Don't Skip Christmas in the Classroom!

In Depth Study of the Ancient Winter Solstice Celebrations

That Led to our Modern Day Winter Holidays

Well, it's that time of the year again to plan our lessons for the holiday season.  While I feel strongly that we must be careful not to disenfranchise any of our students, at the same time it is important to be inclusive of all students (including our Christian students!).  So, rather than skip Christmas in my classroom, I like to do a study of all of the Winter Solstice Celebrations.  


There is so much to learn about these 
ancient celebrations.  

  

Do you know where the tradition 

of Santa and his flying reindeer with sleigh came from?

How about the tradition of the Christmas tree or gift giving?  

All of these traditions have roots in the ancient Winter Solstice celebrations - some of which are still celebrated today.

For this Common Core based project, I have my students work in expert groups to research their assigned celebration and report back to the class.

Check out this and other holiday projects at my Teachers Pay Teachers store:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Beyond-The-Garden-Gate-Shari-Bithell

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Solstice-Study-AncientModern-Holiday-Celebrations-CCSS-Aligned-5-8-424950