Holidays Around The World

EDUC 539 Thematic Unit Presentation Assignment

Drexel University
Winter 2018
Jenna Graziadei
 Introduction

Understanding others is not confined to personalities and interests. It includes their cultural
backgrounds, and in particular, the holidays that are celebrated. Therefore, engaging students
in the study of holidays beyond those that one celebrates enables them to become more
culturally-sensitive and well-rounded, as well as open to and interested in the diverse cultures
that exist all around the world. Being presented is a thematic unit for second grade students
encompassing this idea of world celebrations that will be learned through cross-curricular
studies including the arts, mathematics, social studies, history, writing, and reading. It is through
this integrated approach and the multifaceted activities that the understandings of the
students will be enhanced, resulting in optimal engagement and excitement for learning. It is
with the consistency in the lesson design that the students will be able to become proficient in
the relevant skills.
 Standards

Common Core Standards

● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key
facts or information in a text efficiently.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.6 Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.7 Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
● CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.3 Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts,
and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
● CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.2.OA.B.2 Fluently add and subtract within 20 using mental strategies.2 By end of Grade 2, know from memory all sums of two one-digit
numbers.

National Core Arts Standards

● VA: Cr1.2.2a Make art or design with various materials and tools to explore personal interests, questions, and curiosity.
● VA: Cr2.1.2a Experiment with various materials and tools to explore personal interests in a work of art or design.
● VA: Cr2.2.2a Demonstrate safe procedures for using and cleaning art tools, equipment, and studio spaces.
● VA: Cr3.1.2a Discuss and reflect with peers about choices made in creating artwork.
● MU: Cr1.1.2a Improvise rhythmic and melodic patterns and musical ideas for a specific purpose.
● MU Cr1.1.2b Generate musical patterns and ideas within the context of a given tonality (such as major and minor) and meter (such as duple and triple).
● DA: Cr1.1.2a Explore movement inspired by a variety of stimuli (for example, music/sound, text, objects, images, symbols, observed dance, experiences) and
suggest additional sources for movement ideas.
● DA: Cr1.1.2b Combine a variety of movements while manipulating the elements of dance.
 Essential Questions Learning Objectives
1. Why is it important to study celebrations that Students will be able to…

occur around the world in different cultures?

1. Identify holidays celebrated in diverse cultures.
2. Explain basic details about these holidays (who, what, where,
2. What do these celebrations mean to those when, and why).
who celebrate them? 3. Take notes using several strategies to learn and discuss these
celebrations.

3. How do the arts help others celebrate these
holidays?
4. How can I used my reading, writing, social
studies, and art skills to learn about and
experience other cultures?
5. What can I do with this learning to positively
impact my environments inside and outside of
4. Analyze learning from texts, videos, images, and discussions to
develop an understanding of the holidays and their artistic
relevances.
5. Reflect on learning using KWL charts.
6. Write creative pieces of work in the form of poems or lyrics to
tell a holiday-based story.
7. Design a visual arts project using knowledge of repeated
addition, multiplication, and the arts.
8. Organize and perform an expressive dance by on the historical
study of holidays and their purposes.
9. Use a variety of materials and tools to produce expressive

school? artwork.
 Focus 1: Hanukkah
1. The study of Hanukkah will kick off by having the students watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tws_uMAEOs. The video will be watched once, and then
will be watched a second time using second grade thinking. The students will work in small groups
to begin completing the ‘K’ and ‘W’ of the KWL charts before the discussion and study of the
topic begins. Each group will present their work to the whole class to build upon the inquiry
process.

2. The students will spend time during the day’s reading lesson exploring the holiday of Hanukkah.
Through the use of an organizer for independent practice of the ‘stop and draw’ reading
strategy by Jennifer Serravallo that will be taught, they will be able to gather information about
the W questions. This will provide context for the math lesson’s activity. Some examples of texts to
be used will include Latke, The Lucky Dog, Shmelf The Hanukkah Elf, All About Hanukkah, and The
Story of Hanukkah.

3. The students will have been studying multiplication for a duration of time, which they will be
connecting to the concept of repeated addition. Through the ‘I do-We do-You do’ process to
scaffold the learning, the teacher will model the steps through a think aloud, the students will
work through a guided practice, and then the students will work with peers to complete the ‘You
do’ application task of creating paper chain menorahs using their learning of repeated addition.

4. The students will apply their knowledge in a hands on task to design a paper chain menorah.
They will be given the opportunity to select the paper strips used and the patterns that are
created for each arm of the menorah. The students will track the multiplication problems that
their chains represent. These patterns will guide the students to practice repeated addition such
as if 10 links are needed for an arm of the menorah, the student will use the links to complete a
repeated addition problem to discover the number of groups of 2 necessary. The product will be
a visual arts piece that the students can write a caption for to teach others about the holiday of
Hanukkah.
 Hanukkah Assessments
Throughout the lesson, checks for understanding will be used in the form of ‘mud-bugs-clear’ that pertains to thumbs down, thumbs to
the side, or thumbs down. This requires that the students reflect on their learning and determine their preparedness, or need for
additional explanations and support. Additionally, the teacher will take anecdotal notes throughout the day to track ideas of
observations and conferences with students that will help make determinations in regards to student need, as well as successes of the
lesson design and implementation. At the end of the day the KWL charts completed by the students will be collected in order to be
able to analyze their growth and learning that has taken place during this stage of the unit. A rubric will be used to assess the students
at ‘not yet’, ‘starting to’, or ‘yes’ levels in regard to various criteria points that are associated with the learning process and design of
the mathematically-based visual arts project. All data gathered will impact the teachers planning for the following day’s lessons in
order to better guide the learning of the students.
 Focus 2: Kwanzaa
1. The study of Kwanzaa will kick off by having the students watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kV-6qVp98Q. The video will be watched once, and then will be
watched a second time using second grade thinking. The students will work in small groups to begin
completing the ‘K’ and ‘W’ of the KWL charts before the discussion and study of the topic begins. Each
group will present their work to the whole class to build upon the inquiry process.

2. The students will spend time during the day’s reading lesson exploring the holiday of Kwanzaa. Through the
use of an organizer for independent practice of the ‘chunk and draw’ reading strategy by Jennifer Serravallo
that will be taught, they will be able to gather information about the W questions. This will provide context for
the music-art lesson’s activity. Some examples of texts to be used will include Kevin’s Kwanzaa, My First
Kwanzaa, Together for Kwanzaa, The Story of Kwanzaa, and The Seven Days of Kwanzaa.

3. The students will have been attending art and music classes at least twice a week, so this is an opportunity for
the students to integrate the two areas and express their learning in a new manner. They will be involved in
creating African thumb pianos during their art lesson. The teacher will outline the procedure that can guide
the students throughout the task. The process will be modeled swiftly, while allowing the students to ask
questions for clarifying purposes at each stage. The students will have an exemplar at each table group with
the steps printed. They will be able to support each other through the process. The teacher will support those
who can be identified to feel challenged by the task by guiding them step by step. The class will discuss the
historical context of this project in order to understand its relevance to the holiday. The final product will be
used during the day’s music lesson.

4. The students will apply their knowledge of producing rhythms to collaboratively create a song within
small-groups using their African thumb pianos. The teacher will expose the students to rhythms that the
culture utilizes in celebration of Kwanzaa that can be used in their own songs. The students will brainstorm
their findings. The teacher will present an initial four beats that the students can build off of. The songs that
are developed will be performed for the whole class. The teacher will record each song, which can then be
shared in an assembly to discuss the importance of music for the holiday of Kwanzaa.
 Kwanzaa Assessments
Throughout the lesson, checks for understanding will be used in the form of ‘mud-bugs-clear’ that pertains to thumbs down, thumbs to
the side, or thumbs down. This requires that the students reflect on their learning and determine their preparedness, or need for
additional explanations and support. Additionally, the teacher will take anecdotal notes throughout the day to track ideas of
observations and conferences with students that will help make determinations in regards to student need, as well as successes of the
lesson design and implementation. At the end of the day the KWL charts completed by the students will be collected in order to be
able to analyze their growth and learning that has taken place during this stage of the unit. A rubric will be used to assess the students
at ‘not yet’, ‘starting to’, or ‘yes’ levels in regard to various criteria points that are associated with the learning process and design of
the visual arts-based music project. All data gathered will impact the teachers planning for the following day’s lessons in order to better
guide the learning of the students.
 Focus 3: St. Lucia Day
1. The study of Kwanzaa will kick off by having the students watch the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEkSYHwszJQ. The video will be watched once, and then will
be watched a second time using second grade thinking. The students will work in small groups to
begin completing the ‘K’ and ‘W’ of the KWL charts before the discussion and study of the topic
begins. Each group will present their work to the whole class to build upon the inquiry process.

2. The students will spend time during the day’s reading lesson exploring the holiday of St. Lucia Day.
Through the use of an organizer for independent practice of the ‘stop and jot’ reading strategy by
Jennifer Serravallo that will be taught, they will be able to gather information about the W questions.
This will provide context for the writing lesson’s activity. Some examples of texts to be used will
include Hanna’s Christmas, Lucia Morning in Sweden, Kirsten’s Surprise, and Lucia, Child of Light. The
students will discuss how this holiday is recalled through story-telling.

3. The students will have had prior exposure to creative writing, or poetry. The students will strengthen
their skills of writing poems to formulate a creative piece that describes a personal experience that
was memorable, or impacted their life. As story-telling goes, the timeline must be evident in the
creative writing. The students will have exemplars of song lyrics used to celebrate St. Lucia Day
translated into English. The teacher will also model an example of a poem through a think aloud.
The students will brainstorm their initial ideas and share with peers. As an ‘exit slip’ before beginning,
the teacher will swiftly analyze these brainstorms writing on sticky notes. Once the students begin,
the teacher will conference with them to ensure that the task is understood, as well as provide
assistance when needed.

4. Just as the St. Lucia Day song lyrics tell a story in song form, the students will perform their poems in
the form of a song. The music teacher will be present to guide the students through this task, while
also giving them freedom to devise the rhythm and tone. These songs will be recorded on Seesaw,
which can then be shared with the teacher, peers, and families electronically establishing an
audience for this work.
 St. Lucia Day Assessments
Throughout the lesson, checks for understanding will be used in the form of ‘mud-bugs-clear’ that pertains to thumbs down, thumbs to
the side, or thumbs down. This requires that the students reflect on their learning and determine their preparedness, or need for
additional explanations and support. Additionally, the teacher will take anecdotal notes throughout the day to track ideas of
observations and conferences with students that will help make determinations in regards to student need, as well as successes of the
lesson design and implementation. At the end of the day the KWL charts completed by the students will be collected in order to be
able to analyze their growth and learning that has taken place during this stage of the unit. A rubric will be used to assess the students
at ‘not yet’, ‘starting to’, or ‘yes’ levels in regard to various criteria points that are associated with the learning process and design of
the creative writing-based expressive arts project. All data gathered will impact the teachers planning for the following day’s lessons in
order to better guide the learning of the students.
 Focus 4: May Day

1. The study of May Day will kick off by having the students watch the following
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYc6p1c5__E. The video will be
watched once, and then will be watched a second time using second grade
thinking. The students will work in small groups to begin completing the ‘K’ and ‘W’
of the KWL charts before the discussion and study of the topic begins. Each group
will present their work to the whole class to build upon the inquiry process.

2. The students will spend time during the day’s reading lesson exploring the holiday
of May Day. Through the use of Padlet, the students will analyze the May Day
dances and other forms of expressive dance. An organizer will be available for
notes using the ‘chunk and write’ reading strategy by Jennifer Serravallo that will
be taught. They will be able to gather information about the W questions, while
also collaborating with peers through the comment function of Padlet. This will
enable the students to co-create their learning.

3. The students will apply their knowledge in a task to develop a plan for an
expressive dance centered around a miniature maypole provided by the teacher.
Through the collaboration with a partner, the purpose, goals, and movements will
be organized into a written procedure to practice this alternative style of writing.
This procedure should be refined in order to fully express intentions for planning and
implementation. The plans will come to life through the practice that the students
will have prior to performing and teaching peers, which will all enable them to test
the clarity of their procedures. Throughout the process the teacher will use
conferencing to ensure that the students are experimenting with expressive
meaning through bodily movements. Their dances should be inspired by the May
Day dances.
 May Day Assessments
Throughout the lesson, checks for understanding will be used in the form of ‘mud-bugs-clear’ that pertains to thumbs down, thumbs to
the side, or thumbs down. This requires that the students reflect on their learning and determine their preparedness, or need for
additional explanations and support. Additionally, the teacher will take anecdotal notes throughout the day to track ideas of
observations and conferences with students that will help make determinations in regards to student need, as well as successes of the
lesson design and implementation. At the end of the day the KWL charts completed by the students will be collected in order to be
able to analyze their growth and learning that has taken place during this stage of the unit. A rubric will be used to assess the students
at ‘not yet’, ‘starting to’, or ‘yes’ levels in regard to various criteria points that are associated with the learning process and design of
the dance-based expressive arts project. All data gathered will impact the teachers planning for the following day’s lessons in order to
better guide the learning of the students.
 Additional Strategies for the Teacher
Teaching
● ‘Think-Pair-Share’ will be used throughout the lecture portion of
the lessons to maintain the engagement of the students, while
also giving them an opportunity to co-create learning in a
supportive environment.
● ‘Pair-Share-Care’ will be used at the completion of each
lesson/project to allow the students to share and discuss their
work, as well as thought processes that resulted in the final
product. Feedback will be provided in the form of a ‘glow’, or
a compliment, and a ‘grow’, or a constructive suggestion. This
will all be done while maintaining a growth mindset.
● ‘Chalkboard Splash’ will be used during the reading portions of
each lesson. This will be done by the teacher posting questions
on boards around the room related to the day’s topic. As the
students read and build upon their knowledge, they will share
their learning associated with the questions on sticky notes. The
students will then conduct a ‘gallery walk’, which will entail that
they respond to the comments of at least two peers.
● The teacher will ensure that on a daily basis, the purposefulness
of this unit is discussed and the essential questions are gradually
addressed. This will remind the students and help build upon the
relevance of their learning associated with the long term target
of ‘I can learn about different holidays to become culturally
responsive and reflect my learning artistically through work in
other subject areas.’
Behavior Management
● A voice level chart will be used for the students to be consistently
reminded of the lesson’s expectation.
● Phrases such as “1-2-3 eyes on me. 1-2 eyes on you”, “hocus pocus…
everybody focus”, and “bump bump bump bump bump… bump
bump” to name a few can be used to gain the attention of the
students. In addition, a bell can also be rung to which the students
respond “stop, look, and listen”.
● The teacher will either count down or use short songs during transitions.
In particular, songs from the Nutcracker work well with the students.
● Whether during the repetition of managements strategies, or during a
transition, the teacher can verbally identify the students following the
norms.
● Slides of presentations or posters used for lessons would include the
specific activity protocol. It should be presented in a child-friendly
manner with text and images as visual reminders, which is particularly
helpful for ELLs or students with IEPs.
● If a student is identified to be in need of a 1-2 minute break, they can
be offered the opportunity to visit the ‘Mindful Moment’ corner that
includes yoga cards, drawing paper, and other options to decompress
and prepare themselves for learning again.
 Supplies & Resources
Hanukkah Kwanzaa
● Texts about Hanukkah: Latke, The Lucky Dog, Shmelf The ● Texts about Kwanzaa: Kevin’s Kwanzaa, My First Kwanzaa, Together for
Hanukkah Elf, All About Hanukkah, and The Story of Kwanzaa, The Story of Kwanzaa, and The Seven Days of Kwanzaa.
Hanukkah. ● Wood
● Scrapbook paper ● Rubber band
● Glue ● Hair pins
● KWL Chart ● Paint
● ‘Stop and Draw’ Organizer ● African Thumb Piano exemplars
● KWL Chart
● ‘Chunk and Draw’ Organizer
St. Lucia Day May Day
● Texts about St. Lucia Day: Hanna’s Christmas, Lucia ● Computer
Morning in Sweden, Kirsten’s Surprise, and Lucia, Child of ● Miniature maypoles created by the teacher
Light. ● Procedure exemplars
● Computer ● KWL Chart
● Poem/song lyrics exemplars ● ‘Chunk and Write’ Organizer
● KWL Chart
● ‘Stop and Jot’ Organizer
 Differentiation

● The students will be using texts to learn about the holidays that are at a reading level appropriate for their skills and
development.
● Based on analyses of previously collected data, all students should be able to access the content and activities in
these lessons. However, the teacher will place a focus on the ELLs and students with IEPs to ensure that the necessary
processes are taking place by providing extra scaffolding that will help them better understand and retain the new
content.
● The students identified to exhibit need will participate in intervention activities during morning work within a strategy
group that will allow them to review and continue to practice skills before advancing to the next stage in this unit
and subject-based learning.
● Prompting and modeling will be utilized when appropriate to make expectations and content explicit to all students,
especially ELLs, students with IEPs, and others who exhibit academic needs.
● As the teacher walks around the classroom while the students work on the assignment, additional prompting and
guidance will be utilized should any ELLs and students with special needs exhibit the need in order to fully engage in
the reading and activity.
● The teacher can offer alternative phrasing or methods for what they are being asked to do and guide them through
additional examples.
● The teacher will utilize any accommodations that could benefit the students with special needs to maintain their
activeness in the lesson.
● Beyond the teacher’s guidance, other students will be able to collaborate with ELLs and students with special needs
that can allow for information to be presented in a different manner that the child can better understand.
 Reflection
Designing a unit to be included in a curriculum is a task that requires time, thoughtfulness, and strong reflective skills in order to make adjustments
that will better serve the needs of the students. It begins with that one source of motivation, or guiding point, which in this case was the creation of a
thematic unit that integrated the arts. With previous practice of designing an entire curriculum that integrated social studies into other subject areas, I
felt prepared to take on this task, and I was motivated to utilize a similar approach. Thus, I chose the theme of my unit to be the study of holidays around
the world. This was a choice that I felt the arts could be purposefully incorporated into to enhance the learning experiences of the students, while also
enabling them to expand upon their cultural sensitivity. Through the selection of four holidays to explain for this project, as well as research to determine
expressive arts activities that would be relevant, I felt that my approach resulted in a strong, detailed thematic unit. It allowed the students to experience
art within mathematics, reading, and writing, as well as within other areas of the expressive arts. I feel that the resulting project is well-developed, but
prior to implementation, I would continue to work on the unit design in order to incorporate the study of more holidays in which two or more subjects
could work together to support the learning of the students. With time, I would design this thematic unit to be complete across at least two weeks that I
feel is a sufficient period of time to allow the students to refine their skills and reach as close to proficiency as possible in regard to the learning targets.
The thematic unit encompassing the idea of holidays around the world was developed with Bloom’s taxonomy and the multiple intelligences in
mind. Through the reading, discussions, and other traditional subject-based learning, the students expand their knowledge of each holiday. The KWL
charts allow them to reflect on what they knew, what they wondered, and what they learned to summarize this cognitive development. The variety of
art-based activities that are integrated involve hands-on, psychomotor-focused tasks, which enable the students to refine their fine and gross motor skills.
They can experience their learning in a more visual and physical manner. The expressive arts in general, particularly within the activities selected enable
the students to reflect on their emotions associated with certain events that can be shared with others in an indirect, but creative manner. The selection
of tasks incorporates the interests of the diverse intelligences in the classroom. The creation of music using the African Thumb Piano supports those of the
musical intelligence. The May Day inspired dance correlates to those of the kinesthetic intelligence. The task of writing poetry/song lyrics engages those
of the linguistic intelligence. There are consistent collaboration opportunities for the interpersonal intelligence. The associations go on. With that being
said, there is extensive evidence of the benefits of the implementation of this unit in a classroom that is diverse in its learners. I foresee successes,
excitement, and consistent engagement based on the way in which I have approached the careful design of this unit.
This is a unit that would be ideal to implement in a charter or private school within which project-based learning is a goal. This would allow the
teachers to expand this unit further and focus on each part of the four pre-designed projects to result in best works for the students. Closer attention can
be paid to the details of each plan. There could even be an opportunity for the students to use their inquiry to guide their own production of expressive
arts pieces by following some criteria for structural purposes, but otherwise allowing greater freedom in the task. They would produce artistic works that
the students feel represent their learning.