Summary: Late December is a time of year regarded the world over as a time of celebration. Some of your students may celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, or another holiday; others may simply celebrate the school vacation. In any case, we all share a history of winter celebrations that predates our modern festivals and religions.

Objectives:

To explore issues of diversity by researching the variety of winter celebrations
To examine the common multicultural features that underlie many of our winter celebrations
To gather, organize and present information on multiple facets of a complex subject

Procedure:

1. Before the videoconference, introduce the McKissacks to your class either by using the bio information on this website, or by having them read the book, Can You Imagine?
2. Have your students read Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters, or read it to them if they cannot read it for themselves.
3. Discuss the topic of winter holidays and the fact that many holidays are celebrated around the world at this time of year. Stress the idea that there is no one right way to celebrate a holiday or season. Everyone celebrates in his or her own special way. Explain that the class members will share some of the ways they celebrate in December and what makes it a special time for them.
4. Have students fill out the How I Celebrate worksheet. Here are some leading questions you might ask: do you participate in a formal holiday celebration? do you take part in community activities? do you celebrate at home with friends or family? do you have special meals, exchange gifts, attend church, synagogue, temple or mosque? do you enjoy seeing relatives, getting presents, sleeping in, hanging out at the mall, skiing? what are your earliest memories of this time of year and the celebrations surrounding it? do you remember where you went, what you did, and the relatives who pinched your cheek? do the memories feel special? what does the holiday mean to you? is it about love, faith, hope, or peace? is it a time of community and sharing, or solitude and reflection? does it mean the same to others in your family? Explain to the students that they are not required to provide any personal information that they are uncomfortable sharing with the rest of the class.
5. Discuss students' responses in class.
6. Have students come up with questions they want to ask the McKissacks during the videoconference. Select spokespersons to ask these questions. Have the questions written out so that time will not be wasted during the videoconference.
7. Practice the protocol of the videoconference with the students. You may want to actually go to the distance learning room and do this. If this is not practical, set up a "pretend" microphone and have students come to the front of the room and practice asking their questions in a clear voice, stating their name and school name first.
8. Download the following pdf files:
   The WAVE
   Definition of Terms in Writing
   Parts of a Story
   Ways to Research
   Review these files yourself so that you are familiar with them during the videoconference.
9. After the videoconference, divide your class into small groups and assign each group a different holiday to research. You may use the web resources or find your own.
10. Assign your students to write stories about the holidays that they have researched. They may do this individually or in their groups. Younger children may create greeting cards for their holidays. They may include illustrations with their stories.
11. Have students share their work through peer revision and through email with the authors, asking for feedback. It may be helpful to follow this model: 1)Praise--what do you like about my work? Be specific. 2)Question--what questions do you have about my work? Is anything confusing to you? If so, what? 3)Polish--what one thing could I do to improve my work?
12. Select several students to share their work with the McKissacks and have them prepare specific questions to ask the authors. It may not be possible due to time constraints for each student to read his/her entire piece of writing. Therefore, have the students select specific pieces of their work that they want to share. You might want students to again write out their questions.
13. Send student work to CSD so that it can be posted to the website.

You may email Martha Bogart at CSD with any questions or feedback.