4. The Festival of Lights Diwali is celebrated by Hindus in India and all around the world in October or November. It is the Hindu New Year and is either a 3-day or 5-day holiday depending on where you come from. In 2010, Diwali will be celebrated on the 5th of November. Diwali for Kids
5. Children have a holiday from school. Presents are given and delicious holiday food is prepared and exchanged. New clothes and jewelry are worn. Parties are held, and dice and card games are played. Diwali lamps for sale in the market Diwali for Kids. Activity Village. Online
6. The Festival of Lights Diwali is celebrated by Hindus in India and all around the world in October or November . It is the Hindu New Year and is either a 3-day or 5-day holiday depending on where you come from. In 2010, Diwali will be celebrated on 5th November. Diwali for Kids
Discussion: what special celebrations have you participated in? Birthdays? Holidays? What holidays do you celebrate? When are these celebrated? What special things do you do to celebrate? (food, traditions etc.) We are going to be researching different celebrations and festivals around the world together.
We are going to practice by researching Diwali together. Let’s start by reading this article to find out a little bit about this holiday. To do that, let’s try and zero in on the information we need. What question are we trying to answer when we read this magazine? Do all the words on this page look the same? Does anyone see bigger, bolder letters, that are at the top of a paragraph? What is a paragraph? What do we mean when we say paragraph? A bunch of sentences about one topic. What I want to do is just read the headings. Those are bigger and bolder and at the top of the paragraph. The headings tell you what the paragraph is going to be about. We are looking for information about a holiday called “Diwali”. Let’s read each heading, and when we get to “Diwali” let’s stop and read about that holiday. As we read the headings, there will be new words. You can sound it out, or phone a friend or teacher (point to each and read together)
What does “Hindu” mean? Hinduism is a major religion people practice all over the world. Many people in India practice this religion. Diwali is a Hindu religion, meaning it comes from this tradition.
Now let’s read an website that tells us about this holiday. The question we are trying to answer today, is “When is this holiday celebrated?” We are going to underline any information that answers this question. Let’s read one sentence at a time. Does anything here tell us when the holiday is celebrated? I need to underline that information. What should I underline?
Let’s continue reading the article. We need to underline information that answers the question, “When is this holiday celebrated? Read each sentence. Does this answer the question, “When is Diwali celebrated?” Include web site citation
After students answer on previous slides (perhaps using Smartboard to underline), go to this page for the answer.
Now it’s your turn! Let’s use this book to try and answer our question. You are going to need to underline any information that tells us when this holiday is celebrated.
Student volunteer to underline on the smartboard when this holiday is celebrated.
Bailey, Donna. Diwali in India. 1990.
Students are answering the question, When is the new year celebrated in Hong Kong? Students receive slides 10-13 to underline for practice.