Family traditions and celebrations (social studies)

Summarize the customs that Daryl’s family observes during Kwanzaa2. Many parents use celebrations to teach their children about family traditions and customs.. Hanukkah means “Festival

by Megan Litwin

Family Traditions

ISBN 0-328-13315-9

ì<(sk$m)=bddbfe< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U

Scott Foresman Reading Street 2.6.3

Suggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA, ™

Lexile, ® and Reading Recovery ™ are provided

in the Pearson Scott Foresman Leveling Guide.

Genre Comprehension

Skills and Strategy Text Features

Narrative

nonfi ction

• Draw Conclusions

• Author’s Purpose

• Summarize

• Headings

• Glossary

illustrated by Nicole Wong

by Megan Litwin

Family Traditions

ISBN 0-328-13315-9

ì<(sk$m)=bddbfe< +^-Ä-U-Ä-U

Scott Foresman Reading Street 2.6.3

Suggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA, ™

Lexile, ® and Reading Recovery ™ are provided

in the Pearson Scott Foresman Leveling Guide.

Genre Comprehension

Skills and Strategy Text Features

Narrative

nonfi ction

• Draw Conclusions

• Author’s Purpose

• Summarize

• Headings

• Glossary

illustrated by Nicole Wong

Reader Response

1 Why do you think it needs to be dark

outside for Ashley and her family to watch the Fourth of July fireworks?

2 Summarize the customs that Daryl’s

family observes during Kwanzaa Make

a web like the one below to help you organize your ideas

3 What is the difference between a custom

and a tradition? Use the glossary in this book to help you answer

4 Which of the holidays in this book do you

or your friends celebrate? Compare and contrast your customs and traditions with some of those you found in this book

Kwanzaa

Family Traditions

by Megan Litwin

Editorial Offices: Glenview, Illinois • Parsippany, New Jersey • New York, New York Sales Offices: Needham, Massachusetts • Duluth, Georgia • Glenview, Illinois

Coppell, Texas • Ontario, California • Mesa, Arizona

illustrated by Nicole Wong

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Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for

photographic material The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to

correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.

Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott Foresman,

a division of Pearson Education.

Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R),

Background (Bkgd)

Illustrations by Nicole Wong

ISBN: 0-328-13315-9

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc

All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America This publication is

protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher

prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission

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likewise For information regarding permission(s), write to: Permissions Department,

Scott Foresman, 1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V010 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05

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3

Celebrations are important to our

lives They are a way for us to spend time with our families Many people look forward to certain holidays because they know they will get to see relatives they have not seen for a long time

Celebrations are also a way to remember important events of the past

Many parents use celebrations to teach

their children about family traditions and customs Many families have special

events, games, or foods that have been passed down from family members of the past It is fun to think that, years

ago, one of your ancestors might

have celebrated in the same way you celebrate today!

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Birthdays

This is Jenny Jenny is celebrating her eighth birthday Birthdays are important

in her family If you are in Jenny’s family,

young or old, your birthday always calls

for a party! Aunts, uncles, grandparents,

and cousins gather for a special meal

Jenny is lucky that her relatives live

nearby and can easily come over to visit

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5

It is a tradition in Jenny’s family that the birthday person gets to pick what

to eat for dinner He or she also gets

to pick the flavor of the birthday cake

Yellow cake with pink frosting is Jenny’s favorite Jenny’s family loves singing

“Happy Birthday” to the birthday person Jenny closes her eyes tight and makes a wish Then she opens her eyes and blows out all eight candles!

Jenny’s cake has eight candles because she is eight years old Her family uses one candle for each year until a child is sixteen years old Then they start using just one candle shaped like a number It would be very hard for Jenny’s father to fit thirty-nine candles

on his cake!

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Thanksgiving

Meet Ryan One of his favorite holidays is Thanksgiving Day Many

people in the United States celebrate

Thanksgiving Day as a way of showing

they are thankful for all that they have

On this November day, Ryan’s parents

rise early to begin preparing the meal

Ryan and his brother play football

outside with uncles and cousins Other

family members gather inside and tell

stories

By four o’clock, a delicious feast is ready In Ryan’s family, it is the custom

to serve turkey, stuffing, potatoes, corn,

cranberries, and homemade rolls After

dinner, they eat traditional Thanksgiving

desserts of apple pie and pumpkin pie

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7

Ryan’s family also observes special customs during Thanksgiving dinner

Before eating, someone is chosen to give thanks for the food This year it is Ryan’s grandmother She gives thanks for all of their blessings

Ryan’s family also has the custom of breaking the turkey wishbone At the end of the meal, two children hold the V-shaped bone Each child makes a silent wish Then each holds onto one end and pulls until the bone snaps The child who gets the larger piece is supposed to have his or her wish come true!

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Hanukkah

This is Alison Her family celebrates Hanukkah, a very old Jewish tradition

Hanukkah means “Festival of Lights.”

Alison’s family celebrates Hanukkah to

remember a miraculous event in Jewish

history that happened more than two

thousand years ago

During Hanukkah, Alison’s family

lights a menorah A menorah is a

special candleholder with places for

nine candles Alison, her brother, and

her parents all take turns lighting one

candle on the menorah each night

Alison loves this event Last year, she

made her very own menorah out of clay

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9

Hanukkah lasts for eight days and nights Some of Alison’s friends, who also celebrate Hanukkah, exchange gifts

on all eight nights In Alison’s family, it is the custom to pick just one day to give gifts Alison likes this custom because it makes that day special

On the last night of Hanukkah, Alison’s family hosts a family dinner

They eat latkes, a traditional potato

pancake Alison’s grandmother makes the latkes and serves them with

applesauce

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Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is an African American celebration that is very special to Daryl

and his family It was begun in 1966 to

help African Americans focus on family

and goals and remember that their

ancestors came from Africa

Kwanzaa is a Swahili word that means “first fruits.” It refers to the

harvest Kwanzaa is a seven-day feast

Each day, Daryl’s mother reminds the

family of one important goal, such as

responsibility or faith Daryl’s job is to

light a candle for each day’s goal

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Daryl’s favorite goal is kuumba, or

creativity Daryl loves this idea because

he is very good at making things His mother talks about the goal of kuumba

on the sixth day of Kwanzaa

Each child in Daryl’s family gets a gift

on each day of Kwanzaa The custom

is to give a small gift, such as a piece

of fruit, each night On the last day, the children get a bigger gift Daryl likes to make the gifts he gives This year Daryl made a necklace out of all kinds of pretty beans for his little sister

He chose beans to match the colors of Kwanzaa Black represents the people, red represents their struggle, and green represents the future

The family celebrates the last day of Kwanzaa with food and music Daryl’s favorite part is when his grandfather and grandmother get up to dance

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Fourth of July

In the summer, many American families celebrate their freedom on the Fourth of

July, the day the United States declared

its independence from Britain It is the

custom of Ashley’s family to visit her

grandfather’s cottage for this celebration

The cottage is next to a lake

Each Fourth of July, Ashley’s parents pack a large picnic basket with

sandwiches, fruits, juices, and other

snacks They load it all into the car and

then drive to Grandpa’s The whole

family has a picnic on the shore The

children play games or go swimming

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Once it is dark, the traditional Fourth of July fireworks begin Ashley and her family watch the fireworks sparkle across the water Ashley loves hearing her family tell which fireworks are their favorites

Ashley’s family also plays a little game during the fireworks They try to guess which fireworks will come next

What color will they be? Will they be loud and quick, or the kind that gently shimmer to the ground like fairy dust?

Watching the fireworks every year with her family is the best part of Ashley’s Fourth of July celebration

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Family Reunions

Some celebrations are shared by lots

of families in the United States Others

are unique to just one family One

custom some families share is a family

reunion Peter’s family has a family

reunion every four years In the summer,

his whole family gathers from near and

far Peter looks forward to each reunion

Peter has cousins who live on the other side of the United States and even

some who live in other countries They

don’t get to see one another very often

At family reunions, they have the chance

to play together Everyone in Peter’s

family is happy to be there, and the day

flies by

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15

Another reason Peter likes family reunions so much is the food! His aunts and uncles prepare all the favorite

family recipes Peter’s mother says that those recipes have been in the family for years Peter loves to help his mother bake, and he feels proud that members

of his family are such good cooks

Everyone at the reunion enjoys the good food and sits around catching up

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At family reunions, everyone takes pictures By the end of the day Peter’s

face hurts from smiling so much! Peter

likes to look through these photographs

after the reunion Peter’s favorite

picture is one of him, his dad, and his

grandfather It was taken at a reunion

many years ago

In the evening, some of Peter’s older relatives tell funny stories about when

his dad, his aunts, and his uncles were

children Peter loves to hear these

stories, and he tries to remember them

Someday he might need to tell them to

his baby sister!

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17

Coming Together

Family celebrations are important to our lives They are a way to share time together, and they also help us keep family traditions and customs alive

Special activities or events are repeated each year, and soon they become a part

of the celebration

Each family is unique and so is their way of celebrating From birthday

parties to Hanukkah, every family does something a little differently The customs in this book are just a few of the many customs that families in the United States take part in today What is your favorite family celebration?

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Now Try This

A Family Celebration Place Mat

Do you have a photo album or a special way to remember your family

celebrations? Here is an idea you will

like!

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19

1 Make a list of three special celebrations in your family

2 Think of two customs your family carries out at each celebration

3 Think of an image for each custom

Ryan, for example, might use a wishbone to represent Thanksgiving Day

4 Get a blank sheet of white paper

Divide the paper into six equal squares

5 Draw an image of each custom inside each square

6 Share your family celebration place mat with your classmates Compare your family traditions with theirs

Which ones are the same? Which ones are unique?

Her e’s H ow to D o It!

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Glossary

from whom one is

descended, such as

grandparents, great

grandparents, and

so on

gatherings

of people to

remember special

events

activities shared by

people in a family

or a particular

place

celebration

information, beliefs, and values handed down from one generation to another

a kind

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Reader Response

1 Why do you think it needs to be dark

outside for Ashley and her family to watch the Fourth of July fireworks?

2 Summarize the customs that Daryl’s

family observes during Kwanzaa Make

a web like the one below to help you organize your ideas

3 What is the difference between a custom

and a tradition? Use the glossary in this book to help you answer

4 Which of the holidays in this book do you

or your friends celebrate? Compare and contrast your customs and traditions with some of those you found in this book

Kwanzaa