FRAME THE LESSON
CLASS: 2nd Social Studies
What We Celebrate
Student Expectations Bundled in Lesson
Noun=Underline
Verb=Italicize
DATE 4/4-4/8
Resources/Materials:
We Explore People
and Places
1A: explain the significance of various community, state, and national, celebrations such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day,
Independence Day, and Thanksgiving
4A: identify contributions of historical figures, including Thurgood Marshall, Irma Rangel, John Handcock, and Theodore Roosevelt, who
14D: identify how selected customs, symbols, and celebrations reflect an American love of individualism, inventiveness, and
freedom
Objective/Key Understanding:
 Identify and describe national holidays that honor the
achievements of Americans past and present and their
influence on the community, state, and nation.
 Explain that we celebrate American holidays to express
values that are important to the nation, including a love
of individualism, inventiveness, and freedom.
Introduce Vocabulary Activity
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Holiday
Colony
Hero
Veteran
(p. 154-157)
Informal Assessment Questions 1-7 Got It? p. (p. 154-157)
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Underline what we celebrate on Independence Day.
Underline the two holidays that honor special heroes in our country.
Write the name of another president.
Underline one reason we honor Dr. Marin Luther King Jr.
How are Memorial Day and Veterans Day alike? How are the different?
How do you and your family celebrate holidays in your community?
On a separate sheet of paper, write two ways Theodore Roosevelt helped our nation.
Small Group Purposeful Talk Question Stems (ESL) (p. 149)
Explain to children that answering questions about a text they have read will
help them check that they understood the context. Read a portion of the
lesson while children follow along in the Worktexts. Ask questions during
and after reading.
Beginning
 Ask children questions about small parts of the lesson text that focus
on specific facts and details. Craft the questions so they can be
answered with one- or two-word answers by recalling or reading a
sentence or two. For example: On what day do we celebrate our
country’s freedom?
Intermediate
 Ask children to answer questions about a paragraph in the text. Have
them answer in complete sentences. Provide sentence frames for
support if necessary. For example: Who do we honor on Veterans
Day? We honor _____.
Advanced
 Ask children questions about a section of the text. For example:
How does our country remember heroes?
Advanced High:
 Ask children to compare sections of the text in their answers to your
questions: For example: What do two of our national holidays
celebrate? Have them answer in complete sentences.
Small Group Purposeful Talk Question Stems (Differentiated
Instruction) (p. 156)
Use the following ideas to differentiate instruction for children when
discussing American holidays.
Special Needs
 Show children pictures of fireworks and an American flag. Ask:
On what day of the year do many Americans watch fireworks and
wave flags?
Extra Support
 Show children pictures of each holiday described in the lesson,
and ask them to identify each holiday by name.
On-Level
 Present children with a blank calendar that shows each of the 12
months. Have children work in pairs to identify the holidays they
read about in the lesson and write the name of each one in the
appropriate month on the calendar.
Challenge/Gifted
 Have each child research one of the holidays from the lesson and
describe to the class how Americans celebrate it.
Engage
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Evaluate
Introduce the Key Idea & Vocabulary (p. 154)
 Read to the class the Key Idea: “I will know why national holidays are important.” Tell students in this lesson they will be learning
about this quote and what it means to American History.
 Go online to access the Lesson Introduction and discuss the Big Question and lesson objective (p. 154).
Remind students they will know why national holidays are important. Introduce topics students will learn about in this lesson.
 A Nation is Born (p. 154)
 Remembering Our Heroes (p. 155)
 Remembering Government Leaders (p. 156)
 Remembering Community Leaders (p. 156-157)
Remind students they will know why national holidays are important.
A Nation is Born (p. 154)
 Long ago, people in our country lived in 13 colonies. England ruled the American colonies. People in the colonies did not think
England’s laws were fair. They fought a war against England and won their freedom.
Remembering Our Heroes (p. 155)
 Aa hero is someone who is remembered for bravery or good deeds. Our country has two national holidays to honor special heroes
who protect our country.
Remembering Government Leaders (p. 156)
 Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States. Before he became the president he wrote the Declaration of
Independence. On Presidents’ Day in February, we celebrate presidents who thought of inventive new ways to help our country.
Remembering Community Leaders (p. 156-157)
 For a long time, African Americans were not treated fairly in the United States because of the color of their skin. Dr. Marin Luther
King, Jr. believed that all Americans should be treated equally. He spoke out against unfair laws and helped to pass new ones.
A Nation is Born (p. 154)
 What is one way that Americans remember important people and events from the past?
 Why do Americans celebrate their independence from England?
 Why is the girl in the photograph holding an American flag?
Remembering Our Heroes (p. 155)
 How are Memorial Day and Veterans Day alike and different?
 Why is it important to remember and honor veterans?
Remembering Government Leaders (p. 156)
 Americans can honor Thomas Jefferson on both Independence Day and on Presidents’ Day. Why?
 Which presidents do we celebrate on Presidents’ Day
Remembering Community Leaders (p. 156-157)
 What did Martin Luther King, Jr. believe?
 How did Dr. King help pass new laws?
Students will demonstrate mastery by completing the Got It Questions:
(See these questions listed above in the Informal Assessment portion of frame).