Ok, brace yourself because this is going to be a big one! This lesson is that start of a year-long project that your class will work on every so often, but here's the good part--this lesson is all about celebrating. You will explore all sorts of different celebrations that are held in your community.
The kinara is a symbol of Kawanza
During this project, you'll have three main tasks to complete. Your teacher will expect you to do the following things:
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  • Family interviews

The dragon is a popular symbol of the
Chinese New Year celebrated each February
Step A:
  1. Brainstorm and list all the sacred and secular celebrations your family observes during the school year.
  2. When you can't think of anymore occasions your family celebrates, put your list into chronological order. You may want to use the The Multi Cultural Calendar or The Earth Calendar to find some events' exact dates.
  3. It's time to get creative! Use your chronological list to create a table of contents for your scrapbook. Add some color and artwork to your table of contents.
  4. Have some fun making and organizing your personal scrapbook. Don't forget to include your table of contents and any other items your teacher mentions!

Step B:
  1. Your teacher will give you some instructions you should follow when investigating, collecting data, and photographing your upcoming celebration. Be sure to listen closely to these instructions and ask any questions if you are unsure about what to do.
  2. After your family holds its celebration, you should turn the information you collected in to your teacher. You will probably be assigned a due date, so make sure you allow yourself enough time to get it all together.
  3. All right--now that all the hard work is done we get to have a little fun! Add all your new material to your scrapbook and watch it grow. Decorate your pages with artwork related to your celebration.
  4. Ok, back to work. Now you'll need to write a rough draft narrative describing all the important info about the current celebration. Check with your teacher to get exact directions.
  5. Pick a friend's--Ask them suggest revisions for your narrative and return the favor by revising their's.
  6. Write a final draft and add it to that ever-expanding scrapbook of yours!
Your teacher will be grading your scrapbook at the end of this lesson. If you want to get a good grade be sure your scrapbook is well organized with a table of contents and contains all the photos, data, and narratives you were asked to gather.
After all your hard work these few questions should be as easy as 1-2-3.
  • What have you learned about your family's celebrations?
  • How do celebrations differ from family to family?
  • How have your family's celebrations changed from your grandparents' time to your own?
  • Which traditions would you like to continue when you have a family?