Classroom subject areas
Here are some of our favorite ideas for Christmas Around the World lessons for England. The Jolly Christmas Postman is the holiday version of Janet and Allan Ahlberg’s famous The Jolly Postman. As in the first book, we follow the postman as he delivers the mail on his bicycle. And… Continue reading
Is Christmas actually celebrated at the North Pole? We think so. Examining this question lets you look at both actual and fictional geography. The North Pole is not on land, actually, but on ice in international waters. The countries nearby include Canada, the United States (Alaska, specifically), Russia, Greenland, Iceland,… Continue reading
As the weather turns colder, we need a chilly theme for the classroom. Mittens are a great one! It’s nice to have a fun theme that doesn’t involve holidays, and this one may even help your students remember to wear their mittens. There are lots of mitten designs in… Continue reading
The poem that many of us know as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” was originally called “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” It was written by Clement C. Moore and first printed in a newspaper in 1823. Hear it read aloud in a video. There are plenty of picture book… Continue reading
As a Google Earth Pangaean, I had the opportunity to try out Google Earth 6 early. Now you can have it too! Go to Google Earth and download the new version. The view is better, the trees are quite realistic, and you can really feel that you are visiting… Continue reading
English The Wild Christmas Reindeer is a fun book for elementary students. The setting is Finland, and the illustrations are in part inspired by the Sami, who rely on reindeer for many of their basic necessities. Olive, the Other Reindeer is fun for a read-aloud. Check out our Olive, the… Continue reading
The Snow Queen is a lesser-known tale by Hans Christian Andersen. It’s a collection of stories, really. The first is about a mirror made by an evil sprite, which shows everything reflected in it at its worst. This mirror is broken, and bits of it fly into people’s eyes… Continue reading
Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve? is a beautiful book by Jan Brett, one of our favorite children’s book authors. In this story, naughty trolls threaten a Norwegian Christmas dinner till a passerby with a pet polar bear scares them off. Resources: Jan Brett’s resource pages tell about the research… Continue reading
Michael Rosen’s Chanukah Lights Everywhere is a sweet book, and very good for the classroom. It follows a young boy through preparations and celebration of Chanukah with his family. The book doesn’t ignore the religious nature of the celebration, but is certainly suitable for public schools. The structure of… Continue reading
What we need at this time of year is a quick lesson that can be presented with little to no preparation — and which the kids haven’t already done too many times before! We have a suggestion: The Peterkins’ Christmas, a fun book which your library will probably have,… Continue reading
