Holidays is a topic occupying the thoughts of children - and teachers- during much of the year, but especially during December.

The festive season can provide a wonderful opportunity to introduce students to customs and cultures that may be unfamiliar to them and to help them recognize festivals as communal celebrations of culture.

(1) How Many Ways Can You Say Merry Christmas?

Lesson Plan

Brief Description

Students create a multicultural holiday bulletin board map.

Objectives

• Students research and study saying Merry Christmas in different languages.

• Students correctly locate the countries on a world map.

Keywords

December, holidays, multicultural, languages, Merry Christmas, geography, map

Materials Needed

World map, board, index cards, Internet access or printouts from the following sites:

Saying “Merry Christmas” or “Season’s Greetings” Around the World

Santa’s Net: How To Say Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

Prior to lesson:

Cover the board with a world map, or use a projector to project a world map on the board.

Gather enough index cards for each student in the class to have one. Write the names of languages and their corresponding countries on the cards, one language and country per card. Put the cards in a bag or a box.

For younger students:

Begin the lesson by telling students how to say Merry Christmas in Spanish (Feliz Navidad). Point out on the world map some of the countries where people say Merry Christmas in Spanish.

• Tell students that they will learn to say Merry Christmas in other languages. Provide each student with a card.

• Organize students into groups of three or four. Distribute the printouts from the sites noted to each group.

• Ask each student to use the printouts to find Merry Christmas in the language on his or her card. Students will write the phrases on the cards.

When everyone has finished, help students say their phrases and locate the countries on the map. Let students stick their finished cards around the board to create a learning ‘border’.

For older students:

Assign each student three or four languages. Give students cards with just the name of a language. Have students identify the country of the language and write the country’s name on the card.

Let students work individually to find the Merry Christmas phrases in their assigned language on the Internet or in printouts and locate the countries on the world map.

Assessment

Evaluate students’ participation and skills in locating the phrases.

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