The Gift of Holiday Traditions:  http://edsitement.neh.gov/monthly_feature.asp?id=119 
Activities and lessons relating to Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas.

Poets of Christmas Past: Writing Christmas History in Verse:  http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20041224friday.html 
Students consider the meanings of Christmas by reading an editorial. Then they create a sequel to the poem
 "A Visit from Saint Nicholas".

Culture Goggles: Same Holy Land, Different Holidays: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/06/gk2/holidays.html 
Students select a religion to see how a Christian, a Jew, or a Muslim might view the
Old City of Jerusalem in Israel. Students will also look at how people with different beliefs celebrate winter holidays.

Beyond the Story: A Dickens of a Party: http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=238 
Lessons that encourage middle school students to understand the values and customs Dickens' characters
represented in Victorian society.

Holiday Charity: Math Activity About Poverty:  http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?cid=759 
Why is there poverty in our nation? Students will first examine this question, and then do the math.

December: A Month of Multicultural Holiday Celebrations: 
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson246.shtml 
Take advantage of the great opportunities December offers for teaching about our multicultural world.

Everyday Mysteries: Who Invented Electric Christmas Lights?: 
http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/christmaslights.html 
This essay explores the invention of electric Christmas lights, from Science Reference Services - Library of Congress.

How Christmas Works:  http://www.howstuffworks.com/christmas.htm 
Everything you need to know about Christmas.

Online Advent Calendar:  http://everydayteaching.com/Calendar/index_Dec08.php 
A new activity for every day in December.

History of the Holidays @ The History Channel
Learn the history of the holidays at the History Channel's online exhibits.
Hanukkah:  http://www.history.com/minisites/hanukkah 
Christmas:  http://www.history.com/minisites/christmas/ 
Kwanzaa:  http://www.history.com/minisites/kwanzaa 

Calculating the 12 days of Christmas:  http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/~judyann/LP/lessons/12.days.html 
Just how much do the 12 days of Christmas really cost?

Holiday Survival Guide: Manage Stress and Simplify Your Holiday Season:  http://stress.about.com/od/holidaysurvivalguide/Holiday_Survival_Guide_Manage_Stress_and_Simplify_Your_Holiday_Season.htm Advice on reducing stress during the holiday season, including dealing with difficult relatives, loneliness, shopping, and party planning.

What Matters to You This Holiday Season?:  http://www.newdream.org/holiday/ 
This site concentrates on ways to focus on the true meaning of the holidays, providing
ideas for preventing excessive consumerism, saving money, and selecting environmentally responsible holiday gifts.

Buddy Project: Thematic Units - Christmas:  http://www.buddyproject.org/thematic/christmas.asp 
Technology lessons aligned to Indiana Academic Standards.

Vocabulary.com: Holiday Puzzles:  Holiday word puzzles. http://www.vocabulary.com/index.php?dir=theme&file=theme_list&theme_id=90  http://www.vocabulary.com/index.php?dir=theme&file=theme_list&theme_id=91 
 

Reading Reinforcement for The Mitten: 
http://www.centreforliteracy.qc.ca/Resources/catalog/fulltext/mitten/mitten.pdf 
Comprehensive resources for exploration of Jan Brett's version of The Mitten.

Christmas Bird Count:  http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/ 
The tradition continues of counting birds across the Americas.

Christmas Reference from Urban Legends:  http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/christmas.asp?music=off 
These pages attempt to sort out the origins of customs and symbols in instructive fashion.
Note that not all legends are appropriate for all ages - read first, then use.

Holiday Reader's Theater: 
http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/reading/ReadersTheater/ReadersTheater005.shtml 
http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE09.html
http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE34.html
http://www.timelessteacherstuff.com/readerstheater/TheGingerbreadBoy.html 

Winter Celebrations:  http://www.theholidayzone.com/winter/writing.htm 
Winter writing prompts.

MSD Perry Township Media/Technology Indianapolis IN