sweden, France, Mexico, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and Ethiopia, along with Native Americans, celebrate Christmas. Student groups will create slides on one of the cultures listed. Students will view videos that show United States families celebrating Christmas based on their native countries’ traditions. They also will view a video which tells the story of La Bafana, the old woman who brings gifts at Christmas to Italian children. Students will write about their families’ Christmas traditions.

Subject Matter
Social Studies

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:

Describe Christmas traditions from various regions in the United States and the world.
Share their families’ Christmas traditions.

South Carolina Curriculum Standards
(From the South Carolina Social Studies Curriculum Standards, grade 2, available online at http://www.myscschools.com)

Social Studies: 2.2.1 Describe folklore and other cultural contributions from various regions of the United States and the world, and how they help form a nation’s heritage.

Media Components
PowerPoint
PowerPoint slides will be created by students in small groups with adult assistants.

Video
Holiday Facts and Fun: A Multicultural Christmas is a unique presentation featuring Northern European, African-American, Hispanic, Native American, and Asian youngsters explaining family and ethnic customs associated with their celebrations. Special foods, songs, stories, games, celebrations, costumes, and other holiday traditions are shown for each group. This presentation is a perfect way to help children understand that ethnic expressions are wonderful ways for individuals and groups to celebrate Christmas and other holidays.

Christmas Tales from Foreign Lands: Busy Befana tells the story of an elderly Italian woman who was too busy to go with the wise men to find the Christ Child.

Directions: To access these videos, log on to your account at ETV’s StreamlineSC Web page (http://etv.streamlinesc.org). When you reach the Web site, type “Christmas” and click OK. Click on “Holiday Facts and Fun: A Multicultural Christmas” and select the “a” in front of “Mexican Christmas Traditions” (3:48). Add this clip to “My Playlist.” Select Continue button. Click to close window. Repeat the same steps for “Scandinavian Christmas Traditions” (3:06); “Ethiopian Christmas Traditions” (4:43); and “Native American Christmas Traditions” (4:03). Return to Search “Christmas” page and click on “Busy Befana” and select the “a” beside “Busy Befana” (6:17). When finished, log off.

(Note to Teacher: If you don’t have an account with ETV’s StreamlineSC, check with your media specialist about signing up for an account.)

Web Sites
(Note to Teacher: Each site below has pictures, music, and information about the Christmas traditions of the listed country or culture.)

Sweden (http://christmas-world.freeservers.com/sweden.html)

France (http://www.christmas-world.freeservers.com/france.html )

Mexico ( http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/christmas.html)

Great Britain (http://www.christmas-world.freeservers.com/britain.html)

Germany (http://christmas-world.freeservers.com/germany.html)

Italy (http://www.initaly.com/regions/xmas/xmas.htm)

Ethiopia(http://christmas-world.freeservers.com/ethiopia.html)

Native Americans (http://www.christmasarchives.com/amerind.html)

Pics4Learning (http://www.Pics4learning.com) has maps and pictures of different countries, and in addition Christmas pictures.

Clip Art and Media (http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us). You can find Christmas pictures and clip art on this site.

Materials
The Legend of the Poinsettia retold by Tomie dePaola. Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 1994.

Venn diagram template

Per student:
Drawing and writing paper
Pencils
Crayons

Prep for Teachers

Divide students in small groups of 3-4 to make PowerPoint presentation slides on one of the following:

Ethiopia
France
Swede
Mexico
Great Britain
Germany
Italy
Native Americans

Make a “Favorites” list using PowerPoint or Word to make it easy for groups to access Web sites about Christmas customs from their assigned country to help them make their PowerPoint slides. (Directions: Open a PowerPoint or Word document. Then go to the Internet and find one of the listed Web sites. Highlight the URL address and click the left mouse button. Choose “Copy.” Switch back to the document you made in PowerPoint or Word and click the right mouse button and choose “Paste.” Press “Enter” and the Web site is active. Press CTRL + click to follow the link. Label the Web site above the address. Repeat the steps until all sites are copied into the document. SAVE to My Documents or Desktop.

Log in to StreamlineSC to download the videos under Media Components. (Note to Teacher: It is probably better if you download it to your computer’s hard drive or a CD. Many schools don’t have the band width to live stream.)

Collect items listed under Materials and copy a Venn diagram sheet to compare and contrast Christmas customs from the USA with the assigned culture for each small group. (A template is included.)

Make a title page for the group PowerPoint presentations with a link to each group’s slides. Copy and paste all slides into one common presentation.

When using media, provide students with a Focus for Media Interaction, a specific task to complete and/or information to identify during or after viewing of video segments, Web sites, or other multimedia elements.

Introductory Activity
Session 1
Step 1: Say: “We will be studying Christmas customs in several countries around the world over the next few weeks. There are many interesting legends that tell us why the people in these countries follow special Christmas customs. We are now going to read the book The Legend of the Poinsettia that will tell us about customs in Mexico. As we read the story we will be listening for answers to questions that will help us understand the story.” (Note to Teacher: You may want to put the questions on a chart or poster.)

Step 2: Focus for Media Interaction question for pages 1-4: “Where did Lucida live?” (a small village, mountains of Mexico)

Step 3: Focus for Media Interaction question for pages 6-7: “Why did Padre Alvarez come to their casita (house) close to la Navidad (Christmas)?” (to ask Lucida’s mother to weave a new blanket to cover the Baby Jesus)

Step 4: Focus for Media Interaction question for pages 8-11: “What colors did Lucida help Mama dye the wool?” (the colors of the rainbow)

Step 5: Focus for Media Interaction questions for pages 12-15: “What happened to Lucida’s mother?” (She became sick and had to go to a doctor away from the village.) “What happened when Lucida tried to weave the unfinished blanket?” (The yarn got tangled.)

Step 6: Focus for Media Interaction question for pages 16-19: “Where was Lucida during the procession?” (hiding in the darkness)

Step 7: Focus for Media Interaction questions for pages 20-23: “What did the old woman tell Lucida about any gift?” (Any gift is beautiful because it is given.) “What did Lucida bring as her gift?” (a bundle of green weeds)

Step 8: Focus for Media Interaction question for pages 24-27: “What happened to the weeds at the manger?” (Each weed was tipped with a flaming red star.)

Learning Activities
Session 2
Step 1: Divide the students into groups of 3 or 4.

Step 2: Assign one of the following countries to each group: Sweden, France, Mexico, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and Ethiopia. Or you have a group research Native American customs.

Step 3: Tell each group to make two PowerPoint slides, with your help or that of a volunteer. The slides should tell about special Christmas customs, foods, dress, traditions, etc. Each slide must have at least one graphic. Students will use the Web sites provided by you to find information for their slides. Groups will be scheduled time during the duration of the lesson on a computer connected to the Internet to do their research. (Note to Teacher: The computer may be located in the classroom, media center, or school computer lab.)

Sessions 3 and 4
Step 1: Log on to ETV’s StreamlineSC to access the video segments from your Playlist. (Or, retrieve them from your computer’s hard drive or a prepared CD.) Students will view the segments from the videos. Prior to viewing each segment, tell the class the Focus for Media Interaction question or questions. After viewing each segment, discuss the students’ answers to the questions.

Step 2: The Focus for Media Interaction question for “Mexican Christmas Traditions” (3:48) is “What is the children’s favorite Christmas activity?” (Answer: Breaking the piñata to get the candy.) “Were there any customs shown in the video that your family practices at Christmas?” (Answers will vary.) Instructions: Locate the video clip on your hard drive or CD. Double click video clip icon. Click on silver circle in the bottom right of the video screen to show full screen. Click the x in the upper right corner when the clip is complete.

Step 3: The Focus for Media Interaction question for “Scandinavian Christmas Traditions” (3:06) is “When does the family put up Christmas decorations?” (Answer: After the Advent Season is over.) “What customs shown in the video did you think would be fun?” (Answers will vary.) Instructions: Locate the video clip on your hard drive or CD. Double click video clip icon. Click on silver circle in the bottom right of the video screen to show full screen. Click the x in the upper right corner when the clip is complete.

Step 4: The Focus for Media Interaction question for “Ethiopian Christmas Traditions” (4:43) is “Why are the boys so excited about their Christmas toys?” (Answer: They have never had store bought toys before.) “Have you ever had hand made toys at Christmas?” (Answers will vary.) Instructions: Locate the video clip on your hard drive or CD. Double click video clip icon. Click on silver circle in the bottom right of the video screen to show full screen. Click the x in the upper right corner when the clip is complete.

Step 5: The Focus for Media Interaction question for “Native American Christmas Traditions” (4:03) is “What is different about the presents under the Christmas tree?” (Answer: All the presents are for others outside the families’ home.) “What customs in the video are similar to how your family celebrates Christmas?” (Answers will vary.) Instructions: Locate the video clip on your hard drive or CD. Double click video clip icon. Click on silver circle in the bottom right of the video screen to show full screen. Click the x in the upper right corner when the clip is complete.

Step 6: The Focus for Media Interaction questions for “Busy Befana” (6:17) are “Why did Befana not go with the wise men? (Answer: She was too busy doing house work.) “What does Befana do every Christmas? (Answer: She leaves presents for children as she searches for the baby Jesus.) Instructions: Locate the video clip on your hard drive or CD. Double click video clip icon. Click on silver circle in the bottom right of the video screen to show full screen. Click the x in the upper right corner when the clip is complete.

Session 5
Step 1: Give each student paper, pencils, and crayons.

Step 2: Tell students to draw and color a picture of their favorite Christmas custom they have learned about from the videos or the Web sites. Have them write a sentence or two to describe their drawing.

Session 6
Step 1: Distribute a copy of the Venn Diagram to each group.

Step 2: Tell the groups to complete the Venn Diagram by comparing their assigned culture’s Christmas customs with those of the United States.

Culminating Activity
Session 7
Step 1: Give each student paper, pencils, and crayons.

Step 2: Review and discuss with the students some of the Christmas traditions they have studied from around the world. Why Christmas is special to people depends on the customs and traditions that were handed down in their family.

Step 3: Instruct students to write about and illustrate a family Christmas tradition they enjoy.

Cross-Curricular Extensions
Session 8
Language Arts: Speaking and Listening

The groups will share their PowerPoint slides with the class.

Students will share with the class the family Christmas traditions they wrote about in Session 7.

Community Connections
Session 9

Invite parents or community members who grew up in another country to share with the class some Christmas traditions they remember from their native culture. Encourage them to bring pictures or other items to share with the students.

Student Materials

Alike or Different Venn Diagram (PDF)