It’s Hanukkah! But what is Hanukah, and what is Kwaanza? What is Ramadan? How do people around the world celebrate Christmas? How were holidays celebrated in the past? These questions come up time after time and time in classes across Quebec and Canada. There are a number of resources that librarians and teachers can use to help answer those questions. As you can see in the film above, Elmo from Sesame St. has questions about Hanukkah too, and this video that tells the Hanukkah story in a humourous way will appeal to children in younger grades.
We can look farther than Sesame St. to find resources and activities that will engage students before the holidays. The Library of Congress has lesson plans as well as a website, Looking into Holidays Past that explore family traditions and customs of holidays over the years. There are great activities to use with older students as well as younger ones. While here in Canada, the Calgary Public Library shares books about Christmas on its A Canadian Christmas web page. The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has a wealth of great books for children and teens on its website, Great Reads for the Holidays.
December is a good time to talk about the concept of celebration and holidays, and to explore the various common themes in holidays around the world. Lesson plans and a variety of resources can be found in Scholastic’s Celebrating Holidays Around the World and Education World’s Holidays Around the World. Teacher Vision’s list of resources and lesson plans can be found at December Holiday Resources for Teachers. These resources include slide shows, videos and even holiday-themed Math activities. Let’s not forget science; 12 Christmas activities in the science classroom will keep science students engaged in that week before the holidays. Finally, the NEA has a number of lesson plans and activities for students from Grades 6 – 12 including Scrooge for Mayor! at December Holidays Lessons & Resources, Grades 6-12.
Parents who are looking for holiday movies that children and teens will appreciate can check out this list of holiday films at Common Sense Media’s web page, Best Holiday Movies for Kids. Helpful age recommendations are provided.
For younger students, from Kindergarten to Grade 2, this video provides a song about Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwaanza, and Ramadan.
Holidays All Around the World (Grades K – 2)
For teenagers who like a good parody, this Hanukkah song may produce a few smiles in the library:
And really, when it comes to finding out about Hanukkah, Elmo is relentless. Here’s is one more happy Elmo video:
