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Summary and Objective
Students will understand that Santa Claus has had many different faces throughout history and that the image of Santa is also influenced by the region in which Christmas is being celebrated. This lesson will expose students to different cultures and their beliefs around the character of Santa Claus and his role in the Christmas holiday and how his image developed over time.
Teaching Plan
Step 1.
1. Preactivity: Display the image “Hanging Stockings” for the class to see and begin a discussion about Christmas and Christmas traditions. Explain that the Christmas celebrations of today are a relatively new concept to New England. Discuss how traditions have changed over time. Read the letters regarding Christmas to emphasize how individuals were seeing Christmas change and develop over time.
Step 2.
Have students draw pictures of Santa Claus. Discuss their image of Santa Claus and what students believe Santa to look like.
Step 3.
Read The Saint Who Became Santa Claus by Evelyn Bence and Santa Who by Gail Gibbons. Check your local and school libraries for these books. Both of these books discuss the development of Santa from Saint Nicholas and discuss how the image changed or developed over time just as the Christmas traditions have changed and developed over time.
Step 4.
4. Organize students in small groups and have each group examine 2-3 images of Santa Claus/St. Nicholas from history. Use images from the websites listed below. Teachers can decide what images to use and how many different images they would like their students to examine.
Step 5.
5. Bring students back together in a large group to share what they found in the images and discuss how those images related to the stories that they heard about Santa from the books that were read to them.
Step 6.
6. Post Activity: Continue with study of Christmas around the world reading books and watching films about Christmas in various countries. Have students take on the role of living or visiting one of the various countries. Older students can then report out on what it is like to celebrate Christmas in their country by performing a short skit/writing a letter to a friend in another country explaining their holiday/writing a short research project about their findings. Younger students can each choose one place to learn about. The teacher can then set up a mock TV set and interview the students (who may choose to dress in costumes appropriate for their countries) and report out their findings to the class.
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