Christmas Around the World

Introduction

Christmas is not celebrated in the same way in every country. Depending on where we live in, we are used to celebrating Christmas in a certain way, but neither us nor our children really ever stop and think not everyone enjoys this vacation equally. 

The aim of this task is to raise awareness on the variety of manners in which people from different cultural backgrounds. Students will need to use the suggested sources to gather information on the topic. To do this, they may use the table (see cultural approach task sheet 1) in order to get a clearer idea on the structure of the task and the main points to consider. 

                                                             Así se celebra la Navidad en estos 15 países del mundo; cena y extrañas tradiciones - En Portada

Task

In order to successfully complete the assignment the student is expected to use the suggested sources to gather the following information from at least one country from each of the continents:

  • Traditions
  • Celebrations       
  • Decorations                                                  
  • Traditional or typical food from the holiday
  • Who brings the presents (if mentioned)
  • Further details worth mentioning

                                                                   Curiosas tradiciones navideñas por el mundo

                                                               

Process

Process

  1. Students will work in groups of 6 and each group will be assigned a continent (if the total amount of students in the class is not very big, smaller work groups will be made although it is advisable that the number of people per group is even so as to make the organization easier).
  2. The students in each group will organize themselves. It is recommendable that each student chooses a topic from the table (or more if the group is smaller) to work on. Remember you will need to select at least 2 countries from each continent to focus on.
  3. Students may take short notes on the table in order to organize the information more easily and then expand on them.
  4. Once each member has finished gathering the information, they will put all the information in common and prepare a presentation.
  5. Each group will choose 2 "representatives" who will remain in their seats ready to present. The rest of the members will visit other groups and take notes on their presentations on the remaining continents as if it were a wheel. The teacher should call a time out after 5-8 minutes and the students will move on to the next group and continent.
  6. At the end of the session, the initial groups will get together again, share their notes and experiences and write a report.
  7. The report will be handed in to the teacher.

*Alternative Process:

  1. Students will work in groups of 6 (if the total amount of students in the class is not very big, smaller work groups will be made although it is advisable that the number of people per group is even so as to make the organization easier).
  2. The students in each group will organize themselves. It is recommendable that each student chooses a continent (or more if the group is smaller) to work on. Remember you will need to select at least 2 countries from each continent to focus on.
  3. Students may take short notes on the table in order to organize the information more easily and then expand on them.
  4. Once each member has finished gathering the information, they will take turns and explain their findings to the rest of the group. 
  5. Finally, the group should organize all the information and put it together in a group report.
  6. The group report should be handed to the teacher at the end of the session.

Points you should include

As stated in "Task", these are the points that need to be reflected in the final group report:

  • Traditions
  • Celebrations       
  • Decorations                                                  
  • Traditional or typical food from the holiday
  • Who brings the presents (if mentioned)
  • Further details worth mentioning

These are the continents that are available:

  • Europe
  • Asia
  • Africa
  • Oceania
  • South America
  • North America

References

These are the suggested sites you should use to find the information you will need!

Evaluation

 

Very poor. Incomplete.

1/4 points.

Lower-average. Partially incomplete.

2/4 points.

Good and complete.

3/4 points.

Excellent

4/4 points
Content and clarity Lacks most of the information. Only a few of the required points have been completed. The content is organized in a confusing way and it is hard to understand. Lacks some information. Some of the required points are missing or incomplete. The content is not clear. The information is mostly complete and so are the required points. The content is mostly clear. The information is complete and so are the required points. The report includes more than 2 countries per continent. The content is clear.
Grammar Very poor grammar. A lot of serious mistakes. Poor grammar. Some serious mistakes and/or a lot of minor mistakes. Good grammar overall. Some minor mistakes. Very good grammar overall. Uses structures and precise vocabulary. Very few minor mistakes.
Aspect

The parts of the report are not organized at all. The information is completely mixed up. No introduction, conclusion or Works Cited section.

 The parts of the report are not well-organized. The information is mixed up at times. Lacks either introduction, conclusion or Works Cited section or the latter is incomplete. The parts of the report are well-organized. The resources have been used and cited properly. The parts of the report are well-organized. The resources have been used and cited properly. Very good exploitation. Includes visuals and details.
Group work and organization No communication between the members of the group resulting in most of the information from the other continents being missing. Poor communication between the members of the group resulting in some information from the other continents being missing. Adequate communication between the members of the group resulting in the information from the other continents being mostly complete. Great communication between the members of the group resulting in the information from the other continents being totally complete and in a perfect analysis of the information. All the members of the group have done their share of the work.
Overall result Very poor. Insufficient information and evident lack of effort. Poor. Insufficient information. Good. Enough information. Really good and exhaustive. Big group effort.

 

Conclusion

With this activity, students are expected to have acquired awareness on the variety of manners in which people from different cultural backgrounds. Moreover, they are expected to have developed teamworking skills and practiced their oral, analytical and interpretation abilities.

                                                                        Pin on around the world clip art

Credits

Further resources: