Christmas Around the World is a well intentioned idea that I see all over the place in December. Unfortunately, all or most, of the countries presented in Christmas Around the World are European and Christian. This gives students a very skewed worldview that can lead to intolerance and an inability to understand other cultures. I described the effects of this in more detail in my recent blog post – Stop Teaching Students that Their Holiday is the Only Holiday. However, I do feel that learning about many different cultures can be helpful to students. This can lead to a worldview that is accepting of others and allows people to find similarities and not differences. Today I will share with you three forever free resources which can help you increase tolerance in your classroom.
Light Up the World With Celebrations – Reader’s Theater Script
One of the biggest deterrents to teachers teaching about all of the possible holidays that are celebrated around the world is that they often don’t know about them. So I’ve done the research for you! Then I turned the research into a reader’s theater script that can easily be completed by a class. Your class can then perform the play for others, allowing your class and other classes to learn about holidays. The holidays covered are celebrated in countries from Egypt to China to France to Brazil. In addition, the theme of the play is light, which along with food, time with family and new clothing, is something you find in holiday traditions worldwide. Download this reader’s theater script for FREE from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
Muslim Holidays Center Packets
When I taught in Morocco, I learned a lot about the three major Muslim holidays: Ramadan, Eid al F’tour and Eid al Adha. Most American students have never heard of these holidays. With the increasing population of Muslim students in the United States, these holidays need to be included in Holidays Around the World. Since there is so little time in the day, I included reading, writing and math activities in my Muslim Holidays Center Packet. Download this free print and go center packet from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
Winter Holiday Vocabulary Packet
Students who are learning English as a second language often struggle to understand holiday activities because of the high number of new vocabulary words. Because of this, I created a Vocabulary packet that covers: Christmas, Haunnakah, Kwanza and Diwali. This packet will help students understand different holidays while also learning about key vocabulary words. Download this free vocabulary packet from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
I hope that these resources help you include more holidays and more cultures into your Holidays Around the World celebration.
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