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Create a Holiday for
Your Favorite Hero

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Subject:Arts & Humanities
Grade:K-2, 3-5,
6-8, 9-12

Brief Description
Students create a holiday for a hero. The person may be someone in history who is not currently honored with a holiday, another famous person, a family member, a friend, or someone else they admire.

Objectives

Students demonstrate creative- thinking and creative-writing skills to develop a holiday for a person they admire as a hero.

Keywords

hero, holiday, create, creative thinking, creative writing

Materials Needed

paper or computer(s) with a word processing program, pens and pencils, chalkboard, chalk

Lesson Plan

Complete this activity in at least two lessons.

Lesson 1

  • Ask students to list holidays that are dedicated to individuals or special people, such as Columbus Day or Explorers Day, Martin Luther King Day, or Presidents Day.
  • Ask students to think about someone they admire who is not honored with a holiday. Students might work in cooperative groups to brainstorm some possible names. List students' responses on the board.
  • Ask students to imagine that they have been asked to create a holiday for one of the people on the list. Have each student develop a plan for the holiday. Tell students their plans must include the following information:
    Name of the person to be honored.
    A title for the holiday.
    Date(s) for the holiday
    Songs or music for the holiday
    Specific foods for the holiday
    Holiday colors.
    Special clothing to be worn
    Special decorations
    At least one other way to celebrate the holiday
  • Give students 1 to 2 days to complete their plans, including any needed research.

    Lesson 2

    Let students share their plans with the class. Let the class choose which holidays they would like to celebrate. Ask students to explain their choices.
    Extension: Celebrate one or more of the students' holiday choices in class.
    Variation for younger students: Complete the activity as a class.

    Assessment

    Evaluate students' completed holiday plans.

    Lesson Plan Source

    Education World

    Submitted By

    Lois Lewis

    National Standards

    Language Arts:
    NL-ENG.K-12.4
    NL-ENG.K-12.5
    NL-ENG.K-12.12

    Visual Arts:
    NA-VA.K-4.1
    NA-VA.5-8.1
    NA-VA.9-12.1

    Originally published 01/08/2001
    Last updated 12/01/2010