Lucy's Library Blast
December 11, 2017
Five Festive Facts About the Winter Holidays
· Why are there so many winter holidays? Experts think it can be traced back to ancient Winter Solstice celebrations, which happened during the third week of December. When Christians began celebrating the birth of Jesus in the third century, church officials chose December 25 to coincide with the many pagan celebrations already in place for that time period, according to some scholars. · Hanukkah always begins four days before the new moon. It can occur anywhere from mid-November to the beginning of January. · There is no correct way to spell Hanukkah in English! Hebrew uses a different alphabet that includes different sounds. Spelling Hanukkah in English requires changing the letters of the Hebrew word into those that most closely match. · Before 1753, Britain and all British countries celebrated the New Year on March 25. · In the Ukraine, finding a spider on a Christmas tree is considered good luck!
3 Hooks for Reading Instruction:
Meet the Author Movies
Christopher Paul Curtis "I came about being a writer in a very unusual way...My job was to put doors on cars...While I was working, I was thinking about what I was going to write." Watch the movie.
Video Book Trailers
Raina Telgemeier's graphic novel, Smile, is based on her own experience.
Share in a teen’s journey as she breaks her front teeth, makes mistakes with boys and fashion, struggles with anxiety...while learning to smile through it all. Watch the trailer.
Meet the Author Book Readings
RJ Palacio on the inspiration for Wonder:
"I was sitting next to this little girl who had a very severe facial disfigurement...I wasn’t sure how my older son would react." Listen to the reading. These videos are all two minutes or less.
Dealing with Competition
Engage your middle grade readers with this classroom activity that will help them reflect on the positive and negative aspects of competition. Click on Activity (below) to download the full activity and try it out in your classroom.
Ask students to think about how they face competition in their lives — even if they don't play sports. Do they feel pressure from their parents, coaches, siblings, or peers to be successful? Then, open up the discussion to the classroom and create a T-chart with the positive and negative effects of competition. Invite the students to talk about the novel they are reading and how competition affects the characters in the story. Do they relate to the characters' experiences of competition?
The Story of the WWI Christmas Truce
It has become a great legend of World War I. But what really happened when British and German troops emerged from their trenches that Christmas Day?
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-story-of-the-wwi-christmas-truce-11972213/#MPOD5ClvbFS8OPLm.99
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https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-story-of-the-wwi-christmas-truce-11972213/
And on a lighter note...
This Free Printable “Teacher Life” Card Game Is The Cards Against Humanity for teachers.
Thanks, Mrs. Sainato!