MiniPage Teacher's Guide

MiniPage Teacher's Guide
MiniPage activities meet many state and national educational standards. This week's standards: Students understand the ways in which language, stories, folk tales, music and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture and influence the behavior of people living in a particular culture (Social studies: Culture).
Activities:
1. Design three Christmas tree ornaments based on people or events in history. Share your ornaments with a family member or friend. Explain why you made your choices.
2. Plan a Christmas party for your family and friends. Find three people in the newspaper you would invite to your party. Use grocery store and restaurant ads to find the refreshments for your party. Use photos and ads to find decorations. Write a story about your party.
3. Use newspaper words, photos and art to design a Christmas card that expresses your feelings about the holiday season. Share your card with family members or friends.
4. Read today's MiniPage to find (a) the name of President Ford's daughter, (b) the president whose ornament shows a carriage, (c) the color of the lights on the national Christmas tree last year, (d) the title of the Christmas book President Clinton read to children in the White House and (e) the president whose ornament showed White House doors.
5. Use reference books and the Internet to learn more about the history of Christmas trees. Use these questions to guide your research: Where did the idea of using a tree for Christmas originate? When did Christmas trees become popular in the United States? What does the Christmas tree signify for the holiday season? Are trees other than evergreens ever used for Christmas trees? What different ways do people decorate their trees?