With winter break just around the corner, the end of the calendar year is a great time to add engaging, relevant holiday activities to your lesson plans. Your students likely celebrate various winter holidays at home, so ensure each one is represented by creating interesting Kwanzaa activities for your classroom:

• Dive into the history and significance of Kwanzaa in ELA
• Build background knowledge about Kwanzaa celebrations in social studies
• Try a fun holiday experiment in science

[Dive into the history and significance of Kwanzaa in ELA](id-ela)

Help your students get in the spirit of the season with lessons and activities that explore the history and significance of Kwanzaa in your ELA classes:

Teach students all about Kwanzaa

How much do your students know about Kwanzaa? Whether they’re experts or new to learning about the holiday you can use this lesson to help them practice their summarizing skills using themed-resources for research.

• As a whole class or in small groups ask students to share what they already know about Kwanzaa and what they want to learn.
• Assign two articles that explore the significance of the holiday in Black culture and some fun facts to help answer students’ questions.
• Have students write a summary of one or both of the articles to highlight the key details they learned about Kwanzaa.

Compare and contrast celebrations for December holidays

Winter is a common time for celebrations around the world. People observe so many different holidays during this season—not just Kwanzaa! Assign articles to help students understand, compare, and contrast topics like:

• Little-known facts about Kwanzaa
• The history of Christmas
• The history of Hanukkah
• How people celebrate Diwali

Customs and traditions from across the globe

Cultural customs and family traditions are hallmarks for celebrating Kwanzaa and other end-of-year holidays. Help students dive into where traditions come from and why they’re so important to celebrating holidays:

• Read an article about what family traditions are and why they matter.
• Discover how people around the world party and celebrate important events.
• Explore traditions and customs associated with various holidays, like Kwanzaa, Christmas, and Lunar New Year.

[Build background knowledge about Kwanzaa celebrations in social studies](id-ss)

Students can learn more about how people celebrate Kwanzaa by using social studies content that explores:

• Facts your students might not know about the founding and celebrating of Kwanzaa in the United States.
• The significance of celebrating Kwanzaa for Black Americans and how it helps them stay connected to their culture.
• Why students think it’s important to learn about the history and traditions of many cultures.

[Try a fun holiday experiment in science](id-sci)

Candles are a staple in Kwanzaa traditions and decorations. But have your students ever heard of a candle that can drink water? Help them see the science behind this “magic trick” with the following lesson:

• Discuss the necessary elements to start a fire and how the chemical reaction of combustion keeps one burning.
• Explore the different types of pressures that exist in air and water.
• Do the drinking candle experiment to see firsthand what they learned about fire and pressure.

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