Kwanzaa in the Classroom
You can teach your students about Kwanzaa using these interesting lessons.
By Elisa Jackson
During the holiday season, people not only celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah, but participate in a celebration called Kwanzaa. It is a holiday that is celebrated by African Americans, and focuses on the first harvest of crops. If you have a student who celebrates Kwanzaa, it is especially important to address the holiday in your classroom, and provide fun activities for students to participate in. Even if you don't have a student who celebrates Kwanzaa, I would recommend incorporating some activities about this important celebration into your holiday curriculum.
You can start by teaching students about the history of Kwanzaa. You can have a parent of a student who celebrates the holiday come in and explain to the students what Kwanzaa is, and why they celebrate it. You can have the parent and their child read an age appropriate book to the class, bring in items that represent Kwanzaa, cook traditional food, and answer questions. Once the students understand what the holiday is all about, they can participate in a few fun art activities.
The first activity you can have your students do is make a Kwanzaa hand wreath. Students trace their hands on green, red, and black construction paper to represent the colors of Kwanzaa. They should trace about four hands on each color. Once they are done tracing, they cut out the hands and glue them together in a circle with their fingers pointing outward. This creates a wreath that students can hang around the classroom or somewhere in their house.
Much like the Menorah of Hanukkah, the holiday of Kwanzaa features candles in a Kinara. The next craft can be done for the whole Kinara, or just one candle. Students take toilet paper rolls, and glue on strips of green, red, and black colored paper, but leave the very top bare. They can color the toilet paper roll as well if they choose. Once the strips are on, they cut out a circle made out of card stock that will fit on top of the toilet paper roll. They tape this along the sides and cover the tape with their last colored strip. Then, they color a styrofoam ball a deep yellow color to represent a flame, and glue it on top. Once this is done, students have their own Kwanzaa candle, or they can put seven of them together in a colored egg carton to make a Kinara.
Corn is an important symbol of Kwanzaa because it represents the crops that were grown that are the foundation for this holiday. Students can make a popcorn-corn stick. You will need popped popcorn, a jumbo popsicle stick, and corn husk cut outs. Make a corn husk by drawing the shape on a piece of green construction paper and gluing it onto the jumbo popsicle stick. Then, students can take the popcorn and glue it in the center to create a big oval shaped piece of corn. Let it dry, and students have their own piece of corn to represent Kwanzaa.
Kwanzaa is a holiday that should be addressed in our classrooms. Here are some more activities to do with your students to promote the holiday of Kwanzaa.
Kwanzaa Lesson Plans:
Students discuss the seven principles of Kwanzaa in groups and the history of the holiday.
Students create Kwanzaa party invitations on the computer for a classroom celebration.
Students read a book about Kwanzaa, and compare the Kwanzaa feast items to traditional foods of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Ramadan.
Students solve eleven clues to fill in to a word search about Kwanzaa.