December

=**December Monthly Highlights**=

**Classroom Learning Lessons for the Holiday Season (from [|ABC Teach]) [|Christmas Alliterations]** **- A holiday themed lesson [|Descriptive Writing] - Color and design an ornament, then write a descriptive paragraph** [|Comprehension: Making Ornaments] [|Writing Prompt: Christmas Similes] [|Writing Prompt: Holiday Tradition] [|Holiday Story Starters] - Prompts for creative writing**
 * [|Poem: Santa's Sack] - Write a poem about what Santa might have in his sack!**
 * [|Christmas Literacy Centers] - Sequence of Events, Venn Diagram Comparison,**
 * [|Christmas Tree Subtraction]

**[|Holiday Presence in Your Classroom!] These lessons from Education World combine holiday excitement and learning. Unwrap 5 new holiday lesson ideas! Create a comparison chart, interpret line graphs, compose Christmas tree shape poems, make Venn diagrams of holiday customs, bulletin board ideas, and more!**

Many ideas for integrating holiday activities into your curriculum.**
 * [|Christmas in the Classroom] (from Teach-nology)


 * [|Christmas Lesson Plans] - (from the Lesson Plans Page)**


 * [|Christmas Games and Activities] - online games and activities**

[[image:http://www.lexington1.net/technology/instruct/months/images/holly.gif width="44" height="37"]]The Polar Express
Learn about the story and author of this intriguing story! Polar Express at Storyline Online- Use the more stories link if necessary to see The Polar Express link. Lou Diamond Phillips reads the story aloud. [|Chris Van Allsburg] - (from Houghton Mifflin) [|About the Author, Chris van Allsburg] (from Eduplace) [|Polar Express] - Chris van Allsburg's official site [|Take the Polar Express to Learning]** **(Education World) Connect the book to your curriculum with these lesson ideas!** [|Polar Express] - Web links, Teaching Ideas, Print Resources**
 * //The Polar Express -// Enjoy the magic of a train ride to the North Pole! For what gift would you ask?
 * [|Polar Express Unit] -** **Graph and sort Polar Express cereal for an educational class activity, simulate a train ride to the North Pole, write a fantasy story about a time you were aboard a magical train - Find these and other classroom activities!
 * [|Math Word Problems] (from MathStories.com) Practice math while reading //The Polar Express//.**


 * [|Polar Express] - A SMART Notebook file - Author information and activities related to the story**


 * [[image:months:GingerbreadMan.JPG width="70" height="89" align="left"]]

[|Gingerbread! Yum!] A SMART Notebook file - Information and activities centered around gingerbread!**


 * [|Reindeer!] - You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen ... but, how much do you know about //real// reindeer?? Enjoy learning about these members of the deer family. Record facts using //Inspiration//,** **write "Reindeer Greeting Cards", and draw original pictures of reindeer!**

Each day there will be a new, exciting activity available for children of all ages.**
 * [|Track Santa!] Beginning December 1st, join the countdown to track Santa on Christmas Eve!
 * [|Journey North - Phenology] - Observe the Seasonal Timing of Life Cycle Events** ! **Explore aspects of seasonal change. Watch how the seasons affect the //web of life// — and report your own backyard observations.**


 * [|Educational Christmas Fun]- Give some of these a try! Especially check out the IQ tests for analytical reasoning, quantitative skills, and verbal analysis. Give your class one question a day to ponder or get ideas for questions of your own. (There are also non holiday related activities on the main page - [|Online Activities])**

Holiday Traditions Around the World
**[|Holiday Traditions!] Enjoy learning holiday traditions of different countries - Students can organize information using Inspiration. Be sure to sign the GuestMap!**
 * [|Online Interactive World Advent Calendar]** **-** **Click on each day of the month to learn different customs and celebrations around the world.**
 * [|Merry Christmas!]- Spoken in languages around the world!**
 * Perfect resources for those of you studying holiday traditions of different countries around the world! Information about the various Christmas symbols and Santa, too!**

Trees, Plants, and Poinsettia
[|Capitol Grounds Christmas Trees] - a history of the trees displayed on the capitol grounds**
 * [|The Giving Tree] by Shel Silverstein - Share this timeless story with your students during the holiday season. This lesson combines reading, completing an //Inspiration// graphic organizer, and writing a paragraph.**
 * [|Christmas Tree Shape Poems]** **- Encourage students to think of ways to show kindness to others during the holiday season. Encourage writing skills as well as technology skills as you create Christmas tree shape poems!

**Christmas Trees and More****- tree facts**, **traditions, types, educational links, and more**

**The Poinsettia Pages** - Information about this traditional holiday plant


 * [|Legend of the Poinsettia] - from Just for Kids magazine**


 * [|Holiday Geography!] (Education World) Where is Noel? Bethlehem? Santa Claus? Merryville? Locate cities that have holiday names on a United States map.**
 * [|Unitedstreaming Videos Available] - "Holiday Facts and Fun: A Multicultural Christmas", "Christmas Tales from Foreign lands: An Untold Miracle, Busy Befana, or The Wondrous Candle**
 * Enjoy [|Holiday Trivia I], [|Holiday Trivia II] , and [|Holiday Trivia III] --** **See how much you and your students know about holiday songs, food, traditions, literature, etc.**

Carols, Christmas Stories and more
[|Give Your Students the Dickens!] (Education World Unit) Resources to discover Dickens**
 * [|The Nutcracker] - Story and Music - The Nutcracker Ballet was first performed on December 18. Peter Tchaikovsky composed the music.**
 * [|The Singing Christmas Tree] - Click on an ornament to hear a carol!**
 * [|"A Christmas Carol"] by Charles Dickens was published December 17, 1843. Read it online!

The Twelve Days of Christmas
[|The Twelve Days of Christmas] - **Take advantage of this opportunity to teach math and technology skills! Do you know how many total gifts were given? How much did they cost?**

[|**12 Days**] **- Excel Spreadsheet Example** [|**12 Days**] **- Completed Excel Spreadsheet Example - Want the answers??? You can adapt these to suit the level of your students. Delete information as necessary and let your students do the figuring!!

[|12 Days and Pascal's Triangle] - lesson from Leadership Program in Discrete Mathematics - explains the relationship between the rows in Pascal's Triangle and the song.**

[|**12 Days of Winter Break**] **- lesson plan idea from PE Central to stay fit over the holiday break, intended for middle school PE classes, could easily be adapted for elementary

[|The NEW Twelve Days of Christmas] - writing activity from Education World - includes printable worksheet**


 * [|12 Days of Christmas on Author Stream] - PPT presentation with the words to follow along**


 * [|12 Days of Christmas] - midi file - no words, lyrics included**

The Festival of Lights
[|Chanukah] - The Festival of Lights! A simple history, explanation of the Menorah, songs, crafts, and an explanation of the dreidel game [|Virtual Chanukah] virtual site [|Hanukkah (from PrimaryGames.com)] - **coloring pages, games and crafts** [|**Chanukah or Hanukkah**]**- recipes, games, crafts, etc..** [|**Hanukkah Activities**] **- games, dreidel game, crafts, info [|December Holidays]** -Hanukkah - **(tons of Hanukkah links)**

Kwanzaa
[|Kwanzaa] - A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture [|December Holidays]: Kwanzaa - lots of Kwanzaa Links** [|Kwanzaa Time] (from KidsDomain) More online games, clip art, reading fun, and printable activities**
 * [|Habari Gani?] Discover facts about several African countries here as well as information about Kwanzaa.**
 * [|Happy Kwanzaa!] Kwanzaa is one of the fastest growing holidays. Enjoy African music as you read more about the history, the feast, the seven days, and the symbols of Kwanzaa.
 * [|Kwanzaa] (from Primarygames.com) You'll find an online story, coloring pages, games, and writing stationery here!
 * [|Unitedstreaming Videos Available] - "Seven Candles for Kwanzaa", "Holiday Facts and Fun: Kwanzaa", "The Principles of Kwanzaa"**

Christmas

 * [|Christmas Encyclopedia] - Many holiday symbols, terms, and definitions!**
 * [|How Christmas Works]- The Complete Guide to Christmas Traditions!**
 * [|Santa's Secret Village] - Really a cool site - Just for Kids to enjoy!**


 * [|Online Christmas Games] - (from Kids Domain) Games, Trivia Quizzes,** **Create a Customized Story, Holiday Art, Jokes and more!**


 * [|Christmas Quizzes] - Test your knowledge!**
 * Click here for lots more Holiday sites! Clip Art, Games, Music, & More!**


 * [|Brainpop - Winter Holidays] (requires school or individual subscription)**


 * [|Holiday printouts from Enchanted Learning] - snow, winter, gingerbread - create crafts, books and more. Some materials are free, some require a school or individual subscription. [|Winter Printouts] from Enchanted Learning**

December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor Day

 * [|Pearl Harbor Raid]- information and images from the Department of the Navy**

[|**Remembering Pearl Harbor**] **- information from National Geographic, multimedia timeline, survivors' stories and more**

[|**Pearl Harbor Story**] **- Interview with witnesses (from Scholastic)

[|The History Place]- World War II - Photos and information about the attack on Pearl Harbor

[|Remembering Pearl Harbor] - the USS Arizona - webquest/inquiry includes lesson plans and links on teaching using historic places

[|Pearl Harbor] - from Social Studies for Kids site

[|Pearl Harbor Classroom activity]- from ReadWriteThink - includes interactive venn diagram to compare Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11th - activity may not be appropriate for younger children

[|Pearl Harbor] - sound file of new bulletin, maps, etc...

[|Pearl Harbor Remembered] - database of Pearl Harbor and WWII resources

[|FDR's Speech] - includes a picture of his typed speech

Discovery Streaming videos available - preview first "[|Pearl Harbor: A Day That Will Live in Infamy]" speech or [|Pearl Harbor Speech to the Congress of the United States](10 minutes). [|December 7, 1941: The Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii](intended for 6th - 8th grade - includes footage of explosions, bombings, wounded and dead Americans)**

**December 17th, 1903 - The Wright Brothers' Famous Flight**
[|First Flight - December 17, 1903] - //"Wilbur Wright and his younger brother Orville were ordinary boys with ordinary toys. Somehow, they became extraordinary men with extraordinary machines. The story of their success can inspire all young dreamers to become the inventors of the future."// Experience their story with your students!


 * [|Flight Forecast] //-//** **Classroom activities for K-12 relating to** **weather trends and the relationship between weather and flight**


 * [|The Wright Brothers] //-//** **Additional resources are available from the Franklin Institute Online.

[|The "Wright" Stuff] //-//** **(Archived Online Project) Classroom activities related to the Wright Brothers and flight

[|The Wright Stuff]- info from the Discovery Channel - explore the flyer, see the "flights". explore the living quarters and more!

[|WayBack Flight]- Information about the Wright Brothers from PBS Kids

[|The Wright Brothers]- online gallery from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum - includes classroom activities, lesson plans, music from the time period, and much more!

[|US Centennial of Flight]- 1st created several years ago to celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight - resources for educators and kids.

[|Brainpop - The Mysteries of Flight] with Tim and Moby (requires school or individual subscription)**


 * [|Wright Brothers activity]- lesson plan from ReadWriteThink**


 * Discovery Streaming videos:** **[|The Wright Brothers] [|The First Powered Flight]**

**Dreaming of a //White// Christmas? Check below to learn more about snow!**

 * [|Snow Crystals] - //"How full of creative genius is the air in which these are generated!//** **//I should hardly admire them more if real stars fell and lodged on my coat."//** **... Henry David Thoreau, 1856**


 * [|More Snow Activities & Links] (from Eduscapes) - Everything for units related to snow!**

[|Snowtastic Snow] - literature, science of snow, and more

[|National Snow and Ice Data Center]- gallery, facts, Q & A

[|Basic Snow Facts Weather Quiz] - flash quiz on snow


 * [|Snow Theme page] - from Enchanted Learning - some items are free, some require a school or individual subscription.**