DecActivities1011



= Holiday Related = || This is a great activity to turn into a unit or mini-unit about holidays celebrated around the world during December. We have all heard of Christmas and most of us know about Hanukkah and some of us may stay up until midnight to welcome in the New Year on New Year's Eve but do your students know what St. Lucia Day is or Las Posadas or Boxing Day? These, and others, are all holidays celebrated in December. Which ones do your students and their families celebrate?
 * Pick one activity or do them all! December is one of those months with limited time in many schools so if you can't fit in any of the activities below but your students have completed some other December related project, feel free to share that on your wiki page instead! **** The activity with the snowflake is our featured activity for the month and this month it's all about the holidays celebrated around the world in December. **
 * = == Activity == ||= == Description == ||= == Files/Links == ||= == Extension == ||
 * **December Holidays **

This activity will include a collaborative survey about which holidays are celebrated by the students participating in the Winter Wonderland Project and a follow-up activity for students to share their favorite December Holiday Celebrations using VoiceThread.

Survey your students to discover which December holidays/events are celebrated by the students and submit your answers using the survey form for each class or grade level.
 * Step 1: December Holidays Survey - **Survey Closes December 13th
 * Hanukkah
 * St. Nicholas Day
 * Rohatsu
 * St. Lucia Day
 * Las Posadas
 * Winter Solstice
 * Christmas
 * Boxing Day
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Kwanzaa
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">New Year's Eve

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will create original artwork illustrating their favorite December Holiday and the teacher will upload the artwork to a VoiceThread. Each student will then comment on their artwork and talk about the holiday/event that they have illustrated and the traditions their family observes.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Step 2: December Holiday Celebrations VoiceThread **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">More information, survey results (after December 13th) and links to VoiceThreads are available on the December Holidays page. || * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">December Holidays: Details, Results & VoiceThread Links
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Winter Wonderland December Holidays Survey
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> VoiceThread Link Submission

**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Survey Results as of 12/14: [|10-11WWDecemberHolidaysSurvey-1214.xls] ** || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will comment on their classmates' work and other classes' VoiceThreads and will comment on at least one other VoiceThread from another school.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Teachers will download survey results and create graphs and/or Wordles with students of the favorite December Holidays of:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">All WinterWonderland participants
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Each grade level participating
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Each state or region or country participating

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will choose one holiday they do not celebrate and create a presentation about it to share with their class. ||
 * = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Holiday Cards** || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will create Holiday Cards using Microsoft Publisher, Microsoft Word, Google Docs, any available drawing tool or even any multimedia tool. Have the students design the perfect "card" from your class. For example, have one computer in the lab set up in a drawing program and have each student add something to the drawing or message. Or, have each student create their own card and vote for the one to send (or post) to the other classes or send (or post) them all. Or, just take a fun photo of your class and make a card with that to mail to other classes. Or, use the pictures created for the December Holiday Celebrations activity as artwork for your cards. Or, use our [|Tree Card Template] on a SmartBoard and color the scene, add each student's face to one of the gifts or ornaments on the tree and add a message.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **Mailing Option:** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> It is always fun to get actual mail and it's exciting to receive mail in the classroom. Here's what you need to do to participate:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Make sure you have registered for the Winter Wonderland project before your proceed.** Only teachers and classes who have registered for the Winter Wonderland Project will be matched with other classes.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Sign up to take part in the actual mailing of cards to other classes/schools on our **Holiday Cards** page by December 10th. If you wish to mail cards to others and receive cards from others, you will need to provide your school address. The addresses will only be available to schools participating in the mail Holiday Card exchange.
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//If you will be participating in the mail exchange, you will need to budget for the mailing costs for mailing your card(s) to up to 10 schools.// Last year each class participating sent a card (or cards) to 5 other classes.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Have your students create Holiday Cards or take a fun photo of your class and make a card with the photo.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Mail your cards as soon as you can so the classes can receive them before their Winter Break or make Happy New Year cards that will be waiting for them when they return to school.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Make sure you post on the [|Discussions tab] of the **Holiday Cards** page when you receive your cards.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **Online Option:** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> If you miss the sign up for the regular mail holiday cards or if you just don't have the budget to send cards, post your holiday cards online! Create a slideshow of all of the cards the students create and share the slideshow. Make a video card on Animoto. Post your online cards and messages on our **Holiday Cards** page. || * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|TreeCard.doc] > This is a fun Word activity where students faces can be added to ornaments on a tree and/or gifts beneath the tree for a group card. Even if you don't participate in the Holiday Card activity, this could be a fun one to download and use to make a card for a classroom teacher (if you teach in a computer lab) or for the principal. > An individual card where the student can make themselves into a Gingerbread Man. Students will learn to color shapes, insert a picture into a shape and can even add clipart or change the page border to make this one their own. > > This is an individual "card" document that would be easy for younger students. Students can fill in their name, change the color of the snowman's arms, color the buttons, add their face to the top snowball on the snowman and even add clipart to the scene, if they wish. >
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Gingerbread-Card.doc]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|SnowmanCard.doc]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Animoto || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Map where in the world your cards are going either on an actual map or virtually using Google Earth or Google Maps. ||
 * = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Holiday Song Video** || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will create a winter picture using any available drawing program such as Microsoft Paint, KidPix, TuxPaint, Kerpoof. The pictures should be saved as JPGs for use in the video. Students will then be recorded singing a Winter themed song such as //Jingle Bells// or //Winter Wonderland// or any Winter Holiday song using an available tool such as Audacity or GarageBand. The exported pictures and recorded song will be combined by the teacher to create a Winter Song Video using available tools such as Animoto,iMovie, Movie Maker, MyPlick.com, Smilebox, One True Media, etc. || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">See the resources page for links to drawing programs, recording software and video tools. ||  ||
 * = **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Polar Express ** || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This book could be tied in to the December Holidays activity as part of the Christmas instruction or could be completed as a separate activity. Students will watch or read The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">After the book has been read or watched, students will be asked to imagine that they were the one chosen to receive the first gift of Christmas and:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Kindergarten & 1st Grade (ages 5-7): Students will draw a picture of what they would have chosen. The teacher will then upload the pictures to a VoiceThread and the students will narrate their pictures describing what they would have chosen and why.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">2nd & 3rd Grade (ages 7-9): Students would write a story about being the one chosen to receive the first gift of Christmas, what they chose as the gift and why they chose it. Students could also draw an illustration to go with their story or use clipart to illustrate it. The teacher will then combine all stories into a single document and upload to Youblisher or using student created art work and student stories, the teacher will create a book using Mixbook || * Storyline Online: The Polar Express || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Using Google Maps or Google Earth, trace a train journey from where your school is located to the North Pole. Discuss what countries you would have to cross. Discuss if you could actually get there only using a train and if not, what other means of transportation could you use. Discuss how long the trip might take. ||

= Gingerbread Related =
 * = == Activity == ||= == Description == ||= == Files/Links == ||= == Extension == ||
 * = **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Gingerbread "Card" ** || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will edit the Gingerbread Card template to make themselves into a Gingerbread Man. Using the drawing tools in Microsoft Word, students will color the shapes that make up the Gingerbread Man and they will insert their picture into the head. Students can then just add their name to the message on the template or change the message entirely. Photos of each student are needed to add to their document; for older grades it can be fun to have them take the pictures of one another and have the teacher upload these where they can be found to insert into the document.

||= <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Gingerbread-Card.doc] || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will add clip art and edit or remove the border or clip art already on the template. || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;"> || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will add additional decorations to their Gingerbread House. ||
 * = <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Gingerbread House Coordinate Graphing** || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will use a template to create a Gingerbread House in Excel. Students will also add clip art of a gingerbread man. ||= <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;">[[file:gingerbreadhousetemplatenew.xlt]]
 * = **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Gingerbread Glyph ** || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will create a Gingerbread Glyph in PowerPoint using a template and a legend with instructions. Teacher will need to instruct students how to use the flood bucket to fill in the eyes and heart buttons on the Gingerbread Man and may want to instruct students how to delete the bow & mouth not used. For younger students instructions may need to be read out loud.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">If you do not have PowerPoint, the instructions could be used with a Gingerbread Man Template from the Gingerbread in Disguise activity and the students could use a drawing program to complete the activity.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Teachers may save the completed glyphs as JPGs and import those for use in the Gingerbread in Disguise activity rather than starting with a blank template. || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Download the appropriate PowerPoint Template and the instructions. You will need to print the instructions in color for each student.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|GingerbreadGlyph.ppt]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|GingerbreadGlyph.pptx]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|GingerbreadGlyph-Instructions.pdf] || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will add appropriate clipart to their completed glyph to create a fun scene. As a class activity, create pie charts or bar graphs to show the results from the glyph activity. For example, graph how many students have eaten gingerbread vs. have not. ||
 * = **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Gingerbread in Disguise ** || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will read or have read to them //The Gingerbread Man//. After the book is read, students will disguise a Gingerbread Man template using any available drawing program such as Microsoft Paint, KidPix, TuxPaint. Teachers will need to load the template pictures so they will be accessible to the students. Pictures should be saved as JPGs so they may be used in other programs. Students will then write a sentence or two (for younger students) or a paragraph (for older students) describing why their disguise will keep their Gingerbread man safe from the fox or will help them to stop running if you use the Peter Pan Records video for the story. The writing portion could be done in the drawing program or using the exported images in Microsoft Word or as a speech bubble from the Gingerbread Man in PowerPoint, etc. For younger grades who are not yet writing well, teachers may wish to record the student's information rather than having them write it.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Teachers may wish to upload the images to a VoiceThread and have their students record their information about the disguises or they may want share written work in Word through a site such as Youblisher || <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;">Gingerbread Man Templates <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: left;"> (Select the appropriate format for your drawing program)

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Story:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|gbman-template.gif]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|gbman-template.jpg]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|gbman-template.png]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|The Gingerbread Man - A Traditional Story]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Classic Stories for Children: The Gingerbread Man
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Peter Pan Records: The Gingerbread Man
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">YouTube: The Gingerbread Man
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Jan Brett reads The Gingerbread Baby]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">TES i-board Interactive Gingerbread Man Story || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will sequence & retell the Gingerbread Man story using the TES i-board Interactive

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students will decorate a Gingerbread Man online at Sprint Sweets ||