Information Literacy
Information skills
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References

Celebrations

How and Why do People Celebrate?

Stage One integrated Unit
This unit has been developed by Elizabeth Rowe and Jenny Jackson from Rozelle Public School.

Teaching/learning Experiences - Contributing Questions

1. What do individuals celebrate?
2. What do families celebrate?
3. What do Communities celebrate?
4. What national holidays are celebrated in Australia?
5. What international celebrations do Australians share with others?

Links to:
Maths: What numbers, patterns and games can be found in other cultures?
Creative arts: Music, Dance, Visual Arts

Literature:
What are the characteristics of fables, legends and trickster tales across cultures?

Learning Sequence 1 — What do individuals celebrate?

Note: Read 'Mates" as a serial throughout unit and discuss aspects of multiculturalism.
Reflections on my mate

1. Brainstorm What days do we celebrate as individuals, eg birthdays. In groups students list ways a birthday is celebrated, eg cake, presents, card. Children say birthdates going through the year month by month.

2. Discussion Do we all celebrate birthdays the same way?, why?, why not?
Are there any other special individual days that we celebrate, eg name day, communion, first steps, tooth loss?
Introduce matrix and record birthday facts.

3 a) View 'For the Juniors' program "Celebrations" (birthdays segment) and add additional information to matrix. List the different ways people from different cultures celebrate birthdays

3 b) List ways we celebrate christenings. Record on matrix.

Learning Sequence 2 — What do families celebrate?

1. Brainstorm family celebrations, eg Weddings, Christmas, Easter, Religious occasions, Christenings, Funerals, Anniversaries

2. Discussion Do all families celebrate these occasions?
- Do we all celebrate these in the same way?
- Discuss and note variations

3. In groups children list information for matrix according to celebrations

4. As a whole class list information from each group on the matrix.

5. Children write a recount. Ask them to bring in a photo of their family celebrating an occasion.

6. Children view photos of weddings - teachers, parents, friends. Discuss the similarities and differences. Why is this so?
- maybe view weddings from different cultural backgrounds
- view 'For the Juniors' Celebrations (weddings segment)

7. Statements: Families celebrate occasions in different ways. After viewing TV shows*, brainstorm and list the ways people from different cultures/beliefs celebrate weddings.

* Pre-tape short segments from a range of TV 'family shows' to use for this activity. This can be stored for future use.

Learning Sequence 3 — What do Communities Celebrate?

1. Discuss picture/s of celebrations from different cultures. Record the different aspects. (The matrix headings from the previous sequence could be used)

2. In groups, list the cultural backgrounds of the children in the class using and identify the celebrations in which they participate. Report back to the group.

3. Ask children to name any other celebrations they know occur in Australia. Use post-it notes to add all the celebrations to the class calender.

4. Invite parents to visit and talk to the class about special celebrations unique to their culture. Record facts on a matrix

Learning Sequence 4 — Information Skills - Study of Celebrations in Australia

1. Read information to children and ask them to record in point form. Group Information under headings and jointly construct an information report for each celebration. Two festivals will be chosen at the end of the activity and children work in groups to write an information report.

Text below used for celebration information is taken from Targeting Society and Environment, (1999) Bev Stubbs & Sandra Newell Blake Education.
Other sources can be used for additional celebrations.

Learning Sequence 5 — What international celebrations do Australians share with others?

1. Children view video 'Christmas around the world' and discuss the various ways that Christmas is celebrated.

2. Class list ways they celebrate Christmas, eg tree, decorations, church, gifts, Santa, special meals, family gatherings. Add to matrix. Discuss secular and Christian symbols and group accordingly.

3. Computer - Children design Christmas cards using Kidpix ( discuss symbols and where they come from)
- Create a Santa wishlist (type text and pictures)
- send e-mails to children overseas/ other schools chat about Christmas

4. Class celebration. Using the matrix children discuss and decide on the aspects of a celebration they would like to include in their end of year celebration, eg Will we have music, dance, decorations, food, dress, symbols, gifts? If so what types?

5. Plan using BLM pp51-54 Targeting Society and Environment Stage 1

Creative Arts

Dance:
Seven Steps (Denmark)
Circassian Circle (English/Scottish)
Mexican Hat Dance

Music: Learn
Aboriginal song 'Innanay' by Tiddas (perform for assembly with clapping
'Sar Macadora' (Turkish/Macedonian) singing/clapping game (Teaching
Music K-6 - a Multicultural Perspective)
'You'll take the High Road' (Scottish)
'Maori greeting song' (p30 Usborne Round the world Song Book)
'Cockles and Mussels' (Irish)
African Gospel song 'Sin je jeje'

Visual Arts: from Kids Multicultural Art Book
Dragon Dreams (p21)
Silly Celebration (p61)
Fireworks - crayon and black paint
Guatemalan plate designs (p82)
Papier mache pianata
African paper weaving (p110)
Japanese Folding screen (p138)

Mathematics

Source: Mathematics from many Cultures, Calvin Irons (dewey 510.2)

Students complete the following activities
- How dogs got their names BLM 1&2 (Time 6)
- Counting with our fingers - Maasai, Native American, BLM 4 (Numeration 5)
- Cat's Cradle - patterns (2D 4 and 6)
- Shapes and Patterns BLM 7-10 & 12-15 Space 2D3. 2D5, 2D 8, 2D9)
- Games and Puzzles - tangrams BLM 22, 23 (space 2D16)

Literature activities

Shared Reading
- Mates
- Whoever You Are
- Marty Mei Ling
- Fang Fang's Chinese New Year
- Let's Eat
- Harry and the Red Poppy
- Multicultural Fables and Fairy Tales, Tara McCarthy
- Tales Alive retold by Susan Milford

Text Types: Multicultural Fables and Fairy Tales (Scholastic)

1. Trickster Tales:
Read 'Tortoise tricks Leopard'
- Teacher demonstrates story clock organiser for this tale. Joint construction
- Joke session - children share jokes, riddles and practical jokes. Children choose favourite trick, anecdote, jokes or riddles and use this to compile a class 'have a laugh Book'
- Drama - act out/improvise sections of story 'Bre'r Rabbit and Bre'r Fox after reading
- Children write their own story clock organiser
- Compare with previous tale - How many tricksters are there? (Chain tricksters). Values -honesty & good manners, -tale shows honesty and good manners are valued by most groups, tale shows what happens when rules are broken
- Drama - Make trickster puppets - In groups or pairs act out story, then select groups to present to the class. Focus on characterisation and voice use, developing oral skills. Extension: Hot seat - select a character to find out more about them.
- Have a trick session. Children practise doing a trick and perform in front of the class.

2. Fables
Read 'The Lion and the Mouse'
- teacher models Fable Chart organiser and jointly construct a model. Verbal retell of story using organiser
- talking and listening: Children describe how an act of kindness was repaid
- Children complete and activity sheet-story retell
- Locate Aesop's birth place on a map and explain that he used native animals for characters. Make a list of Australian animals classifying them into strong/large, small/weak. Children use a fable plan p53 to write their own fable plan and then their own fable.
Read 'Shepherd Boy'
- Children complete Fable Chart organiser. Children complete writing activity p47
- Discussion activities - genuine tricks, tricks that are lies, deceit. Fun tricks, hurtful tricks

3. Legends
Aboriginal Dreaming Stories
- Class jointly constructs story stair organiser for Aboriginal story 'How Crows Became Black'

References