Lesson Title: Winter Celebrations Around the World
Looking for a way to teach students about the various winter traditions and celebrations Around the World?
This lesson plan invites your classroom on a journey to explore the rich and diverse traditions from countries and cultures around the globe, from Christmas and Hanukkah (or Chanukah) to Diwali, Kwanzaa, and beyond. By learning about these celebrations, students will gain a deeper appreciation of cultural diversity and shared humanity.
To make the learning experience even more interactive, they’ll showcase their newfound knowledge through an exciting Scavenger Hunt.
Let’s celebrate the world together—one tradition at a time!
Grade: 4 - 12
Subject: Social Studies, History, Holidays
Learning Objectives:
- Students will
- learn about various global celebrations such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, and others from different countries and cultures.
- explore the traditions, symbols, and meanings behind each celebration and demonstrate their understanding through a Goosechase Scavenger Hunt.
Materials:
- Mobile devices with the Goosechase app downloaded (one per team).
- Projector or smartboard
- Computers/tablets for research (if possible)
- Printed handouts or digital links
Preparation:
- Create an Experience on the Goosechase app with a series of Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, and Kwanzaa-focussed Missions
- Develop Missions that require students to demonstrate their understanding of these traditions and celebrations, as well as the commonalities in why they are meaningful. Example Missions:
- Photo Mission: Take a photo of something that represents the colors of Diwali (e.g., colorful clothing, decorations).
- Video Mission: Create a short video of your group explaining what the menorah symbolizes in Hanukkah.
- Text Mission: Answer the following: What country is Kwanzaa most commonly celebrated in?
- Photo Mission: Take a picture of something in your community that reminds you of a Christmas tradition you learned about.
- Creative Mission: Draw a symbol or object that represents one of the celebrations you researched.
- Find example Missions in the Goosechase Templates below.
- Adapt the difficulty of the Missions based on the proficiency levels of your students to keep the activity inclusive and engaging for everyone.
- Prepare hints or resources that might help students solve the Missions if needed.
- Divide students into teams and assign each team a mobile device with the app, or have students complete the scavenger hunt individually.
- Run your Experience during one class period or for the entire week.
- App Set-Up
- Dedicate time to ensuring all students have the Goosechase app downloaded and joined to the Experience to avoid any tech issues.
Lesson Plan Outline:
- Introduction
- Start by asking students what celebrations they are familiar with in November and December. Write these on the board to gauge what they already know.
- Introduce students to a variety of celebrations around the world using slides or videos. Key celebrations to cover:
- Christmas (Christianity, celebrated worldwide)
- Hanukkah (Judaism, celebrated primarily in Israel and among Jewish communities globally)
- Diwali (Hinduism, celebrated in India and around the world)
- Kwanzaa (Celebration of African heritage in the U.S.)
- Saint Nicholas Day (Observed in parts of Europe)
- Dongzhi Festival (Celebrated in East Asia)
- Las Posadas (Latin American Christmas tradition)
- After the presentation, have students reflect on the importance of celebrating different cultural traditions.
- Ask how these holidays may be similar or different from their own celebrations.
- Goosechase Scavenger Hunt
- Read through Missions with students, emphasizing the importance of evidence and analysis in their responses.
- Monitor progress and provide assistance as necessary.
- If working in teams, encourage them to strategize and collaborate to solve the Missions.
- Sit back and enjoy watching your students collaborate and demonstrate their learning.
- Debrief and Reflection
- Review the activity, discussing which missions were the most challenging or fun.
- Discuss how teams collaborated and solved problems together.
- Review any educational content covered through the Goosechase missions.
- Optionally, award prizes to the team(s) with the highest score.
Optional Post-Experience Activities:
- Group Research Project & Presentation
- Group students together and assign them a celebration. Students research their celebration and create a visual poster or slides to present to the class.
- Personal Reflection
- Students are to write a personal reflection on one chosen celebration, comparing and contrasting to a celebration they celebrate.
Assessment
- Assess group research projects and presentations.
- Observe students' participation and collaboration during the Goosechase activities and whole-class discussions.
- Review the submissions in the Goosechase app to assess understanding of financial literacy.
- Assess students’ written reflection on a celebration they researched
Ready Made Experience Templates to Try
Winter Celebrations Around the World
Explore the wonders of winter celebrations from around the world! Dive into the rich stories and symbols that make Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, and Kwanzaa unique!
Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Use this holiday Experience full of fun Missions to celebrate the Christmas season with your class, family, or group.
Chanukah plotz!
Complete these Chanukah-based Missions as a team before you plotz!
Want a copy of this lesson plan to use with your class?
What is Goosechase EDU?
Goosechase is an online platform that helps educators create and run interactive learning experiences in their classrooms and beyond. Sign up and try creating an Experience, or contact us to learn more about our school and district-wide solutions!
