Celebrate Around the World

A Closed Reading Learning Guide

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Laura Davis
Tattling to the Teacher

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Based on the Scott

Foresman Leveled Reader
by: Margaret C. Hall
Celebrate Around the World Name: ____________________

People all around the world 1. What are the special days?
celebrate special days. These special
_________________________
days are called holidays. People
(highlight the word, too)
celebrate for many different reasons.
Some holidays remind people about an 2. Underline one reason people
celebrate holidays.
important event from long ago. Other
holidays have a religious meaning or
3. List 4 ways people celebrate
celebrate important days on the
holidays:
calendar.
_________________________
People celebrate in many different
_________________________
ways too. Parades, feasts, gifts, and
_________________________
fireworks are just some of the many
_________________________
ways that people celebrate. Holidays
are important. They are times when
4. What holiday is important to
families, friends, and communities
you and your family?
come together.
_________________________
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_
Parades and Parties 5. What are 2 holidays that
celebrate with a parade?
Parades are an important part of many
_________________________
celebrations, such as Cinco de Mayo, a
_________________________
Mexican holiday. Cinco de Mayo means the
fifth of May. May 5, 1862 was the date 6. Highlight the reason that
when the Mexican people won a difficult Mexican people celebrate Cinco
de Mayo.
battle for their freedom. Today, Cinco de
Mayo is a day of parties and parades. 7. What holiday is similar to Cinco
Mardi Gras is another holiday with de Mayo in the United States?
many parades. Mardi Gras means Fat
_________________________
Tuesday, and always begins the day before 8. Mardi Gras begins before
Lent begins. Lent is a religious season when
_________.
some Christians prepare for Easter. During
Mardi Gras there are parades with fancy 9. Underline the sentence that
tells us what Lent is.
floats decorated with bouquets of flowers
and balloons. People throw candy, beads 10. On an index card, draw a
and flowers from the floats. picture of a float. Make sure to
label important features. L.E.D 2014
 11. Circle all the words that
Light represent light in this passage.
Candles, lights, and lanterns play a big
part in many celebrations. Many holidays 12. Which holiday is a new year
celebration?
are sometimes called the Festival of
Hanukkah
Lights. Diwali
Diwali is a Hindu holiday that is
celebrated with candles and lanterns hung 13. Highlight the special object
that Jewish people use during
in windows. Diwali celebrates the Hindu Hanukkah.
new year, which happens in October or
November. 14. True or False (circle one)
The Jewish Festival of Lights is Children open gifts during Diwali
Hanukkah. This holiday lasts for 8 nights to and Hanukkah.
represent a miracle of oil burning for 8
15. What cultures are
days, thousands of years ago. Jewish people represented in this article?
light candles on a special candleholder
called a menorah during this time. _________________________
Sometimes children get gifts during _________________________
these holidays. L.E.D 2014
 16. Which holiday happens on the
Families and Feasts same day as Cinco de Mayo?
Holidays are a special time for families
to come together. _________________________
Childrens Day is celebrated by
17. What animal is a symbol for
Japanese people around the world. On May
Childrens Day? ______________
5, families fly streamers shaped like fish.
The fish stand for courage and strength. 18. Underline the sentence that
Children enjoy nibbling on favorite foods. tells you why Japanese use fish.
Families make kites together.
19. After __________________,
Eid al-Fitr is an important holiday Eid al-Fitr takes place.
Muslim families. This holiday takes place at
the end of a month of prayer called 20. Highlight the sentence that
tells you what it means to fast.
Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslim people
fast from sunrise to sunset. They do not get 21. What do you think the best
to eat or drink anything during this time. part of Eid al-Fitr has to be?
Eid al-Fitr comes at the end of the fasting. _________________________
What do you think will happen when the
_________________________

fasting is over?
_________________________
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Choose 1 holiday from this packet and compare it to a holiday you celebrate.

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Fill in the chart below with vocabulary words and definitions from this packet.
(Hint: Go back and check out the bold words in the passages).

Vocabulary Word Definition

holiday

hard to do or understand

bouquets

a special candleholder used

during Hanukkah

nibbling
L.E.D 2014