Scholastics dec sampler pdf

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23 Holidays Around the World

◆ ribbon or yarn ◆ scissors

◆ colored pencils ◆ oaktag

◆ glue sticks

◆ 8 - by 11-inch copy paper

◆ one bead for each student with a hole

large enough to hold doubled ribbon

➤ Prepare a sample of this project to show

your class. The visual reference will help them construct their own ornament books.

➤ Give each student three sheets of copy

paper.

➤ Ask students to pull the top left corner of

one sheet down diagonally to the right so that the top edge of the paper aligns with the right edge of the paper. Crease along the fold (figure 1).

➤ Then have them cut off the bottom strip of

paper so that they are left with an 8 -inch square (figure 2).

A festive display of ornament books will brighten your classroom

as students learn fun facts about upcoming holidays around the world.

1/₂

➤ Students should fold the square in half

vertically, crease it, and open it. They then fold it in half horizontally and crease it again. When opened, the paper will have three creases (figure 3).

➤ Ask students to repeat these steps for all

three pieces of copy paper.

➤ Have students place the paper in front of

them so that the bottom corner is pointing at them (figure 4). There will be two diamonds and four triangles created by the folds.

M

aterials

S

etting Up

➥

figure 1 figure 2 figure 3 figure 4

C

reating the Ornaments

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➤ In the top diamond on each page, students should use creative lettering to write the name of a December holiday that they researched. Suggested holidays include Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, La Befana, Boxing Day, or Twelfth Night. They should surround this title with a related border.

➤ In the bottom diamond on each page,

students should draw and color a picture that illustrates an important aspect of the holiday.

➤ In the two triangles on the left side of each

page, have them write a complete, detailed paragraph that describes the origins and significance of the holiday.

➤ In the two triangles on the right side of

each page, ask them to write a complete, detailed paragraph about the holiday’s country of origin and how it is celebrated throughout the world. Each page should now look similar to the picture in figure 5.

➤ Instruct students to turn

over their three sheets and use colored pencils to color the triangular shapes (figure 6).

➤ Then have them fold the paper in half along

the diagonal crease so that the writing is on the inside (figure 7). They should push points A and B into the inside to point C, making a smaller square (figure 8). They can now do this to all three pages.

24 December

Holidays

➤ Ask students to glue the back of the

bottom diamond of page 1 to the back of the top diamond of page 2, making sure to line up point D on both pages. Then they should glue the back of the bottom diamond of page 2 to the back of the

bottomdiamond of page 3, making sure to line up point D on both pages.

➤ Have them glue a

36-inch ribbon around the stack of pages along the C–D line on both sides, leaving tails of equal lengths hanging from point C (figure 9).

➤ Students should cut two 4 -inch squares from

the card stock and glue one piece to each side of the stack of pages, covering the ribbons.

➤ Then they can thread

both ends of the ribbon through the bead. Tie the ends of the ribbons with a couple of knots to prevent the bead from sliding off (figure 10).

➤ To open the ornament book, slide

the bead up to the knot and open the pages so that the covers meet. Slide the bead down to lock the book into place.

➤ To display the ornament books, hang a

string across the classroom. Tie varying lengths of thread from the string. Tie a paper clip to the end of each piece of thread and hang the ornament books from the paper clips, allowing them to spin freely.

figure 10 figure 5 B A C D B A C D

figure 7 figure 8

figure 9 B A C D 1/₄

figure 6

C

reating the Display

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25 The Winter Solstice

◆ posterboard

◆ glue sticks

◆ colored pencils or markers

◆ scissors

➤ The change of seasons and the length of

the days played a central role in the lives of ancient cultures. Ask your class to explain why they think this was the case. Then ask them to tell you what they know about the change of seasons, discussing the concepts of planetary rotation and orbit, Earth’s axis, the winter and summer solstices, and the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

➤ Divide the class into groups of three or

four. Ask each group to research the ways in which ancient civilizations tracked the seasons and observed the heavens. Suggested research topics include Stonehenge; Mesopotamia; the ancient Greeks, Indians, Chinese, and Egyptians; and the Toltec, Incan, Mayan, Aztec, and Anasazi peoples.

➤ Groups should explore astronomical

discoveries these cultures made, the methods they used for observing celestial movements and the change of seasons, and how astronomy influenced their belief systems.

Discover humankind’s fascination with astronomy through the ages

by creating learning posters of ancient civilizations.

➤ Each group should design a learning poster

that features the information they found. Groups can vary the way information is displayed—graphic organizers, drawings or pictures of the culture, lists, maps, graphs, snapshots, semantic maps, Venn diagrams, vocabulary words, icons, do/learn/feel responses, and descriptive paragraphs.

➤ Have each group present their findings to

the class. Then, as a class, discuss the similarities and differences of the ancient cultures studied, their understanding of astronomy, and their methods of calculation.

➤ Hang the posters in the hall under a

banner that reads ANCIENTASTRONOMY.

M

aterials

C

onducting the Activity

C

reating the Bulletin Board

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December

(sung to “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”)

I’ve been waiting for December,

All the long, long year.

I’ve been waiting for December,

And at last it’s finally here!

Now the autumn time is over,

Winter has come to take its place.

Snow is falling all around me,

With snowflakes on my face!

I’ve been waiting for December,

For a whole year long.

I’ve been waiting for December

Just to sing a holiday song!

Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa,

New Year’s Eve is here, oh boy!

Let’s all celebrate December,

A month of fun and joy!

15

50

Thematic

Songs

Sung

to

Your

Favorite

Tunes

©

Meish

Goldish,

Scholastic

Teaching

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39

One pretty snowflake falls on my hat

t by

Winter Is Here!

3

Two p tty n flake f on y at

2

Two pre ty snowflakes fa on my c e et n t

4 5

Three pret y snowflakes fall on my fee

o r pr t y s wfl k f l o t st t

6

Fou pretty snowflakes a l on the stree

9

F e p t y s wfl k s fal i t ai Sn wfl k s wfl k e e ywh e!

8 9

Five pretty snowflakes fal in the ai Snowflakes snowflakes everywhe e

D aw s wfl k to m t e h n mb wo d

two

hree four

five

0

Draw snowflakes to matc each numbe wor

three fou

Getting Started

Display five or more die-cut snowflakes on the chalkboard. (Attach them with removable adhesive.) Then write each number word for 1 to 5 on separate index cards. To use, give a child a word card. Ask the child to read the word aloud, then remove that many snowflakes from the board. Was the child’s response correct? After checking with the class, have the child return the snowflakes to the display. Continue until every child has had a turn to read a number word and remove the corresponding number of snowflakes from the board.

Completing the Mini-Book

Ask children to write their name on the cover, then cut out and glue the patterns onto the pages, as shown. Finally, have them complete the activity on the last page.

Taking It Further

Use blue and white paper to create a simple outdoor scene of a sky and snow-covered ground. At the top, add the title “Signs of Winter.” Then brainstorm with children a list of things they might see in winter that signifies the season. Their responses might include snowfall, ice-skaters, snowmen, icicles, hibernating bears, and so on. Afterward, invite children to draw, cut out, and add their own pictures to the scene to depict signs of winter.

Winter Is Here!

Reproducible Pages mini-book: pages 40–45 patterns: page 46

Skill

Number Words

Draw snowflakes to match each number word.

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10

11 Draw snowflakes to match

each number word.

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46 Patterns

&

Cut Paste

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5

@ As you preview each right-hand page, encourage children to use clues from the text on the spread to decide which pattern belongs on the page. Invite them to place the pattern on the page (but not glue it down yet) and then read the text again. Does the pattern make sense with the text? When finished, ask them to put the pattern back with the others.

@ When you preview page 11 of the mini-book (the last page), talk about what children need to do to complete the activity. If desired, work together to find the answers, but have children wait until later to fill in the answers.

@ After previewing the mini-book together, have children read it by themselves. This time, ask them to fill in the blanks, glue each pattern to its corresponding page, and complete the activity on page 11.

Materials

@ scissors

@ crayons or markers

@ glue stick or paste

@ stapler

1.

Fold the front cover/page 1 in half along the solid center line. Keep the fold to the right side.

2.

Repeat step 1 for each of the remaining page pairs: pages 2/3, 4/5, 6/7, 8/9, and 10/11. Stack the pages in order with the cover on top and all of the folds on the right side.

3.

Staple the pages together along the left edge. by Ready for School! 2 by Ready for School!

Assembling the Mini-Books

The cut-and-paste mini-books require very few materials, and children can complete them at their desk or a learning center. To get started, provide children with copies of the reproducible pages for the selected mini-book, then demonstrate the steps below. (Or you might assemble the books in advance.)

@ Ask children to place all of the patterns face-up near their mini-book.

@ Beginning with the cover, read aloud the text on each page.

@ If a page has a blank for children to fill in, talk about what they need to do to find the answer to write in that blank, but tell them not to fill it in yet.

Using the Mini-Books

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Math Skills

◆

geometry: shapes

◆

one-to-one

correspondence

◆

greater than/less than/

equal to

◆

counting

◆

addition, subtraction

Materials

◆

reproducible glyph

patterns and legend

from pages 27–29

◆

completed

ginger-bread glyph

◆

scissors

◆

glue or paste

◆

crayons

Gingerbread Cookies—Yum!

December

Creating the Glyph

Distribute copies of the gingerbread cookie glyph patterns and

the legend to students. Review the legend, one characteristic at a

time, as you display a cookie glyph you have completed. Then

distribute the other materials, and invite students to create their

own personal gingerbread cookie glyph.

Critical Thinking

Ask students to display their completed cookie glyphs. Then ask

them to form three groups: those with brown cookies, those with

tan, and those with yellow. Collect the glyphs from each group.

Create a large wall graph by making rows of cookies of each

color. Discuss what the graph shows. Ask questions such as:

®

How many children in our class like chocolate cookies best?

®

How many more like chocolate than sugar cookies?

®

How many like sugar and gingerbread?

25 99998

99998

888888888888

8888888888888

YELLOW COOKIE: Sugar cookie tastes best

FOUR BUTTONS: Eat 4 cookies

EYES ARE TRIANGLES: 6 letters in first name PURPLE MOUTH: Like eating warm cookies

BELT: Like chocolate milk best

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The Gingerbread Man

by Eric Kimmel. Holiday House, 1994.

In this retelling of a favorite childhood tale, a ginger-bread boy escapes when he is taken out of the oven, and has many adventures.

26 Literature

Explore More

888888888

®

Home/School, Math, Language Arts

Have children collect

data from members of their family to determine which of the

following is their favorite type of cookie: sugar, peanut butter,

chocolate chip, or gingerbread. Once everyone has brought in

this information, decide on a way to graph the data. For

example, students could make a bar graph with a bar to

repre-sent each of the four types of cookies. Then have students

make observations about the data that has been collected.

Older students can write about their observations.

®

Math

Bring in a bag of chocolate chip cookies and give each

student a cookie. (Try to find the bag that claims to have 1000

chips.) Ask students to look at their cookie and estimate how

many chips it has. Develop a range based on the number of

chips estimated. Then have students break their cookies apart

and count the chips. Ask each student to find a way to

repre-sent on paper the number of chips their cookie had. For

exam-ple, students might write the number, draw a circle for each

chip, draw a cookie with dots to represent the number of chips,

use tallies, and so on. Then invite students to eat their cookies.

®

Language Arts

Read the story “The Gingerbread Man.” Find

different versions of this classic tale, and compare them. Then

invite students to write their own tale of a gingerbread boy or

girl. Ask students to incorporate numbers in their stories.

®

Math

Make gingerbread cookies with the class. Sequence the

steps for baking cookies. Calculate how many times the recipe

must be increased in order to make enough cookies for your

class. Have students do the measuring, bake, and enjoy!

®

Math

Use the gingerbread cookie pattern. Have students make

a gingerbread boy or girl and then use their “cookies” as a

non-standard unit to measure classroom objects and distances. For

example, students can measure the length and width of their

desk or tabletops, the length of a bulletin board, the distance

from the front to the back of the classroom, and so on.

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2 What flavor milk do you like with cookies?

chocolate

plain

strawberry

Pattern on Belt

3 How many cookies do you eat for a snack?

0 none

1 one

2 two

3 three

4 four

5 five

Number of

Buttons

5 What is the best part of making cookies?

red

measuring

and stirring

pink

tasting the

batter

purple

eating warm

cookies

Color of Mouth

1 What kind of cookie tastes best?

brown

chocolate

tan

gingerbread

yellow

sugar

Color of Cookie

4 How many letters are in your first name?

exactly six

fewer than six

more than six

Shape of Eyes

27 Name

Legend

Gingerbread Cookies—Yum!

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Gingerbread Cookies—Yum!

_9999999999

Gingerbread patterns

28

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Gingerbread Cookies—Yum!

_9999999999

Gingerbread patterns

29

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