Students have been really busy in the last few weeks learning about celebrations and traditions. We began by thinking about our own traditions and sharing those with others, then we learned more about just a few of the holidays that are observed here and around this time of year. Here is a picture of everyone in crowns and star hats of their own design to commemorate St. Lucia Day, which is observed in Sweden, Norway, and Finland on December 13th. |
Students read stories about each holiday and applied skills we have been learning in literacy such as:
Considering text connections helps students develop a better understanding of what they read. They were given opportunities to practice these skills in Language Arts as we read about each of the celebrations we observed.
We also learned more about celebrations by reading a variety of picture books, watching videos, singing songs, learning some traditional games, and making crafts.
- Applying a variety of strategies to effectively decode words
- Skim the text to look for information
- Making connections with text:
- Text to self - does the information in the text remind me of something in my life?
- Text to text - does the information in the text remind me of something else I have read about before?
- Text to world - does the information in the text remind me of things in the world?
Considering text connections helps students develop a better understanding of what they read. They were given opportunities to practice these skills in Language Arts as we read about each of the celebrations we observed.
We also learned more about celebrations by reading a variety of picture books, watching videos, singing songs, learning some traditional games, and making crafts.
Students also learned about Las Posadas, which is observed in Mexico, Central America, and Cuba from December 16-24th. They really enjoyed learning about the Legend of the Poinsettia, a book by Tomie DePaola, and making beautiful poinsettias of their own with oil pastels. They also thoroughly enjoyed singing along to Feliz Navidad!
We learned about Diwali, the festival of lights, which was celebrated on October 24th of this year. It is a five day festival observed in India. Here is a picture of just a couple of the beautiful paper lanterns students made in the classroom. They also learned about Kwanzaa, which is celebrated from December 26 - January 1. It is a week-long celebration of African culture and heritage that is observed mainly in the United States. |
This past week we learned about Hanukkah. We were privileged to have a special guest join us and Mrs. Bennett's class in the library on Monday. Mrs. Biggs-Craft, from the Saint John Jewish Historical Museum, came to teach us about the history of the Jewish community in Saint John and about Hanukkah. She also brought enough dreidels for everyone and taught us how to play. Students had so much fun playing! With rules like: take one, give one, take half, and take all, students were using their Math brains while having fun! We also made a menorah craft with wrapping paper, and they turned out beautifully! |
Students have also been learning about Christmas and we will extend the learning about Christmas into next week. To add even more of a 'local' twist, students have also been listening to holiday songs sung in Wolastoqey. If you would like to hear them, try these links:
It's so hard to believe that there are only a few days to go until the holiday break, and I'm really looking forward to this week full of fun and learning with these amazing little people. I am going to miss everyone terribly when I embark on my new position in January, but I will be sure to stop by and visit as much as I can. I hope everyone has a safe, restful, and happy holiday break. In closing, here's a group photo of us:
It's so hard to believe that there are only a few days to go until the holiday break, and I'm really looking forward to this week full of fun and learning with these amazing little people. I am going to miss everyone terribly when I embark on my new position in January, but I will be sure to stop by and visit as much as I can. I hope everyone has a safe, restful, and happy holiday break. In closing, here's a group photo of us: