This lesson shows middle school students through an inquiry-based set of activities focused on the examination of New Year celebrations in various cultures. Students will study the New Year celebrations of Rosh Hashanah, Chinese New Year, Hindu New Year and Persian New Year. Students will complete a concept map, and then work individually to research a specific New Year celebration, and present this information in a PowerPoint presentation. Finally, as anchor activity students will design a New Year’s greeting card for the researched holiday.
Challenge Question: How is the New Year celebrated around the world?
Key Questions:
Products:
You will research the New Year celebration of the selected culture, answering the key questions below. Using your information, prepare a PowerPoint slideshow to inform the class about how New Year is celebrated. You will use the Multimedia Presentation Planning Sheet and PowerPoint Presentation Rubric as guides. Use the following sequence for the development of your slideshow.
1. Title Slide
2. Information addressing Key Question #1
3. Information addressing Key Question #2
4. Information addressing Key Question #3
5. Information addressing Key Question #4
6. Information addressing Key Question #5
You will present your PowerPoint slideshow during a Gallery Walk. During the Gallery Walk, students, parents, peers and invited guests are given sticky notes. As the Gallery Walk attendees circulate through the presentations, the sticky notes can be used to provide comments and feedback.
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Category |
Site Name |
Site Description |
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General Information
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How the New Year is celebrated worldwide. |
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New Year’s Traditions Around the World |
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Chinese |
Frequently Asked Questions about the Chinese New Year. |
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The complete guide to the Chinese New Year. |
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Lots of links to stories, crafts, history and more. |
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History, rituals, calendar information and foods. |
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| Chinese Lunar New Year | General information about the holiday, customs, food, etc. | |
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Jewish
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The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) | History, customs, rituals, and recipes. |
| New Year Highlights Step by Step | This site offers food, central themes, customs, and calendar information. | |
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This site offers history, calendar information, customs, and recipes. |
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This site contains traditions, stories, vocabulary and crafts. |
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This site contains history, symbols, calendar information and more. |
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The Jewish New Year
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All you need to know about the Jewish New Year and High Holy Days | |
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Hindu |
A description of Chaitra Vishu |
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About the Hindu New Year, calendar information |
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This site offers calendar and zodiac information about the Hindu New Year |
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List of all Hindu Festivals |
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Persian |
History and dates of the Persian New Year |
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Description of history, symbols, greetings and more |
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History, ceremonies and traditions of the Persian New Year |
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Cultural information, music and customs |
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Slide 1 Title slide contains: Topic title, your name, appropriate graphics, attractive background throughout |
Slide 2 Question #1 What are some examples of how the New Year is celebrated in this category? |
Slide 3 Question #2 How does this celebration of the New Year compare to your own celebration? |
Slide 4 Question #3 What is the history behind this celebration of the New Year?
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Slide 5 Question #4 When will this holiday occur this upcoming year? |
Slide 6 Question #5 What are some interesting facts? |
Presentation |
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4 |
A superior title slide containing all elements described above. |
A minimum of 4 examples are provided with superior descriptions and pictures or illustrations. Examples are from category. |
A superior response is given detailing how the celebration compares to your own celebration. |
A superior response is given detailing the history behind this celebration |
A superior response is given detailing the exact date of the holiday including month and year compared to the Western calendar. |
A minimum of 4 interesting facts are provided and fully explained that relate directly to the Challenge Question and the assigned category. |
Presentation contains no grammar
and spelling errors.
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3 |
A good title slide containing all elements described above. |
A minimum of 3 examples are provided with good descriptions and many pictures or illustrations. Examples are from category. |
A good response is given detailing how the celebration compares to your own celebration. |
A good response is given detailing the history behind this celebration |
A good response is given detailing the date of the holiday including month and year. |
A minimum of 3 interesting facts are provided and explained that relate directly to the Challenge Question and the assigned category. |
Presentation contains some grammar and spelling errors. |
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2 |
A fair title slide containing most elements described above. |
A minimum of 2 examples are provided with fair descriptions and few pictures or illustrations. Examples are from category. |
A fair response is given detailing how the celebration compares to your own celebration. |
A fair response is given detailing the history behind this celebration |
A fair response is given detailing the date of the holiday including year. |
A minimum of 2 interesting facts are provided and somewhat explained that relate to the Challenge Question and the assigned category. |
Presentation contains several grammar and spelling errors. |
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1 |
A poor title slide containing some elements described above. |
One examples is provided with poor descriptions and no picture or illustrations. Examples may not be from category. |
A poor response is given detailing how the celebration compares to your own celebration. |
A poor response is given detailing the history behind this celebration |
A poor response is given detailing the date of the holiday. |
Few interesting facts are provided and are poorly explained that relate to the Challenge Question and the assigned category. |
Presentation contains many grammar and spelling errors. |
Anchor Activity: New Year’s Greeting Card
Prepare one New Year greeting card suitable for one of the highlighted celebrations. Students will create the greeting card with MS Publisher and utilize appropriate holiday greetings and clipart.
New Year Greeting Card Rubric
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Points |
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4 |
The greeting card clearly demonstrates an understanding of the New Year celebration using greetings in the language of the culture, an English translation and a minimum of 3 images representative of the celebration. |
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3 |
The greeting card demonstrates an understanding of the New Year celebration using greetings in the language of the culture, an English translation and a minimum of 2 images representative of the celebration. |
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2 |
The greeting card demonstrates some understanding of the New Year celebration using greetings in the language of the culture, an English translation and at least 1 image representative of the celebration. |
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1 |
The greeting card demonstrates minimal understanding of the New Year celebration using greetings in the language of the culture, an English translation and at least 1 image representative of the celebration. |
Brenda Green ©2002
Cabin John Middle School