Las Posadas and Diwali Vocabulary Books

Just finished putting together two vocabulary books to use with our Holidays Around the World unit in December.  Last year I created Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and this year we added Diwali and Las Posadas to the unit.

All About Diwali words:
India, Diwali, pray, lamps, bonfires, fireworks, luck

All About Las Posadas words:
Las Posadas, Mexico, poinsettia, Mary, Joseph, piñata, hot chocolate, midnight

You can find this HERE at my TPT store.

They books go right along with these other Las Posadas and Diwali items I have put together:

• Las Posadas and Diwali Word Wall Cards
• Las Posadas and Diwali Mini Books
• Las Posadas and Diwali Riddles

Las Posadas and Diwali Riddles

Thanksgiving 2014 unit...done.  On to Holiday Traditions Around the World starting next week. Last year we did Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas.  This year we are adding Las Posadas and Diwali as well as Christmas in Australia, England, France, and a few other countries.

I created these Las Posadas and Diwali Riddles cards to use.  My first graders love them, they are a GREAT review, and its a super activity for listening and participating in a game.

There are riddles for:

• Las Posadas
• poinssettia
• Mary and Joseph
• pinata
• singing and celebrating
• midnight (going to midnight service)
• Mexico
• Diwali
• praying
• fireworks
• clay lamps
• gold jewelry
• India
• 5 (5 days of Diwali)

You can find them HERE at my TPT store.

Holidays Around the World Review Packet

Here is something I whipped up tonight while watching TV--A Holidays Around the World Review Packet.

Holidays Writing Retell Sheets
3 options available:

• Students write sentences to match the pictures (2nd and above)
• Students write the missing holiday name in the shape box font. (1st grade)
• Student traces the holiday name within the sentence. (Kindergarten)

Holiday Around the World Fact Cards: BW and Color Options

• Print, laminate, and cut out to use as pocket chart cards or review for learning facts about each holiday.
• Use the black and white version to create a mini-book.

Holiday Around the World Word Wall Cards:

• Print, laminate, cut and place in your word wall or hang on bulletin board.

You can find this HERE at my TPT store.

Clip Art Sources:

Clip Art by Carrie

Melonheadz Illustrating

EduClips

Las Posadas and Diwali Word Wall Cards

Getting stuff put together for little additions to a unit takes a lot of prep...but so much fun!  Sometimes I think we add to our own stress by updating, adding, and changing things to make it better.  But I guess that's being reflective and always trying to do better, right?

Here's a word wall card set for Las Posadas and Diwali that you can use with your little people.  Most of the clip art is from EduClips, one of my new favorite clip artists found on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Lots of cool sets that work great for making items for your classroom.  The page border that I used for the preview is from another one of my favorites:  Creative Clips by Krista Wallden.  These two ladies are SO talented.

Words included in this set are:

Diwali

clay lamp

fireworks

elephant

pray

bonfire

candle tray

India

Las Posadas

poinsettia

Mary

candle

pinata

Joseph

Mexico

Mexican boy

Mexican girl

parade

donkey

nativity

Ideas for using these cards:

• Hang them in a pocket chart to introduce vocabulary during your study of Las Posadas and Diwali.
• Display them to help student think of ideas around Las Posadas and Diwali
• Let students use these word wall cards to correct their spelling after they've tried spelling these words on their own.  They can easily pull them from the pocket chart and take them to their seats.

You can find this HERE at my TPT store.

Holidays Around the World Mini Book Bundle

Just put together a Holidays Around the World Mini Book bundle that includes:

• Holiday Traditions Around the World Mini Book (includes Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, Las Posadas, and Diwali)
• What is Kwanzaa?
• What is Hanukkah?
• What is Christmas?
• What is Las Posadas?
• What is Diwali?

If you'd like to see the exact words in these books you can look at each item's description in my TPT store.  Or click on the links to take you to my blog post for each of the books where you can see the words to each book.

You can find this HERE at my TPT store.
You can find this HERE at my TN shop.

SAVE by buying all these book in the bundle!

Holiday Traditions Around the World Mini Book

Great book to use as an introduction to a few of the Holidays Around the World.

You can find this book HERE at my TPT store.  Scroll down to see the words and content included in this 22 page mini book.

Holiday Traditions Around the World Mini Book

There are many holidays around the world. 
This book is about Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali,
Christmas, and Las Posadas.

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday in December.
It is called the festival of lights. 
Children get a small gift each night.
A candle is lit on the menorah each night. 
The middle candle on the menorah is called a shamash. 
It is the helper candle.
Children play with a toy called a dreidel.
Jewish chocolate candy coins are called gelt.
Jewish people eat latkes. They are a potato pancake.
They eat sufganiyah or jelly-filled donuts.

Kwanzaa is an African holiday in December that lasts for 7 days.
It is a harvest festival to celebrate African culture.
The colors of Kwanzaa are red, black, and green.
The flag is called a bendera.
A kinara is a special candle holder for Kwanzaa.
One ear of corn is placed on the mat for each child.
People drink from the unity cup to remember their ancestors.
They say, “Let’s pull together.”
The fruits and vegetables remind people
of the food that people in Africa ate.
Children get homemade gifts on the last day of Kwanzaa.

Christmas is a holiday celebrated in December
by many people all over the world.
People decorate a tree with ornaments.
They put gifts under the tree.
A Christmas wreath is put on your house
to decorate your front door.
The elves help Santa fill his sleigh with toys.
Rudolph and the reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh through the sky.
Santa brings presents for children
and fills their stockings on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas morning, people open presents from each other.

Diwali is India’s biggest holiday of the year.
It is celebrated in October or November each year.
Diwali started as a harvest festival
that marked the last harvest before winter.
People would celebrate and pray for success in the new year.
People in India get together with family.
They light clay lamps, light fireworks, hang lights,
and have bonfires to worship Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth.
There are 5 days of Diwali.
On day 1 people buy gold and silver for good luck.
On day 2 people decorate their homes.
On day 3 people pray, eat, and light fireworks.
On day 4 people visit family and friends and give gifts.
On day 5 brothers visit married sisters
to show how much they love them.

Las Posadas is a Mexican holiday in December that lasts for 9 days.
People in Mexico decorate their home with the poinsettia.
Each night children dress up like an angel,
a shepherd, and Mary and Joseph.
People carry candles as they walk
down the street to the party. They sing songs.
Then they have a feast, break a piñata,
play games, and drink hot chocolate.
On the last day of Las Posadas,
families go to church at midnight.

Written by Carrie Hanson
Clip Art by Carrie Teaching First

Check out my mini-books for each of these holidays:

What is Hanukkah? What is Kwanzaa?
What is Diwali?
What is Christmas?
What is Las Posadas?

Diwali Cut Apart Sentences

Well, I had a list of a few TO-Do things this weekend, but didn't complete what I SHOULD have...only found a few extras to do.  We decided to add a few ideas to our Winter Holidays Around the World unit and came up with these cut-apart sentences this weekend.  The facts within these sentences are also included in my "What is Diwali?" mini book.

Sentences included in this set:

· Diwali is a holiday celebrated in India.

· People pray for good luck in the new year.

· There are fireworks and people light lamps and have bonfires.

· People decorate their homes and visit family.

· Diwali is a festival celebrated at the end of harvest.

· Diwali is celebrated in October and November each year.

Clip are used:  Clip Art by Carrie, EduClips

You can find this HERE at my TPT store.

"What Is Diwali?" Mini-Book

Last year we added Hanukkah and Kwanzaa to our Holiday unit to beef it up a little bit.  We wanted to add a little more this year, so I decided to do a little research and write this short mini-book about Diwali.  This mini-book tells the basics of the Diwali holiday.

"What is Diwali?" Mini-Book:

• Diwali is India's biggest holiday of the year.
• Diwali is celebrated in October or November each year.
• Diwali started as a harvest festival to mark the last harvest before winter.
• People celebrate and pray for success in the new year.
• People in India get together with family.
• They light clay lamps and fireworks, and have bonfires to worship the goddess of wealth.
• These are 5 days of Diwali.
• On day 1 people buy gold and silver for good luck.
• On day 2 people decorate their homes.
• On day 3 people pray, eat, and light fireworks.
• On day 4 people visit family and friends and give gifts.
• On day 5 brothers visit married sisters to show how much they love them.

Clip Art Sources:
Clip Art by Carrie, Melonheadz Illustrating, EduClips

You can find this HERE at my TPT store.