Elementary (Grades 3-5)

Middle School (Grades 3-8)

• Print on a piece of chart paper the definition of Tradition: the passing of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way.

• Print on a piece of chart paper the definition of Ritual: a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a given order.

• Print the following traditions or ritual, one to an index card, enough to divide your class into groups of three or four students per group, depending on grade level, with each group pulling a single card from an envelope: Diwali, Hanukkah, St. Lucy’s Day, St. Hoi An, St. Martin’s Day, Dia De Los Muertos, Songkran Festival, Candlemas.

• Have a large envelope to hold the folded index cards created above, from which each team will pick a card.

• Have enough copies of the Tradition or Ritual Research Worksheet for each student to have one, plus extras as needed.

• On chart paper, create a blank Tradition or Ritual Research Worksheet to be filled in by the class using the U.S. tradition of Halloween.

• For Day 2, work with the school librarian to provide students with internet access and reference materials in the classroom or to reserve library space in which to conduct the lesson.

CASEL Core Competencies

• Self-Management

• Social Awareness

• Relationship Skills

• Responsible Decision Making

Common Core ELA-Literacy Standards

• Speaking and Listening

• Writing

• Reading Informational Text

NCSS Social Studies Themes

• Culture

• Individuals, Groups and Institutions

• Civic Ideals and Practices

• Explain the difference between a tradition and a ritual and give examples

• Recognize that people from different cultures and different religious beliefs use light as part of their rituals

• Compare and contrast traditions and rituals around the world to their own traditions and religious/non-religious rituals

• Explain why it is important to know about traditions and rituals that are different from their own

• Tradition

• Ritual

Day 1

Post the definition of tradition on one piece of chart paper and the definition of ritual on another piece of chart paper.

Read the definition of tradition aloud to the class. Ask for some examples of traditions that have been passed down in their families and chart them underneath the definition.

Read the definition of ritual aloud to the class. Make sure students know the meaning of solemn (formal and serious). Ask students to provide examples of a religious ritual or solemn ceremony they are familiar with. Chart responses under the definition. If no students provide a secular example of a ritual, provide one such as the annual wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Tell students that the class is going to be divided into teams of three or four students per team. Each team is going to pick a card that gives them the name of a tradition or ritual that is practiced in one or more places in the world. Members of each team must conduct research and create a presentation for the rest of the class based on what they learn about the tradition or ritual they have picked.

To help the teams conduct their research, each team member will use the Tradition or Ritual Research Notes Worksheet that each student must turn in at the end of his and her team’s presentation. Distribute a worksheet to each student.

Review the worksheet with a secular holiday that all students are familiar with, even if they do not participate in it, such as the 4th of July or Halloween, to guide students through the worksheet.

For example, ask: Is the 4th of July a tradition or a ritual? Explain your answer. Go through all the questions on the worksheet and chart student responses such as the response to: If you had to describe Halloween to someone who had never heard about or seen it before, what important information would you include? Ask students to be as specific as possible.

Ask each group to decide upon a name for their research team. At the end of six minutes, go around to each group and record its name on chart paper.

Day 2

Post the chart paper with the name of each team.

Ask one student from each team to come to the front of the room, reach into the envelope, and pick out a card. Record the tradition or ritual each group will research on the chart paper next to the team’s name. Tell students that each team will give a five- to six-minute presentation to the class on its tradition or ritual.

Provide access to laptops and research materials –encyclopedias, texts, and so on students to use to complete their research on the tradition or ritual they are responsible for reporting on.

Remind the teams they are expected to be specific when answering questions on their Research form. Circulate around the room to provide assistance as needed.

Tell the teams that as soon as they complete their research to raise their hands so that you can check their work. Tell students if a team’s research is complete, the team can begin creating its presentation by deciding what each person on the team will report on and if the team needs to create any posters or charts for their report. Tell students that each member of the team must be part of the presentation.

Ask by a show of hands how many students learned about something they had never heard of before. Ask by a show of hands how many students learned about a tradition or ritual that reminded them of one they knew about from personal experience.

Day 3

Ask students to sit with their teams and to have their worksheets with them. Provide chart paper and markers to each team.

Circulate around the room to provide assistance as needed to each team as they complete their presentations. At the end of 10 minutes, inform students they have five minutes left to prepare their presentation. If necessary, extend the prep time depending on the grade level of the students.

Ask for a team to volunteer to go first. Tell the class that after each presentation is complete, listeners will be given one or two minutes to ask questions if they have any.

When all teams have presented, ask the class to applaud for the work they have all done.

Ask: What similarities or differences did you notice about
the new traditions and rituals you learned about? Chart responses.

If no one mentions that they all involve lights of different kinds, then state: One similarity is that many of them use lights of various kinds.

Ask: Why do you think lights are used in so many traditions and
rituals?

Ask: Who can share how light is used in a tradition or ritual
your family follows? Get multiple responses.

Ask: What does light symbolize in many rituals and
traditions?

Ask: Why do you think it is important for us to learn about these
kinds of traditions and rituals from around the world?

• Handout: Tradition or Ritual Research Worksheet