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EDF 2085 Multicultural Lesson Plan Assignment

Topic: Holidays around the world

1. Rationale

This lesson will educate students on different holidays celebrated by other cultures around the world.
This lesson will fulfill a community need because students will understand what their peers from school
celebrate and give them a better understanding of each other and their cultures. This lesson will also give
them a better understanding of the world as well as they learn about what the holidays celebrate and
different values in different cultures around the world. No matter how diverse the school is it is still an
important lesson because if the school is more diverse, the students will understand each other. If the
school is less diverse, it will give the students a view into the lives of others they wouldn’t get exposure
to from being around.

2. Goals/ Objectives
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to explain different holidays from around the world and
why they are celebrated. Short term goals are students will discuss and explain the history of the holidays
and the practices involved in celebrating them. Students will compare and contrast holidays from around
the world with ones they celebrate themselves. This will differ for every student’s personal experiences
and students will learn more about their peers. Long term goals are students are able to explain and
describe different cultures around the world. This will help students develop understanding and empathy
for other cultures to prepare them to be a global citizen.
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3. Content

The different holidays students will be taught about fall into two categories: secular and nonsecular.
The nonsecular, or religious holidays being taught are Holi, Ramadan, and Purim. The secular holidays
are Lunar New Year, King’s Day, and Heritage Day. The holiday Holi is a Hindu holiday that
originated in South Asia. Holi is predominantly celebrated in India, but places with high Indian
populations celebrate it world wide. Holi is celebrated on the full moon in March and celebrates the
beginning of spring and the good winning over evil. The good being spring and the evil being winter.
Holi is celebrated in a Festival of Colors with a large bonfire, dancing in the streets, and colored dye is
thrown on everyone. The religious significance of Holi is celebrating the death of Holka, a demon that
tried to kill her nephew who worshiped Lord Vishnu. Ramadan is a muslim holiday that takes place
over the course of a month. It is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. Ramadan is observed through
fasting and prayer. From sunrise to sunset, those that celebrate Ramadan do not eat. Before sunrise,
they eat a meal called suhoor. At sunset, they break the fast with a meal called iftar after a prayer at
sunset. This month is considered one of the holiest months for muslims The end of Ramadan is
celebrated by Eid al-Fitr. Ramadan is celebrated because in Islam, their prophet Muhammad was given
the Qur’an during the ninth month. Purim is a Jewish holiday celebrating the Jewish people being
saved from Haman who planned on killing them. It is celebrated on the 14th of the Hebrew month,
Adar. Purim is celebrated by reading the book of Esther, donating and giving gifts, a feast, and
 dressing up in costumes. On the day before Purim, those that celebrate fast like Esther, the girl that
convinced the king to kill Haman. Then the secular holidays start with Lunar New Year. Lunar New
Year is celebrated in East and Southeast Asia. The Lunar New Year starts on the first new moon in
January. The Lunar New Year uses 12 zodiac animals, each animal has its own meaning. The animals
are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. In Vietnam, the
cat replaces the rabbit in the cycle. Those born in the year will have the traits of the zodiac for that
year. Traditions for the Lunar New Year are cleaning the home to have space for good luck and will.
Red envelopes filled with money are given to children which symbolize good luck and wishes for the
year. The last day of the Lunar New Year festival is celebrated with lantern decorations and fireworks.
King’s Day is a holiday celebrated in the Netherlands. It takes place on April 27th every year and
celebrates the birth of their King Willem-Alexander. King’s day is celebrated by wearing orange
because it is the national color and gathering at flea markets, concerts, and with the community. Flea
markets are a major part of King’s Day because vendors are allowed to sell without a permit, meaning
anyone is able to do it. The last holiday being covered is Heritage Day. Heritage Day is a Canadian
holiday celebrating their history. It takes place on the third Monday in February. Every year Heritage
Day has a different theme such as transportation or faith. It is celebrated by a three day festival that
consists of feasts and gatherings.

4. Instructional Procedures

In the first class period, this lesson will be introduced to the students with a discussion. I will ask the
students which holidays they celebrate and how and we will write them on the board. The students
will then be asked if they know any other holidays, ones that they may not celebrate or aren’t
commonly celebrated here in the U.S. and how they are celebrated. Then the 6 holidays will be
presented to the class. I will ask the class what they know about Holi, Ramadan, Purim, Heritage Day,
King’s Day, and Lunar New Year. Before the project begins, I will preface the lesson with the fact that
some of the holidays are religious holidays and that their stories come from religious texts. Students
will not have to believe them as this lesson is not about teaching religion, instead about learning about
others. Students will start a new page of their research journals and write what they know about each
holiday. Then students will do a research project about these six holidays. In their research project
they will have to find: when each holiday is celebrated, why is it celebrated, where in the world it is
celebrated, is it a religious holiday, and how is it celebrated. On the second day of this lesson, students
will get randomly placed in six small groups and compare with each other what they have found. Each
group will get assigned one of the six holidays. Then they will create a presentation to show to the
class. The presentation could be a skit, a poster, powerpoint, song, dance, or poem that conveys the
main idea of the holiday and should address the 5 questions they researched the previous day. At the
end of class, students will present to the entire class their presentations. On the third day of this lesson,
students will individually create a diorama of one of the holiday’s festivities that interested them most.
For example, a flea market for King’s Day or a lantern for Lunar New Year. At the end of the day, the
dioramas will be around the room and the students will view them gallery style. On the final day of the
lesson, I will discuss the importance of learning about different holidays around the world. It will help
students better understand the world they live in and will help them to understand their peers better.
Videos of celebrations from each holiday will be shown to the class and students will compare what
they saw in the videos to what they found in their research. Students will write a reflection of what
they had learned from the previous days and what they have gained from the experience. They will be
answer the questions of what is something new they learned, do you know anyone that celebrates one
of these holidays and do you have a better understanding of their culture, do you celebrate one of these
holidays and how did it feel to see the class learn about it, and how are holidays you celebrate similar
or different to what we learned in class.

5. Evaluation
Students will be evaluated by their research notes, small group presentation, diorama, and reflection.
The written assignments will be evaluated on if they answered all of the questions and their answers
were well thought out and relevant. In these assignments if they were able to give a thorough description
of each holiday and its history. If they thoughtful addressed what they learned and how it affected their
view of the world. If the students compared and contrasted what they learned to what they celebrated
themselves. Students will also be evaluated on if their presentations and dioramas are relevant to the
holidays assigned and if they accurately portrayed them.