The Festive Teacher: Multicultural Activities for Your Curriculum [Paperback]

Steve Springer (Author), Brandy Alexander (Author), Kimberly Persiani (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0071492631 | ISBN-13: 978-0071492638 | Edition: 1

An activities-packed resource for dazzling bulletin boards, exciting read-alouds, and time-saving additions to your lesson plans!

Decorations, cupcakes, and parties are great, but now you can take holidays to the next level by incorporating them into your lesson plans quickly and easily! The Festive Teacher is a complete package of activities and story-starters directly connected to curriculum, from Groundhog Day math games to Columbus Day journaling activities. In all, it covers thirty-one North American holidays, including Christmas, Ramadan, Day of the Dead, Canada Day, and Cinco de Mayo. Filled with reproducible materials, The Festive Teacher is an instant, off-the-shelf answer to your needs.

The Festive Teacher contains reams of material to help you:

• Teach traditions, history, and cultural perspective
• Create bulletin boards that will impress any administrator
• Conduct read-alouds and shared-reading activities
• Get students engaged in research and journal writing

Kids love holiday celebrations in the classroom. With materials adaptable for students of all levels, this complete package will keep your students motivated, engaged, and excited. And, best of all, they'll be learning while they're celebrating.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Kimberly Persiani-Becker is an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction at Cal State University at Los Angeles.

Steve Springer and Brandy Alexander are mentors and master teachers with years of classroom experience in both private and public schools.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (May 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071492631
• ISBN-13: 978-0071492638
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 0.7 x 10.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Alexander Technique
  • #99 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Holidays

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handy and practical for teaching holidays in the K-6 classroom, October 19, 2009

By 

Z Hayes (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: The Festive Teacher: Multicultural Activities for Your Curriculum (Paperback)

This is a wonderful resource for teachers who would like to teach the different holidays celebrated in the United States and also outside the US. The holidays represented here are those deemed to have cultural, historical, and religious significance. Every holiday represented in this book has a brief introduction on its history and background. There are also suggested activities listed on each page, in the form of reproducible worksheets (I just love those!). There is a Teacher Resource Page at the end of each holiday which provides ideas for bulletin boards, , extension activities, a Word Bank of key words that can be used for spelling, writing, and vocabulary, and also a list of recommended reading materials, both fiction and non-fiction for the students.

The holidays covered in this book are (arranged chronologically):
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday
Chinese New Year
Groundhog Day
Valentine's Day
President's Day
St. Patrick's Day
Easter
April Fool's Day
Earth Day
Arbor Day
May Day
Cinco de Mayo
Mother's Day
Victoria Day
Memorial Day
Canada Day
Father's Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Ramadan
Columbus Day
Halloween
Day of the Dead
Election Day
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving Day
Hanukkah
Christmas
Boxing Day
Kwanzaa
New Year's Eve and Day

There is a bibliography in the form of recommended websites, which can be used by teachers to obtain more information on a particular holiday or be used by students to do research during the extension activities. I would recommend this resource to any K-6 teacher who is keen on integrating significant holidays and celebration into the curriculum.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay, but a little disappointing., November 27, 2009

By 

T. Arbolaez "Avid Shopper" (Lakeland, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Festive Teacher: Multicultural Activities for Your Curriculum (Paperback)

I thought that there would be a little more to this book. There are limited activities for a limited amount of festive occasions. It also just isn't as "multicultural" as I had hoped - especially for the price. Just as an example,we have many Hispanic students other than of Mexican origin, so I was looking for more than the Cinco de Mayo. This book is probably fine for a first year teacher who is really strapped for ideas.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Book, November 16, 2009

By 

Adriana Arenas - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Festive Teacher: Multicultural Activities for Your Curriculum (Paperback)

This book is of great help to any teacher. Activities are short and fun. What I liked most about this book was that some of the festivities are not familiar to most students, which gives you the opportunity to teach students about other celebrations around the world. Plus it contains many reproducible handouts. I defenetly give it an A+.