Book Summary
Winter Holidays is a tribute to eight holidays celebrated by people around the world. Students learn some of the customs and traditions of each holiday as they read the poems. Photographs and illustrations support the text. Approximate book level: R. 

Build Background
Write the following holidays on the board: Christmas, Kwanzaa, Chanukah (Hanukkah), New Year, Chinese New Year, Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, Leap Day. Ask students to explain what they know about each holiday. Write the information next to the appropriate holiday. 

Discuss poetry's rhymes and rhythms. Write the word holiday on the board. Invite students to identify words that rhyme with holiday. Write these words on the board. Remind students that not all ending sounds of rhyming words are spelled the same. (For example, sky and pie rhyme but have ending sounds that are spelled differently.) 

Explain that rhyming poetry follows a beat that is based on syllables. Write the title of each poem in the book on the board. Have students practice clapping the syllables in each word on the board. Ask volunteers to come to the board and put a slash mark between the syllables in each word. If necessary, remind students of the rules for dividing words into syllables (VCV: between the consonant and vowel; VCCV: between the two consonants; compound words: between the two words). 

Preview the Poem
Show students the front and back covers of the book and read the title. Turn to the title page. Discuss the information on the page (title, author's name). Discuss the photographs and illustrations. Invite students to explain what they see in the pictures and what they think each poem might be about. 

For detailed lessons on teaching types of poetry, click here.

During Reading
Have students listen as you read each poem. Read the poems expressively, emphasizing the words that rhyme in each pair of sentences. 

Use think-aloud strategies to remind students to use what they already know to help make sense of the poems. React to parts of the poems with facial expressions and gestures. Allow students to stop to ask questions during reading, especially if they do not understand something. Invite students to identify characteristics of poetry (it uses description, it allows a reader to see a topic in a different way, it has a beat based on syllables, and so on). 

After Reading
Reader Response
Ask students what they thought of the poems. Have them identify and discuss their favorite poems or parts of poems. 

Comprehension
Ask specific questions that allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the poems.

• What is the author's purpose for writing this book?
• How are Kwanzaa and Chanukah similar?
• How are New Year and Chinese New Year similar and different?