Christmas in Italy

About this resource

A country unit you can hand to a child and run from circle time: four short readers about Christmas in Italy, a map of Europe that points to Italy, a seven-fishes coloring and counting page, three cut-and-paste pages, a La Befana craft, three writing pages and a quiz. The words are simple, the pictures are big, every page has room to work, and every cutting page has a strip of pieces that need one straight cut per line. Written for grades 2-5 and for special education classrooms that need the same topic at more than one level.

EVERYTHING INSIDE (28 pages)

• 4 short readers (pages 7 to 10), two customs each, so 8 customs in all: La Befana and the Befana stocking, panettone and the Feast of the Seven Fishes, the presepe (nativity scene) and the zampognari (bagpipers), Buon Natale and the long Christmas season. Each custom is 34 to 45 words, has a picture and one check question with three choices, and each reader ends with an Italian word to trace and a box for one thing the child learned
• 1 map page: Europe with Italy in the middle. Color Italy, put a star on Rome, write the names of four neighbors from a word bank (France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia) and answer one more question
• 1 word page with 5 Italian words, each with a picture and one way to say it: Buon Natale, Befana, presepe, panettone and zampognari. They are the only Italian words in the unit
• 1 seven-fishes page: 12 fish to color, 7 of them, then write how many
• 3 cut-and-paste pages in three levels, 6 pieces each, 18 pieces in all: match the picture to its word, sort the customs into three groups, put six dates in order from December 24 to January 6. Pieces are 2.4 by 1.25 inches, edge to edge, so each cut is a straight line
• 1 La Befana craft: 12 flat pieces with straight edges in three rows of four, a picture of the finished figure to copy, and room for crayons
• 3 writing pages in three levels on primary-ruled lanes: trace and draw, finish four sentences from a word box, write about two customs in your own words
• 1 compare page (Italy and my home) and 1 quiz of 8 questions
• 2 answer keys, 1 five-day plan, 1 tracker, 1 class grid, 1 filled example with an invented student, 1 family page, 1 phrase bank (17 starters in 6 groups)
• 1 Start Here page, 1 terms page and 1 credits page

16 student pages. 39 scored questions and pieces: 5 on the map, 8 reader checks, 18 cut-and-paste pieces and 8 quiz questions.

Three Levels, One Shape

The cut-and-paste pages and the writing pages come in three levels, marked with a small shape in the corner and nothing else (no color, no number, so no child can tell whose page is whose). The circle is the starting level: errorless matching with a faint picture already in the box, and tracing. The square is the building level: sorting and finishing sentences. The triangle is ready for more: putting the dates in order and writing in your own words.

A Week, Or A Month

The five-day plan on page 4 puts every page in a day: the map and Italian words, Reader 1 and the match page, Reader 2 and the seven fishes, Reader 3 with the sort page and the La Befana craft, Reader 4 with the writing, compare and quiz. Swap days, skip pages, or stretch it over two weeks.

Type It Or Print It

This is a fillable PDF: the name line, answer boxes, writing lanes, tracker, class grid and family page are type-in fields, and every page also prints clean. It works offline with no account.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

A print-and-go PDF unit that you can also type into. It is not Google Slides, Docs or PowerPoint, and nothing is projected. It describes customs, not beliefs: the readers are plain facts about what many families in Italy do around Christmas, and the family page and Start Here page say that not every family celebrates Christmas and that customs differ by family and place. La Befana, the presepe, panettone, the bagpipes and the fish are drawn by us; the Christmas tree and the stocking are Educlips clip art and the fonts are KA Fonts. The map outlines come from Natural Earth, which is public domain. The file is secured so the art cannot be lifted out of it. The student in the filled example is invented.

Who This Is For

Teachers in grades 2-5, and special education teachers who want a December social studies or reading unit with picture support, errorless options and room to write. It also suits a self-contained classroom's circle time, a substitute folder, a center or an early finisher. Looking for another country? Christmas in Germany, Christmas in Mexico and Christmas in Australia use the same layout, so students who know one already know how to use the next.