In this episode, I discuss different December holidays that are celebrated around the world and by many English Learners. Last year I started sharing cultural tidbits with my colleagues about different holidays our students celebrate and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. 

All of this started with a staff email about how to know what foods are kosher and Halal approved. This came up originally because we had a considerable population of Muslim students and my school who were going to have issues with certain foods that might be shared. 

Since not all of my students celebrate Christmas, I decided to do some research about some other holidays that are celebrated around the world in December and share what I learned with my students and colleagues.

When thinking about what to incorporate in the holiday unit for your ESL students can be overwhelming.  But there are many ways to practice all of the language domains in the context of December holidays. Since it's a busy time of year. I have created a few ready made lesson plans that you can use.

What you will hear about teaching December Holidays

• Why I started researching and sharing about December holidays around the world.
• A little about the different December holidays that your English Learners may celebrate.
• Some of the overlapping traditions that different December holidays share.
• Ideas for activities that you can use to teach the different language domains in the context of December holidays

Resources

As mentioned in the episode, I am linking some useful resources!

• The ESL Teaching Roadmap – membership community for middle and high school ESL/ELL teachers. As a thank you for listening, use code ESLPODCAST for 10% off when you join. 
• 25 Authentic Speaking Activities for Your ESL Classroom
• Simply Ieva ESL Teachers Pay Teachers Store
• Teachable Platform - Courses and Workshops
• Follow me on Instagram 
• Join the Simply Ieva Facebook Group 
• Simply Ieva Youtube Channel

You may also be interested in: 

• Article - Kosher, Halal, Pareve: Get to Know the Labels
• Article - Why Americans call turkey “turkey”
• Blog post - December Holidays Around the World 
• Done-for-you lesson plans on Teachers Pay Teachers
  • December Holidays Around the World
  • Short story Gift of the Magi lesson

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