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Common Core Christmas

9 Fun, Engaging & interactive

Reading Activities & Games!

no prep! Grades 4-8

1) Buy. 2) Print. 3) Teach!

Lesson 1: Christmas Around the World FUN! Teacher’s Instructions & Notes 3

Lesson 1: Activity 1 - Marco Polo Student Pages 4-5

Lesson 1: Activity 1 – Marco Polo Answer Keys 6-7

Lesson 1: Activity 2 – Do the Santa Dance Moves 8

Lesson 1: Activity 2 – Do the Santa Dance Cards 9-10

Lesson 1: Activity 2 – Do the Santa Dance Scripts 11

Lesson 2: One Horse Open Sleigh – Teacher’s Instructions & Notes 12-14

Lesson 2: Activity 3 - One Horse Open Sleigh – Student Pages 15-16

Lesson 2: Activity 3 - One Horse Open Sleigh – Annotating Key 17-18

Lesson 2: Activity 4 - One Horse Open Sleigh – Verse Summaries Template 19

Lesson 2: Activity 4 - One Horse Open Sleigh – Verse Summaries Sample Answers 20

Lesson 2: Activity 4 - One Horse Open Sleigh – Summary Book Templates 21-22

Lesson 3: Spread the Joy – Infographic Analysis Teacher’s Instructions & Notes 23

Lesson 3: Activity 5 - Spread the Joy – Infographic 24

Lesson 3: Activity 5 - Spread the Joy – Multiple Choice Assessment/Practice 25

Lesson 3: Activity 5 - Spread the Joy – Multiple Choice Assessment/Practice KEY 26

Lesson 4: The Christmas Truce of 1914 – Teacher’s Instructions & Notes 27-28

Lesson 4: The Christmas Truce of 1914 Nonfiction Articles & Photographs 29-31

Lesson 4: Activity 7 - Trench Warfare – Student Page 32

Lesson 4: Activity 8 – Comparing Multiple Accounts – Student Page 33

Lesson 4: Activity 9 – Primary vs. Secondary Sources – Student Page 34

Lesson 4: Activities 7-9 – Answer Keys 35-37

BONUS Lesson from Informational Text Notebooks ~ Primary & Secondary Sources 38-42

Credits 43

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A Common Core Christmas Table of Contents

Team Marco Polo: Christmas Around the World Active Listening Sheet (Second View)

Match each Christmas term on the left to its location

of origin on the right.

______________ 1. Buon Natale

______________ 2. Buon Natale (2nd location mentioned)

______________ 3. Joyeux Noel

______________ 4. Frohe Weihnachten

______________ 5. The 3 wise men travelled here.

______________ 6. LaBefana originated from this country.

______________ 7. Most American holiday traditions

originated from here.

a.  Bethlehem

b.  Paris, France

c.  Rome, Italy

d.  Italy

e.  Vienna, Austria

f.  Florence, Italy

g.  Europe

Pun – a clever or humorous wordplay based on the multiple meanings of words or similar-sounding words Directions: Explain each pun from the video.

1.  Q – How do you avoid the Krampus? A – Do not get into the water after you eat!

__________________________________________________________________________________  

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. Q – What is a yuletide? A – a tsunami that wiped out the North Pole in 1952

__________________________________________________________________________________  

           __________________________________________________________________________________

3. Q – What is a yuletide? A – a detergent that cleans firewood

__________________________________________________________________________________  

           __________________________________________________________________________________

c

f

b

e

a

d

g

According to Marco Polo, Krampus is an evil Christmas Demon. Of course, we all

want to avoid demons. But, he actually tells us how to avoid cramps after we eat!

A yuletide is a Christmas term being discussed. This pun is a play on the word

“tide,” since a tsunami is a huge wave, and tide is associated with waves.

A yuletide is a Christmas term being discussed. This pun is a play on the word

“tide,” since Tide is a brand of laundry detergent that cleans clothes.

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Team Marco Polo: Do the Santa! (Marco Polo’s Super Awesome 21st Century Santa Dance)

Dance Moves Santa Claus

Christmas Tree

Leave the Presents

Eat the Cookies

Indigestion

Do the Pepto

Up the Chimney

Ride the Sleigh

- Hold your imaginary “big belly” and sway from side to side.

- With pointed fingers, trace an imaginary Christmas tree with one finger going down each side.

- Set imaginary presents down with two hands and alternate left to right.

- Pick up imaginary cookies and put them into your mouth, alternating left to right.

- Put one hand on your forehead and the other on your belly and alternate.

- Pretend to take Pepto Bismol, alternating hands from left to right.

- Point upwards, alternating pointer fingers from left to right.

- Hold the imaginary reigns and move your hands up and down. Gallop if you want to. 8   ©2013 erin cobb imlovinlit.com

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Lesson 2: “One Horse Open Sleigh” by James Lord Pierpont

Purpose: Read, analyze, and interpret an infographic, including statistics, maps, and graphs. Analyze author’s purpose.

Technology/Resources: (Sometimes, links will not work in a PDF unless you copy and paste the URL into your browser’s address bar.) Must-watch music video on YouTube: Toby Keith’s “Santa, I’m Right Here!” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZqYUiW5wEY Backup Download Link: http://goo.gl/PsuWth

Activity 5 – Infographic Analysis

How To: 1.  There is only one acceptable way to start this infographic lesson: Watch the music video

linked above! If you aren’t familiar with “Santa, I’m Right Here,” then you’re in for a real treat! Because it’s about 15 years old, it is always new for my students, too. This music video will REALLY pull together the meaning of this infographic.

2.  After watching the music video, initiate a discussion about the true spirit of the Christmas season, giving, helping others, community service, etc. By now, your students are begging to watch the music video one more time, so go ahead and indulge them.

3.  Distribute (and display, in color, on a projector) the infographic. Tell students to familiarize themselves with the infographic and give them a couple of minutes to do so.

4.  Then, have students write down at least 5 facts they gathered from the infographic. Use the students’ discovered facts to initiate a thorough discussion of this infographic, drawing attention to any aspects not brought up by students.

5.  Let students complete the questions independently. This will be difficult for some students, but give them the opportunity to grapple with it.

6.  Instead of going over the answers as a class (or just reading off the answers yourself – yikes!) consider this method. After they’ve completed the questions independently, pair students and have them check their answers against their partners’. This will give them the opportunity to ACTIVELY defend and discuss their answers instead of allowing them to passively sit and listen and correct. And after this would be the appropriate time to read off or display the answers to allow the pairs to settle any disputed answers.

Lesson 3: Spread the Joy ~ Infographic Analysis

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Lesson 4: The Christmas Truce of 1914 Purpose: Read and analyze a nonfiction article, including sub-sections and photo captions. Compare and contrast multiple accounts of the same event. Distinguish between primary and secondary sources. Use a nonfiction article to complete an informational graphic organizer.

Technology/Resources: (Sometimes, links will not work in a PDF unless you copy and paste the URL into your browser’s address bar.) Interactive Notebook Lesson on Primary & Secondary Sources (BONUS from Interactive Reading Informational Text Notebooks included at the end of this document) Song: Belleau Wood by Garth Brooks

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lktY_pDauY Backup Download Link: http://goo.gl/jbHvJe

Belleau Wood Song Lyrics: http://goo.gl/XtsErP History.com Slideshow: Trench Warfare - http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/photos#world-war-i-trench-warfare Movie Excerpt from OH! What a Lovely War! –

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOz9SpWc_yE Backup Download Link: http://goo.gl/QdU722

Activity 6: Belleau Wood

How To: 1.  I like to start this lesson mysteriously – that is, I do not tell my students the topic of the

lesson. I simply play the song for them and ask them to read the lyrics while the music plays. (See song lyric link under Technology/Resources section)

2.  As students listen/read along, ask them to use the right column to tell what the song is about and add any facts or background information that they know.

3.  Allow students to share what they think/know. 4.  Ask students – what is the author’s purpose? Since it’s a song, the purpose is to entertain.

This is not a true account of events, although there was such a thing known as “The Christmas Truce of 1941” and that’s what we are going to read about. It did not actually take place at Belleau Wood as it does in the Garth Brooks’ song. Still, some aspects of the song are actually true.

5.  Students might be interested to know that the REAL Battle of Belleau Wood was actually fought by the US Marines, with some help of the British and French, against the Germans in 1918. In the battle, 1,800 Marines were killed and nearly 8,000 wounded before achieving victory.

Activity 7: Trench Warfare

How to: 1.  This activity provides some background information into the concept of trench warfare as

well as a brief overview of WWI. 2.  Read the article (Truce, Page 1) and complete the accompanying graphic organizer to assess

students’ comprehension. A key is included to help you. 3.  There is a link in the above “Technology/Resources” section for a History.com slideshow on

Trench Warfare – this is helpful for showing students additional photographs. Warning: there are commercials.

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The drawing above was made by Bruce Bairnsfather, a British soldier who participated in the Christmas Truce.

Comparing Multiple Accounts The Christmas Truce of 1914

The Christmas Truce of 1914 is said to have extended for miles across the Western Front. There were several different exchanges made among soldiers from both sides, so there are several different accounts of what took place. Here are some firsthand accounts of the Christmas Truce of 1914 from soldiers who were there and participated.

“At last I have found the time to answer all your letters. Well dear, you asked me to let you know what kind of Christmas I had. Well I never had a merry one because we were in the trenches, but we were quite happy. Now what I am going to tell you will be hard to believe, but it is quite true. There was no firing on Christmas Day and the Germans were quite friendly with us. They even came over to our trenches and gave us cigars and cigarettes and chocolate and of course we gave them things in return. Just after one o'clock on Christmas morning I was on look-out duty and one of the Germans wished me Good morning and a Merry Christmas. I was never more surprised in my life when daylight came to see them all sitting on top of the trenches waving their hands and singing to us.”

A Letter From British Soldier Lance Corporal Cooper to Miss N. Thody, Dated December 27, 1914  

“Dear Miss Fuller and other assistants of the little tea shop. Just a few lines to let you know how we are all keeping. The 6th have been in the trenches twice. A good few of them had to go to hospital through the cold and exposure. They are hardly fit for this work. We were in the trenches on Christmas Day. We spent a merrier day than we expected. There was a truce to bury our dead. We had a short service over the graves, conducted by our minister and the German one. They read the 23rd Psalm and had a short prayer. I don't think I will ever forget the Christmas Day I spent in the trenches. After the service we were speaking to the Germans and getting souvenirs from them. Fancy shaking hands with the enemy! I suppose you will hardly believe this, but it is the truth.”

A Letter From British Soldier Private B. Calder to Miss Fuller, Dated January 8, 1915  

“We were in the trenches all Christmas week, and the weather was awful. On Christmas Day we had a lot of firing over us, and shells too. All at once it ceased and I looked up and saw the Germans on top of their trenches shouting to us, and asking us to meet them. All our brigade went, and we were talking to them about two hours. They asked us not to fire that day and said they would not; and no firing was done until next day and then we were fighting for all we were worth. Times however are hard here. In the trenches we are up to our waists in water with shells bursting over us and no sleep.”

A Letter From British Soldier Sergeant W. Blundell to Miss Whittington, Dated December 26, 1914  

Bruce Bairnsfather (mentioned above) wrote about the Christmas Truce of 1914 in his autobiography titled Bullets & Billets: “I spotted a German Officer, some sort of lieutenant I should think, and being a bit of a collector, I intimated to him that I had taken a fancy to some of his buttons. We both then said things to each other which neither understood, and agreed to do a swap. I brought out my wire clippers and, with a few deft snips, removed a couple of his buttons and put them in my pocket. I then gave him two of mine in exchange. While this was happening, I heard laughter that told me an idea had occurred to someone. Suddenly, one of the German soldiers ran back to his trench and presently reappeared with a large camera. I posed in a mixed group for several photographs, and have ever since wished I had fixed up some arrangement for getting a copy. No doubt framed editions of this photograph are reposing on some Hun (German) mantelpieces, showing clearly and unmistakably to admiring visitors how a group of idiotic British soldiers surrendered unconditionally on Christmas Day to the brave Germans. Slowly, the meetings began to disperse and we parted but with the friendly understanding that Christmas Day would be left to finish in tranquility.”

Truce, Page 2 30   ©2013 erin cobb imlovinlit.com

The Christmas Truce of 1914

World War I

Allies Central Powers

•  Great Britain •  •  •  •  •   

•  Germany •  • 

1914 - ____________

Causes of WWI

1. Conflict had already been brewing in Europe for some time.  

2.   3.  

Early Trenches Later Trenches

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The Christmas Truce of 1914 ~ Primary & Secondary Sources

Read the definitions for primary and secondary sources below. Then, decide whether each source from this lesson was a primary source or a secondary source. Finally, prove your answer in the space provided.

Source Primary or Secondary? Prove it!

subsection of article on Trench Warfare (Truce, Page 1)

Secondary The article was not written by someone who was there. A secondhand article is a secondary source.

Harry Patch’s description of life in the trenches

(Truce, Page 1) Primary

Although it is a photo caption in the document, it is a direct quote from someone who was there.

2 photographs of soldiers in trenches

(Truce, Page 1) Primary Original photographs are primary

sources

drawing made by Bruce Bairnsfather

(Truce, Page 2) Primary

Although drawings can sometimes be secondary sources, this one is a primary source because Bairnsfather was actually at the event he drew about.

newspaper article (not photograph) about the

truce (Truce, Page 3) Secondary

This is a secondary source because the article’s author was not at the event and is relaying secondhand knowledge.

letters written by soldiers about the truce (Truce, Page 2)

Primary Original letters describing firsthand experiences are primary documents.

Bruce Bairnsfather’s autobiography, mentioned

(Truce, Page 2) Primary Autobiographies are considered primary

sources.

photograph published in “The Daily Mirror”

(Truce, Page 3) Primary Photographs are primary documents.

Primary Sources   Secondary Sources  actual records that provide firsthand accounts of events Examples: letters, diary entries or journals, photographs, speeches, interviews, autobiographies, artifacts

secondhand accounts of primary sources; comment on, summarize, explain, or draw conclusions from primary sources (or other secondary sources) Examples: textbooks, encyclopedias, articles, essays, and biographies

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