11th Grade Christmas, Chanukah, & Kwanzaa Thematic Unit Plans (by date, oldest first)

Every year there's that ONE holiday toy that captures the hearts of kids and sends parents off to the store to grab the last one. This mini unit covers the history of Christmas toys through four decades (some of which you will remember!). The unit is divided into three parts and relies heavily on student research. The parts can be done at your own pace over the course of a week or over several weeks.

Part One

-Includes two reading passages, one about the history of holiday gift giving and one about the rise of the toy industry.

-Research Project: Students are given four worksheets, one for each of the decades (1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s), and they must research toy trends for each decade

Part Two

-All of part two is in the included PowerPoint. This covers holiday advertising, starting with the early days of ads, through the department store catalog, and into modern television commercials.

-There are three links to toy commercials from the 70s, 80s, and 90s to watch with students

Part Three

-In part three, students will conduct an interview with an older friend or family member about their own holiday toy memories

-Final Project: Students pick one of three final projects to complete. Each project relates back to a different part of the unit.

This unit is geared towards a classroom, but is easily adapted to a homeschooler...in fact, I originally created it for mine! Every research activity is done solo and the PowerPoint can easily be used just for one or a handful of kiddos. This is also easily adaptable, in case you want to change anything for your students, but is no-prep, ready to go, as it is!

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Looking for other activities for older kids?

Winter Activities for Older Kids - No Prep

Christmas Around the World - Who is/What is Cards

Middle School Vocabulary Worksheet {plain and themed versions}

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Are you looking for a way to teach about the holiday season in France with your students? Would you like your students to learn about the customs and traditions of a French Christmas but you aren't sure where to start? This full-cover printable pdf magazine will help! Share it with your students online, project it to a screen, or print copies (note that there are many photos and backgrounds, it will print best in color).

The pdf magazine has 26 pages of readings and photos so your students can learn about the holiday while staying in the target language. Topics included in the magazine are:

• Key vocabulary words of the season
• How to find the perfect gift
• Food specialties of the season
• Christmas songs
• Shopping at the Christmas markets
• How to spend the holiday like a French person
• Père Noël, Père Fouettard, and Saint Nicolas - what's the difference?
• Recipes of the season
• Important dates
• How to make Crêpes
• Winter in France
• Santons
• A letter to Père Noël
• New Year's Eve celebrations

Once you're read the magazine, there is a variety of student activities:

• Compare and contrast: Christmas in the US vs. France
• Shopping for gifts
• Les Vitrines
• Which one is it: Père Fouettard, Père Noël or Saint Nicolas?
• Resolutions for the new year
• Letter to Père Noël
• Design a santon
• Vocabulary matching activity
• True or False

Other holiday products

• Digital Breakout - French Holidays

• Joyeux Noel - digital breakout game for int/adv French learners

• Les Aventures du Père Fouettard - a story for int/adv French learners

• Petit Papa Noel - activities to accompany the song

• Digital game to practice French Christmas vocabulary

• Le Nouvel An - comprehensible input lesson for French learners

A set of French reading comprehension units with readings and activities about French cultural topics.

Each unit deals with a different aspect of French culture. Students will learn about the French school system, how the Métro works, the role of sports in France, French cuisine, how French housing looks and how people find a place to live and more!

The units include readings (some in both French and English, see the product description for each one) and activities that have students doing real-world tasks. Some of the units have colorful vocabulary posters that you can project digitally or print out for decorations.

Just in time for the winter season, this French winter activities bundle will let you celebrate the cold weather and holiday season. Includes a variety of printable and digital/distance items. Whether you teach level 1 or advanced French, there will be something for your students in this bundle.

Included in the French wintern bundle you will find a nice variety of short stories, non-fiction readings, games and activities. It’s a mix of print and digital items - so if you’ve never tried assigning a Google drive or Boom cards activity before, this can be a way to try it out.

Short Story:

• Les aventures du Père Fouettard - a printable short story for Christmas. Père Fouettard is tired of always being the bad guy. What happens when he changes roles with Père Noël?

Digital activities:

• Gingerbread digital stickers - A set of digital stickers that you can use wherever you like - One Note, Google drive, or any digital platform that allows png images.

• Llama digital stickers - A set of digital stickers that you can use wherever you like - One Note, Google drive, or any digital platform that allows png images.

• Llama holiday agenda slides - 8 digital backgrounds that you can use to organize your daily lessons, announcements and agenda.

• Winter agenda slides - 8 digital backgrounds that you can use to organize your daily lessons, announcements and agenda.

• Christmas vocabulary digital game - Includes 30 vocabulary words about the holiday - a fun, no-prep way to learn and practice the vocabulary.  Both a PowerPoint/PDF/Google drive version and a Boom version are included.

• Noël Digital magnetic poetry - A Google drive activity with “magnets” of French words that students can move around to make their own poems with a Christmas theme.

• Winter Digital magnetic poetry - A Google drive activity with “magnets” of French words that students can move around to make their own poems with a winter theme.

• French holidays digital escape game - A fun and challenging game for your students!  They will learn about some of the different holidays in France and how they are celebrated   No need to prep - just share the URL with your students!

• French Noël escape game - A self-correcting escape game using Boom cards that will have your students practicing vocabulary, reading, listening and writing.

Non-fiction readings:

• Le Hockey - learn about the sport of hockey in this reading and activity unit.
• Le Noël CI lesson - a non-fiction lesson using comprehensible input to teach your students about the Christmas holiday and how it is celebrated in France.
• Le Nouvel An CI lesson - a non-fiction lesson using comprehensible input to teach your students about the New Year's holiday and how it is celebrated in France.
• Le Noël en France - a full-cover printable pdf magazine about the holiday and different aspects of its celebration.

Song:

• Petit Papa Noël - activities to help your students understand the song

BONUS:

As a special part of this bundle, you will also receive a copy of the Unfair Game for Christmas! It includes an English and French version of the game, multpile choice and open-ended versions - a game your students will love to hate!