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Dates, Holidays and Celebrations

DAYS OF THE WEEK
My main resource for teaching the days of the week is Hands On! (I've linked to it on my LINKS page.) I supplement the activities found in that book with my own:
Days of the Week Activities
Days of the Week Word Shapes
Days of the Week Word Search Puzzle

Holiday Resources Arranged by Month

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THANKSGIVING
Here is a template in Google Slides that you can edit to create classroom party invitations. Or just print the PDF as is (landscape, letter, flip on short side). We write in the date, place, and time and deliver the invitations to the class next door. They in turn learn how to RSVP using my classroom telephone extension or by returning the invites with YES or NO checked off. This makes a great artifact for the binder under the interacting with others competency.


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HALLOWEEN
This story with activities was inspired by a listening text on Rong-Chang about Freddy and his Superman costume. The image on the left is page one of two in this very short story. The pack includes a word-picture match, word shapes, sentence unscramble, find the hidden word, this rational cloze that becomes the learners' reader for the week after they fill in the blanks, and many other worksheets.

This module would work wonderfully right before or right after Mo Stays Warm since many articles of clothing are encountered in both stories. (See LITERACY - Weather.)

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Sample Rubric

Here is a rubric you might wish to use for a role play wherein your learners go trick-or-treating to another class. Have learners practice the role play with each other before the 'real thing,' which will allow you to assess performance using the rubrics in a less chaotic setting than will be the actual trip to another classroom.


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WINTER BREAK
Here is the blank book I created so we could start to talk about the holidays.
Here is the winter break activity pack that goes with the book. The following week we decorated the door.
This could be assessed for following directions (fold, cut, etc.) or for polite requests. (Please pass the _[glue / scissors / markers / tape ]_), depending on how you set it up and scaffold it ahead of time.
We will use the same book template to create a Language Experience Approach book about our week, which I blogged about on the classroom blog HERE.
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We made invitations for the literacy class next door to join us for hot chocolate, cookies, and a short movie, The Snowman, which is available online and has NO spoken language.
The checklist I used is under FREE - ASSESSMENT - Checklist for WRITING.

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Here is a newer version of my Winter Break book. It is an 8-page wordless picture book that prints on two sheets of 8.5" x 11" paper. Printer settings: landscape, two-sided, flip on short edge. I've left a little extra room in the centre for staples. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoyed making it!

Here is the teaching guide.
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GINGERBREAD COOKIES (CLB 3L)
This ten-page activity guide with worksheets could possibly be used with CLB 1-3 or CLB 2L-4L.

Fortunately, my school has a kitchen with working oven. I brought in a hand mixer, measuring cups and spoons, bowls, baking sheets, cookie cutters, etc., as well as the ingredients. We made the dough one day, chilled it overnight, rolled it out and baked it the next day. Thanks to Lorraine Bodger for the excellent recipe. It's not too sweet nor overly spicy. Take cookies out a bit early if you like them softer.


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