Cultural Celebrations

Read texts about festivals celebrated around the world!
Ages 5-14 / 45
min Activity
Self-Awareness
Inclusivity
Social Studies
Reading

Objectives

  • ‍Share about favorite festivals and their meaning or significance, traditions, and special memories of celebrating them
  • ‍Read short stories about festivals celebrated around the world, and learn about values, traditions, and customs important to different communities

Supporting Research

When educators use diverse literature in the classroom, research shows that this can help students dismantle stereotypes and develop cultural competence, fostering understanding and respect for diverse cultural groups. Educators should reinforce the practice of self-awareness and inclusivity as students share and learn about festivals celebrated in different communities.

To learn more about these skills, and how they promote students’ healthy growth and the development of empathy, please check out our Empathy Framework.

Materials

Activity Partners

Instructions

  1. Engage students in a conversation about their favorite festivals by asking the following questions:
    • What is your favorite holiday or festival? Why is it important to you?
    • What do you know about its history or significance? Who celebrates it and why?
    • What are your special traditions for this celebration around ceremonies, decorations, music, food, or games?
    • Can you describe a time when you felt especially happy or excited when celebrating this festival? 
    • How do you celebrate this festival with your family, school, or community? How does it help you feel connected to others?
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  2. As students share their thoughts and ideas, add them to a physical or digital board that is visible to everyone. Encourage students to practice curiosity and kindness during your conversation, and to seek to learn more about their classmates’ experiences by listening carefully and asking questions. Then, help students observe similarities and differences between their responses, and reflect on any shared traditions, values, and feelings.
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  3. After your conversation, invite students to read texts about festivals that are celebrated in communities around the world. Below, there are suggested reading lists and discussion questions for different age levels. Alternatively, consider playing a Kahoot! game from this collection - each game was created by a classroom from the Empatico community and features a special festival that they celebrate, such as Damba Festival (Ghana), Diwali (India), and Koleda (Macedonia).

Students Ages 5-8 Years Old

Discussion Questions: 

  1. Which festival is being celebrated in this story? How is it celebrated by the characters? 
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  2. Why do you think this festival is special to people? How do you think they feel when they celebrate it? 
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  3. What was something interesting that you learned about this festival? What else do you wonder about it?
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  4. Think about your favorite holiday or festival - how is it similar to the festival in the story? How is it different?

Students Ages 8-11 Years Old

Discussion Questions: 

  1. Which festival is being celebrated in this story? How is it celebrated by the characters? 
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  2. What are some cultural traditions and values important to the characters? 
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  3. Why do you think this festival is special to the people who celebrate it? How do you think they feel when they celebrate it? How does it help them feel connected to others?
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  4. What was something interesting that you learned about this festival? What questions do you have about it? 
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  5. Think about your favorite holiday or festival - how is it similar to the festival in the story? How is it different?
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  6. What are some things that many holidays or festivals share in common?

If students in both classes have individual devices (e.g., mobile phone, tablet, laptop, etc.)...

Use a platform such as Google Meet, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams which allows you to screen-share during a video call. 
One educator should set up the Kahoot! game and share the code with students in both classes by following this tutorial about using Kahoot! in a remote learning environment, and share their screen so everyone can follow along.

If students in either class don’t have individual devices...

Follow the same instructions above, with one educator starting the game and sharing their screen so both classes can follow along.  
Instead of students joining the game to answer the questions, they can hold up their fingers, call out their answer, or use a paper template to indicate their response.

If you prefer not using Kahoot!...

Use this document (Spanish version) to prompt students.