GROWING PAINS

Family Traditions Activity

Overview of Activity: Discussing how to keep native family traditions in the U.S.

Suggested Time Allowance: 5-10 minutes

Outcomes: Students will have knowledge of how different cultures celebrate different holidays. They will also know the importance of continuing these celebrations in the United States. The students will know how to find a business that can help them to plan their celebration.

Watching and Listening: Students and teacher will watch the interview at the end of the episode and listen carefully to the students describe the traditions from their native countries.

Procedure: Organize the students into groups. Ask the groups to plan a celebration. Bring a city map and the Yellow Pages from the local phone directory to the class. Have the students find businesses, i.e. bakeries, card stores, grocery stores, musical groups, etc., that can help them to prepare for their celebrations. Tell them to write down the addresses of any businesses that they would like to employ for their party. Then, ask the students to find the streets on the city map. If their choices are not close in proximity to one another, the students may want to choose a different business.

Speaking Activity: The teacher should conduct a short discussion about how the students celebrate special occasions in their countries and how they celebrate those same special occasions in this country. Special emphasis should be placed on preserving the traditions from their native countries.