Teaching and Learning Activities

Activity 1

What is a celebration? How do people celebrate?

Celebrate the beginning of this new unit of work! Preparation for this party games starter activity includes:

• charging the digital camera. You need photos of the celebration about to happen
• wrapping up a packet or two of sweets in multiple wrappings. (Enough for the class to have one lollie each). The last wrapping should contain the word CELEBRATE in huge letters
• making a "Treasure Hunt" around the school with the wrapped lollies as a parcel at the end

When the treasure is found play "Pass the Parcel" and when the CELEBRATE  paper is uncovered, think, pair and share. Decide what the word "celebrate" means.

The Pass the Parcel winner can be the first to try "Pin the Tail on the Laughing Rat" (cut the tail off first).

Try some "What ifs?" with the class:                                                                                   

"What if it was December 25th. What might we be celebrating"                                                  

"What if it was December 31st?"

"What if it was…(choose the dates of the student’s birthdays.)

Now decide as a class what else people do when they celebrate. Record the children’s responses around the big word CELEBRATE.

Celebrate now by eating a lollie.

Activity 2

What is a festival? How do people celebrate at a festival?

Teacher preparation:

1. Load the photos, taken during Activity 1 onto a powerpoint presentation. (Photos like chasing up the treasure hunt clues, opening the parcels, pinning the tail on etc)
2. Choose some photos from here to make a slideshow of the Diwali festival. There are three pages to choose from.  

Display the class photos and build up a bank of celebration words on the whiteboard to match the photos. For example: laughing, grinning, pleased, happy, cheerful, giggling, eating, thrilled, delighted, lucky, squeal, run, dance or sing.

Get the class to choose a word to match a photo and type it in so you end up with a slide show of the class celebration and matching words. (Children could later work in pairs to turn those words into "word art" and have them zoom into the page via custom animation.)

Introduce the word "festival" and the idea that a festival is a celebration that lasts over a period of time - a day or maybe longer. They are held all over the world for different reasons but some things remain the same. Festivals are fun and bring families and friends together.

Now show your Diwali festival slideshow and ask the children to look for photos that could match their celebration words.

As a think, pair and share activity ask the students to think of any new festival words that match the photos in the slide show and then report back to the class. Examples may be: special clothes/costumes, music, dance, gifts, lights, food and decorations.

In small groups or as a class, using hoops and word cards, complete a Simple Venn Diagram to compare the festival seen in the slide show with a festival the children know well.  

Activity 3

Where did the Diwali festival come from and what is this country like?

Teacher preparation: Have some photos of India on hand - books or a slideshow made up from pictures off the internet.

Explain that the Diwali photos were taken in New Zealand but the festival began in India. As a class look at the two countries on a map of the world or a globe and make some comparisons like: "Who are our neighbours? Who are India’s? Which country has more land? Which one has the longest coastline?"

In groups students can try Let’s Compare and compare New Zealand with India. Children cut out the labels and then decide which column to stick them in. Share the results as a class.

Using pictures from India - in books or from the internet see if the groups can extend their chart with examples they have worked out themselves.

Activity 4

How do festivals get to New Zealand?

Think, pair and share. "Do festivals stay in the place they began or are they also celebrated in other countries in the world?" Pairs team up, discuss their answers and report back to the class.

Think pair and share. "How do festivals get to New Zealand? Christmas didn’t start here but a lot of New Zealanders celebrate. How did that happen?"

Children can find out where their family’s county of origin is. A  wall display could be made from information found. Include a photo, brief profile. For example:

Mele is from Samoa, the home of the Teuila Festival. Choirs sing and people dance with fire-knives and race fautasi (longboats). This happens in September.

Teachers - make up your own profile and use this as a model to begin the display. Include a world map and as children find out about their heritage they can pin a string between their country of origin and New Zealand.

Activity 5

What is special about the Diwali festival and how can we find out more?

Use the Ready to Read book Diwali for this activity. Give one copy to each group. Students look at the photos and jot down a heading they could ask a question about. For example page 1 - lights.

As a class, talk about open ended questions - the ones that can’t be answered with a yes or no. Explain that open ended questions are good ones to ask people if you want to find things out. They would be good ones to ask people who know all about the Diwali festival.

Use Diwali: What happens? in groups with the students jotting their questions in the spaces. Do this cooperatively as a class if the children are not up to writing their own questions.

Now share the book Diwali with the class. Decide if it answers any of the questions.

Ask the children if they know any people who might be able to tell us or show things about the Diwali festival. The first port of call will be parents and friends of the school. Make a list.

As a class decide what could be done to get these people along to school. Decide what information needs to be included on any invitation and how we can contact them (written invitation, phone fax or email.)

Contact your possible visitors first to explain what is happening but give your students the chance to make contact themselves. It will add purpose to their writing.

Students can ask their visitors the questions when they come to school. People from the Indian community will be your best resource so share your ideas for the rest of the unit with them. They may be able to assist.

Activity 6

What is a custom or tradition and what seem to be the traditions of Diwali?

Teacher preparation: Make a big card with the words Customs and Traditions printed on it. Work the class does in this activity can be displayed under the card.  

Explain a custom or tradition is the usual way of doing things and sometimes these things have been done by people for years and years-hundreds of years even.

As a class discuss traditions in the school, e.g. Singing the National Anthem before a special assembly, the end of year prizegiving, the sports exchanges between local schools or even the Wacky Wednesdays.

Focus on a celebration the students know well, e.g. Christmas, birthdays or Guy Fawkes. Together discuss and make up chart headings to show special traditions. In small groups children can complete a chart like Christmas traditions.

Talk about the charts as a class and look closely at how different children do different things. They still celebrate Christmas but have different traditions.

Using a selection of Diwali photos again, students can decide on the likely tradition and write some speech bubbles to match the photo. See Diwali tradition bubbles.

Activity 7

How can a legend begin the customs and traditions of Diwali?

As a class talk about about stories and legends the children know. Discuss the stories behind festivals they know about, Guy Fawkes or Christmas for example.

Decide what a legend is - an ancient story handed down from the past. Think of possible legends behind the lights of Diwali and then show the two pictures on page 6 and 7 of the Ready to Read book Diwali. Read those two pages of text again and then tell or read the Legend of Rama book that tells the story of Rama and Sita and the evil king.

Use the photocopier to expand the Legend of Rama book pages so the children can illustrate the pages and publish the legend as a big book.

Activity 8

Why is rangoli artwork made and when is it displayed?

For teacher background see Five days of Diwali where a number of the legends behind Diwali are explained. Day one for example touches on the story behind Goddess Lakshmi for it is said that that rangoli design welcomes the goddess to one’s house.

Now use the photos from the story Rangoli in the School Journal Part Two Number 4 2005.

Begin by reading and sharing the introduction on page 23 and discuss what the rangoli patterns are for. You could tell the students about Goddess Lakshmi, the godess of wealth and prosperity.

Students view the photos in groups and decide:

• What do these rangoli patterns seem to be made of? (Coconut and food colouring)
• How do the artists get the materials onto their piece of artwork?
• What special skills would the artists need?
• What is special about the lines, patterns and colour? (Designs are geometric and symmetrical. The pattern repeats and often include nature’s elements such as flowers and birds.)

Share the ideas as a class and then share the story. Children can decide whether the rangoli designs are permanent and look for other examples of art in the community or family that doesn’t last but is renewed every year. (Christmas trees for example)

View more traditional patterns here and here. This animated rangoli pattern  will show the students how a rangoli pattern can be drawn using dots on squared paper.

Using simple geometric shapes and on squared paper students can experiment with their own rangoli patterns and create a join the dots puzzle for a classmate from a design of their own.

Individually or in small groups the students can create their own rangoli patterns.

Activity 9

Why is family especially important during this time and what are the customs that help bring families even closer?

Teacher background:

Day 5 of the Diwali festival is known as Bhai Duj or Bhai Beej and this day supports the love between brothers and sisters. It’s a time when sweets like barfi are shared and gifts are given. Five days of Diwali has more information and the article Brothers and Sisters Day, School Journal Part 1, Number 2, 2006, describes a similar celebration.

Share the last part of the Ready to Read book Diwali (pg 15) and then explain that the journal describes a very similar festival where good food is shared and gifts are given.

Groups use the photos and decide what is being made and who seems to be getting what. Use the article in a "jigsaw" situation, if students' reading levels allow it. Each group will become the experts for one part of the article and later share their information with the rest of the class.

Explain that Diwali is not only a time for bringing family close but also friends. Use Celebrate with Friends as a guide to plan and have a class celebration to round off this Diwali unit. Photograph the different stages as the students plan and celebrate and later make a big flow chart to use in reflection time.

Find your barfi recipe here and if there is a Diwali festival near you, encourage the students to visit it with their families.