1. Not Exactly a Crystal Ball
Each New Year’s Eve, thousands of people gather in Times Square in New York City for the dropping of the famous silver ball to mark the new year. In Clay’s Corner, North Carolina, people have done something different: putting a possum in a see-through box covered with holiday tinsel and lowering it to the ground at midnight. This year’s celebration may not happen, however. A judge ruled that the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission does not have the authority to issue a permit for the event after the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals group filed a complaint. Search the newspaper and the Internet for stories about this unusual celebration. Discuss whether it should be allowed. For added fun, come up with an unusual way to celebrate New Year’s Eve in your community.
Common Core/National Standard: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.
2. Christmas? Already?
Traditionally, the Christmas shopping season has begun on “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving — but no longer. These days, Christmas-linked advertising begins much earlier. TV comedian Stephen Colbert said in mid-October that it’s gotten so bad that you can tell when Halloween is right around the corner when you see that “all the stores are decked out for Christmas.” Some experts say stores want a longer Christmas shopping season because they are concerned about the economy. Others say the season has grown because customers like it and look forward to sales and bargains. Do you think the United States gears up for holiday shopping too early? What would be a good time in your opinion. Discuss as a class, and write a letter to the editor of the newspaper stating when you think holiday shopping should begin.
Common Core/National Standards: Engaging effectively in a range of collaborative discussions; producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.
3. Create Your Own Toy
How would you like a job as a toy tester? Good Housekeeping magazine had 140 children ages 3-13 come to a laboratory and test out 135 new toys this year. The top toys picked by the young testers include the Hexbug Hive Habitat, which has mechanical bugs running through customized mazes; the Playmates Shellraiser, which is a car for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; the Moose Toys Fortune Cookie Maker; the Lego Friends Adventure Camper; the Playmobil E-Rangers Headquarters; the Wild Planet Night Sight goggles; the K’Nex Atomic Coaster; and the Ravensburger 3D Building Set. What kind of toy would you create if you worked at a toy company? What age group would you target? Search the newspaper and the Internet for ads and stories about new toys on the market for the holidays. Using these toys as a jumping off point, draw your own toy invention. Write a set of instructions on how to use the toy. Then design an ad to get people to want to buy it.
Common Core/National Standards: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience; knowing the different visual characteristics and purposes of art to convey ideas.
4. World of My Imagination
Roald Dahl created fantastical worlds: young boys and giant peaches, a boy, his grandfather and a wacky candy maker and a girl who has magical mind powers. His books, including “James and the Giant Peach,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Matilda,” have delighted children for years. Dahl was born on September 13, 1916 in the European nation of Great Britain and died on November 23, 1990. In addition to his many books, Dahl also wrote screenplays for movies, such as the children’s fantasy “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and the movie version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” Search the newspaper and the Internet for weird news items that could be the basis of fictional stories. Write an outline for a story based on one news item, including characters, setting, beginning, middle and end. Then write the first chapter.
Common Core/National Standard: Producing clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to the task, purpose and audience.
5. I Am Thankful For …
This week our country celebrates Thanksgiving. President Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863 as a means of helping the nation heal the pain and divisions caused by the American Civil War. Turkeys didn’t become the centerpiece of the meal until after World War II, however. Thanksgiving is a time to remember the story of the Pilgrims, who came to a new land to create a new life. It’s a time to remember how the Pilgrims made friends with the local Native Americans. It also is a time to remember everything for which we are thankful. Search your newspaper for things that make you feel thankful. Draw a picture of them. Or draw a comic strip showing your family being thankful for something. Common Core/National Standard: Using drawings or visual displays when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or points; knowing the different visual characteristics and purposes of art to convey ideas.