Books for Teaching About Holiday Celebrations

By Tracey Roudez

From Unit Plan: Different Ways We Celebrate

The following books are helpful in studying diverse holiday celebrations.

Literature:

Las Navidades: Christmas by Lulu Delacre
A bilingual collection of songs highlighting seasonal traditions.

Classroom Tip: Read this book aloud to introduce Christmas Songs from Latin America.

Light the Lights! : A Story About Celebrating Hanukkah and Christmas by Margaret Moorman
Join Emma and her family as they celebrate two holidays, Hanukkah and Christmas.

Classroom Tip: Have students compare and contrast the Hanukkah and Christmas holidays.

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Bruce Whatley
A traditional retelling of this Christmas classic.

Classroom Tip: Read this book aloud to share details of a traditional American Christmas celebration.

Seven Candles for Kwanzaa by Andrea Davis Pinkney; illustrated by Brian Pinkney
A beautifully designed picture book of the seven-day African-American holiday.

Classroom Tip: Read this book aloud to introduce students to the traditions and origins of Kwanzaa.

Professional Resource:

The Scholastic Big Book of Holidays Around the Year by Susan Dillon
A terrific holiday resource of great activities, read-aloud fast facts, and reproducibles.

Classroom Tip: You can use this book as a resource guide for over 70 celebrations.

Teacher Store

The Teacher Store

Christmas

by Trudi Strain Trueit

SET FEATURES:

Ways to Celebrate: a new feature detailing ideas of how to mark the holiday
How the holiday is celebrated in other parts of the world, or how it is celebrated by a variety of families in the US
Updated photographs and updated calendar
An excellent introduction to our multicultural world
"Words You Know" section
$14.35 You save: 30%
Library Binding | Grades 1-2