Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Celebrating and Remembering
Help scholars understand the history, geography, traditions, and art of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Find background information for your reference as well as a detailed cross-curricular lesson plan. Learners compare...
John F. Kennedy Center
Comparing Cultural Holidays
A lesson examines the holidays, Día de los Muertos and Halloween. After an exciting clip from the movie Coco, class members review vocabulary and discuss what they know about Halloween. The conversation leads into the history of Día...
Curated OER
Where I Come From
Students examine family traditions as a microcosm of larger cultures. They examine their own family traditions to identify how beliefs, values, and customs vary from culture to culture and how those traditions influence their perception...
Curated OER
Digital Storytelling PowerPoint Lesson
Students investigate traditions by creating a PowerPoint Presentation. In this holiday tradition lesson, students research their favorite holiday tradition using a computer. Students utilize their data to create a multimedia...
Curated OER
Christmas Around the World (Grade 2)
Student groups create slides on one of the cultures listed. They view videos that show United States families celebrating Christmas based on their native countries' traditions and a video which tells the story of La Bafana, the old woman...
Curated OER
Holidays
Students compare the holidays celebrated in the Middle Ages to those celebrated in American culture today. In this cultural tradition instructional activity, students read Internet-linked articles about holidays of the Middle Ages....
Curated OER
Ethnic Folklore in Your Classroom: Traditions, Tales, and Treasures from Tijuana to Timbuktu
Pupils create their own festival. In this folk life lesson plan, students research their folklore history by interviewing their parents and grandparents, organizing the data found, and presenting that material to the class. Pupils have...
Curated OER
Homecoming
Students explore the theme of the art of Romare Bearden. They choose a family tradition or event and create a work of art illustrating that tradition or event. In addition, they write a paragraph describing the activity.
Curated OER
Comparing Cultural Holidays
Third graders explore art that reflects their cultural background. In this writing and research lesson students compare and contrast the Halloween with El Dia de los Muertos. Students study the visual art of these holidays. Then students...
Curated OER
A Gift to Give
Students investigate the holiday Kwanzaa by drawing pictures. In this cultural tradition lesson, students discuss the history and actions that take place during the holiday of Kwanzaa. Students draw a picture of a gift they would give to...
Curated OER
Dad's Magnetic Personality
Students create a gift honoring Father's Day. In this Father's Day lesson, students examine the meaning of fatherhood and explore the history of this tradition. Students create a picture collage over a template of their father's initials.
Curated OER
Different Ways We Celebrate
Students examine a variety of ways that families celebrate winter holidays. They complete a graphic organizer comparing Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, and write a five-sentence paragraph about one of the holidays discussed. Students...
Curated OER
Thanksgiving: Traditions
Students investigate the traditions and history around Thanksgiving. They divide into groups and research specific aspects of the holiday. Students then share their findings with the rest of the class. They also complete crafts,...
Curated OER
3 Holiday Projects
Students explore the concept of reusing and recycling everyday materials and make holiday-oriented decorations and gift wrapping. Letters containing environmental issues are composed and sent to political and corporate decision-makers.
Alabama Learning Exchange
CELEBRATE!
Strengthen research skills by reviewing the months of the year and the holidays celebrated during those months. Learners draw and label a timeline for the months and label each holiday. They work in groups to research the holidays, and...
Curated OER
Families: Are they all the same?
Students recognize different types of families through literature. In this families lesson, students understand that all families have similarities and differences. Students complete a worksheet about the traditions in their family and a...
Curated OER
Kwanzaa Activities
Students listen to a book about Kwanzaa and discuss the holiday and its importance. For this Kwanzaa lesson, students make crafts after they read and discuss the story.
Curated OER
National Turkey Off to Disneyland
Young scholars share their holiday traditions, then read about an American Thanksgiving custom. In this current events instructional activity, the teacher introduces the news article with a discussion and vocabulary activity, the...
Curated OER
Thanks for the Memories
Students explore the importance of the family holiday meal, read and discuss "Pass the Turkey, Tamales, Kugel and Criticism" and write their own renditions of a fictitious family's holiday evening.
Curated OER
Folk Groups and Community Folklife
Students explore folk groups and traditions in their local community. In this folklife lesson plan, students list the folk groups they belong to and its traditions. Students write about their favorite tradition and may complete extension...
Curated OER
Dia de los Muertos
Second graders research the Day of the Dead, an important Mexican holiday. They view videos, investigate Mexican geography and history and compare the Day of the Dead to the celebration of Halloween.
Curated OER
Christmas in Great Britain
Learners investigate the Christmas customs of Great Britain. In this holiday lesson, students construct pomander balls and sing English Christmas carols.
Curated OER
Kwanzaa
Students examine the holiday of Kwanzaa. In groups, they discuss "The Seven Principles" and the history of the holiday. They explore the objects that are used and what they represent. They end the lesson with a discussion of the...
Curated OER
A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust: Shemini Atzeret-Simhat Torah
High schoolers explore Jewish traditions through Jewish art. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students research art by Moshe Rynecki, Chaim Goldberg and Emmanuel Levy. High schoolers replicate the artistic styles in their own pieces.