'Tis the Season- Part 1

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By Kerri Lambert, Teacher Specialist, Office of Instructional Technology

‘Tis the season for thinking about ways to keep students engaged in learning as the holiday season begins. Traditionally, this has meant cutting out turkey feathers with the things we are thankful for, writing persuasive letters on alternatives for the turkey dinner, and taking a ride on the Polar Express. Those are all classic, enjoyable activities, but this year consider taking your holiday activities up a notch with these digital options:

Researching Holidays Around the World

Now, I know what you’re thinking. We do this already! This type of activity is one that many teachers implement in their classroom, and for good reason. It brings in the opportunity to discuss the diverse cultures in our classrooms and around the world, but it’s easy to get stuck in a rut using the same books and paper packets to learn about the same cultures and traditions year after year. Shake things up by substituting or supplementing with these digital resources:

  • Culturegrams- an oldie, but a goodie, this online database is a hidden gem and one of my all time favorites. Have students select any country in the world, and then use the “Holidays” page under Lifestyle to learn about the holidays that particular country celebrates. Don’t miss the additional resources on the right either! There are often primary resources such as interviews, photo galleries, and videos to help students develop a deeper understanding of that country’s holiday traditions.

  • Scholastic Literacy Pro- Search “Read-About Holidays” in Scholastic Digital Pro located on Classlink, and you’ll find just over a dozen different ebooks on holidays including Diwali, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, and Christmas. Struggling readers can utilize Read&Write to have the story read-aloud to them, and all students can utilize the built in dictionary, highlighter, and sticky notes to take digital notes while learning about the holidays.

  • Discovery Ed- Discovery Ed has entire channels of curated resources including videos, podcasts, 
    images, songs, and reading passages on a variety of holidays celebrated around the world. Many of the channels even have pre-done student activities, like this one for middle schoolers on the Day of the Dead, that students can go through self-paced to learn and reflect on that holiday.

  • Google Earth- OIT loves a good virtual field trip, and Google Earth has several Voyager stories dedicated to holidays around the world. This is a great story that celebrates the special foods associated with holidays around the world- (Tip! Use CultureGrams to find the recipes!), or maybe you’d prefer to visit locations that are important to that celebration, like these stories on Hanukkah, Christmas Markets, and Vaisakhi.

As your students travel learning about the holidays celebrated around the world, have them maintain a digital passport to record what they’ve learned. Using a digital tool allows students to embed images, videos, even songs in one location for them to revisit. Researching different holidays may have also challenged some students ideas about holidays. Use one of the I Used to Think… Now I Think templates for students to reflect on their learning.

If you choose to have groups research different holidays, have students put on their directors hats and create a video showcasing traditions associated with their holiday. WeVideo offers stock footage and music that they can use, and students can also bring in media from Discovery Education, Image Quest, and the online databases. They could even use WeVideo’s green screen capabilities to put themselves in the middle of the celebrations. Then, host your own classes’ red carpet movie premiere before winter break.

Exploring the Holiday Traditions of Your Students

A natural match with researching holidays around the world is to have students share their own family holiday traditions. This gives them the opportunity to share their culture, and further develop relationships with one another as they develop a deeper understanding of their classmates’ backgrounds. A unique way to have students share meaningful items and traditions is to have them complete a holiday tradition photo bento box. Using actual physical objects or photos of those objects with symbolic significance, students create a photo vignette for a holiday their family celebrates. Students then caption each object with an explanation. 


Another option would be for students to complete a digital scrapbook or photo album highlighting key holiday traditions in their family. Doing a digital album allows them to embed videos and/or audio including interviews with family members talking about their holiday memories, traditional music, or even home movies of past celebrations.

Looking for more holiday specific ideas and templates? Part 2 covering Thanksgiving and Winter holiday ideas will be published on Thursday!

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