In the "Global Goodwill Holiday" project, developed in cooperation with the United Nations, students learn about important international holidays and how various cultures celebrate them. Students also have the opportunity to share their own holiday traditions, comparing their holidays with those from around the world.

Several assessment components have been embedded in this lesson plan. Labels highlight activities that offer assessment suggestions for target skills. An Activity Assessment Rubric assesses student proficiency with the Goodwill Gift Box message.

Scholastic's Online Activities are designed to support the teaching of standards-based skills. While participating in the "Global Goodwill Holiday" project, students become proficient with several of these skills. Each skill below is linked to its point of use in the Teacher's Guide.

In the course of participating in the "Global Goodwill Holiday" project, students will:
1.	Use Web tools to access information about world cultural events.
2.	Gain an understanding of world cultures through learning about their holidays.
3.	Use e-mail to communicate with cultures around the world.
4.	Compare and contrast experiences with those of other students around the world.
5.	Develop and use writing skills to convey experiences and information learned.
6.	Use Web technology to post original writing online.

Tour Holiday Traditions
Over 20 holidays, representing cultures around the world, are described. Students are encouraged to explore Web sites that give more unique information about particular holidays. Pop-up Fast Facts provide students with interesting trivia about selected holidays, including how they are celebrated and historical information. A print-out page is available in this Teacher's Guide. There are also helpful suggestions to students for what to write about in their Gift Box message, a personal note about holiday celebrations. Web Fun icons point students in the direction of interactive and extension activities related to the various international holidays.

The Global Goodwill Gift Box
Students post messages to share about holidays they celebrate. Messages include a comparison of the holiday with one of the holidays they have learned about through work in this project. Messages are categorized in one of five holiday-theme "albums": Countries, Foods, Memories, Songs, Stories, and Symbols.

Project Introduction (1 Day)
Activate prior knowledge about holiday experiences by asking students to describe a holiday they celebrate. Create a chart on the chalkboard that organizes information about the holidays such as holiday name, date or time of celebration, the holiday's true meaning, how it is celebrated, who is involved, and what students like most about the holiday.

Tour Holiday Traditions (3–4 Days)
Remind students that there are many holidays around the world that people celebrate in addition to the ones already discussed. Have volunteers generate a list. Ask students to describe any holidays on the list that they might know. Then introduce students to the "Global Goodwill Holiday" project by reading Step 1 as a class.

Encourage the whole class to explore the four seasonal pages in Tour Holiday Traditions. Read aloud as students follow along. Prompt students to point out holidays that they know. Remind them to visit at least three of the Web Fun sites listed as well as all of the Fast Facts.

Ask students to take notes in their journals on the holidays and include several interesting details about each. If you have limited Web access, you may want to distribute copies of a printable page version of the Fast Facts. As students read about a holiday in the Tour Holiday Traditions pages, have them refer to the corresponding fact on their copy of the Fast Fact page.

Point out the subjects that accompany the Holiday Gift Box Messages: Memories, Songs, Stories, and Symbols. Discuss the meaning of each and how they relate to holidays, for example, "What kinds of objects are symbols for a holiday you know?"

Write a Gift Box Message (3–4 Days)
Once students have gotten to know different holiday traditions, ask them to draft a message comparing a favorite holiday with a favorite holiday they have not experienced personally. Remind students that drafts need only contain important information. Students will work on details, spelling, and grammar in their final versions. As they write, suggest that students use their notes from the Holidays around the World activity. Set up time to review students' drafts for approval.

Have students use their drafts to construct a final message. Students can work in small groups, with writing partners, or by themselves to prepare their final messages. As they review their work, remind them to:

• make sure that their messages compare and contrast their holiday experiences with those of another cultures;
• confirm that writing is clear;
• exchange messages with a peer who provides comments;
• revise and edit messages for spelling and grammar issues.

Project Wrap-up (2–3 Days)
Have students share their messages with the class or in groups. Invite students to take turns publishing their messages on the Web. Remind them to follow the directions on how to post a message on the Gift Box page. Help students print out a Peace & Understanding Certificate for their participation in the project and encourage them to read gift messages that other students have contributed.

The "Global Goodwill Holiday" project supports the following thematic strands as set forth in the Curriculum Standards for Social Studies of the National Council for Social Studies:

• Culture
• People, Places, and Environments
• Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
• Global Connections
• Civic Ideals and Practices

• Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world. (1)
• Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions and by posing problems. (7)
• Students use a variety of technological and informational resources to gather and synthesize information in order to create and communicate knowledge. (8)
• Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles. (9)

Art (Grades 2–6)
Have students make dioramas or scrapbooks with flags, maps, costumes, and other symbols of the cultures that they have learned about during this project.

Music (Grades 2–6)
Students can create a multicultural songbook with the music of cultures whose holidays were studied during the project. Include songs from their own country.

Cooking/Social Studies (Grades 2–6)
Have students create a cookbook of holiday recipes from various cultures. Introduce and sell the cookbooks at a tasting, featuring samples of the recipes.

Social Studies (Grades 2–6)
Invite students to construct a multicultural calendar with the holidays of many different cultures. Include the holidays of your own country.

The following Scholastic supplemental materials could be used in conjunction with the "Global Goodwill Holiday" project. To order any of the Scholastic Professional books above, call 1-800-SCHOLAS(TIC)

• Making Social Studies Come Alive: 65 Classroom-Tested Activities and Projects
  by Marilyn Kreetzer and Medella Williams
  This resource offers fun classroom activities to capture the interest of any student, including time lines, recipes, songs, and more. (Item # 96381)
• Multicultural Fables and Fairy Tales: Stories and Activities to Promote Literacy and Cultural Awareness
  by Tara McCarthy
  This varied collection of multicultural stories includes lesson plans, cross-curricular activities, and excellent ideas for comparing these tales. (Item # 49231)
• The Multicultural Game Book: More Than 70 Traditional Games From 30 Countries
  by Louise Orlando
  Offers complete step-by-step instructions for a variety of easy games and promotes cultural awareness in the classroom. (Item # 49409)
• Crafts of Many Cultures: 30 Authentic Craft Projects From Around the World
  by Aurelia Gomez
  Create exciting art projects from around the globe, using simple materials and this illustrated, step-by-step guide. (Item # 49182)

Web Links

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Holidays on the Net
A multimedia encyclopedia of holiday celebrations offers a wealth of information about a given holiday, including its history and related activities.
http://www.holidays.net

Foreign Languages for Travelers
Web tool accesses simple lessons on most world languages in the native language of the user.
http://www.travlang.com/languages/index.html

MCC Multicultural Calendar
Web tool helps users find information on many world holidays. Users search by month, holiday, or country.
http://www.kidlink.org/KIDPROJ/MCC/index.html

United Nations
Home page of the United Nations
http://www.un.org/index.html

Maps and References
Links to hundreds of different kinds of geographical maps. Although many of the links are broken, hundreds of others are excellent and offer rich, interactive map skills experiences.
http://www.cgrer.uiowa.edu/servers/servers_references.html

Kids Helping Kids: Activities and Resources for Teaching Peace
Teacher's guide sponsored by UNICEF contains activities that help students in grades 1-9 develop language-arts, problem-solving, and leadership skills while exposing them to the lives of young people all around the globe.
http://www.unicefusa.org/issues96/sep96/guide/english.html

World Surfari
Vital statistics on many of the world's nations and territories
http://www.supersurf.com

Check out Scholastic Recommends for additional resources available from Scholastic at special educator discounts.