Christmas in Mexico

About this resource

Teaching how families celebrate Christmas in Mexico, and need pages your students can pick up and work on? This is a complete little unit for grades 2-5, written in short plain sentences for readers who need them. A three-part reader covers Las Posadas, the poinsettia (flor de Nochebuena), the piñata, tamales, Nochebuena, Feliz Navidad and Three Kings Day, each with two checks and room to write. Students match six words to their meanings, find Mexico on a simple map of North America, decide whether six facts are true or false, cut and paste three sorts, compare Mexico with their own home, build a poinsettia from cut pieces, and write. Answer keys, a tracker, a family page and a filled example are included.

EVERYTHING INSIDE (27 pages)

• 15 student pages in 9 kinds of page, each with a name line and one short instruction with a picture cue
• 40 scored items across the student pages, every answer taken from the same lists that print on the page
• A reader in 3 parts (78 to 95 words each) with a picture beside every section, 2 checks a part (6 checks in all) and a ruled box to write one more thing you learned
• 1 Words to Know page: match 6 words (posada, piñata, Nochebuena, Feliz Navidad, poinsettia, tamale) to their meanings
• 1 map page: a simple map of North America with Canada, the United States and Mexico numbered, a word bank, 3 names to write and 1 question
• 1 true-or-false page with 6 statements
• 3 cut-and-paste sorts, 6 pieces each (18 in all): true or false, match the tradition, put the dates in order. One circle, one square and one triangle mark the easiest, middle and most challenging
• 1 compare page (Mexico and my home) written so every student can use their own family, whether or not they celebrate Christmas
• A poinsettia craft: 12 pieces to cut (8 petals, 3 leaves, a center) and a glue page that shows where every piece goes
• 2 writing pages: finish 5 sentences, then draw and write a page about Mexico
• 1 self check (6 statements)
• 2 answer keys with a sample for every open answer; 1 tracker, 1 class grid, 1 family page, 1 filled example (an invented student), 1 phrase bank (17 starters in 6 groups), folder tabs (6) and Start Here

Built For The Student Holding The Page

A "My name" line, one short instruction with a small picture cue, a plain scalloped border and big ruled boxes. Nothing on a student page is written for an adult: the keys and records are on separate teacher pages. The cut pages have six pieces in a strip-and-grid layout, edge to edge, so there are only a few straight cuts; the craft cuts out of a 3-row grid. The pictures are a map, a house, a moon, a gift, corn, a king and a flower, plus a poinsettia and a piñata drawn for this file. The file prints clean in black and white.

How To Use It

Read the first part aloud together, then let students read and answer on their own. Use the Words to Know page before or after the reader. The sorts go from easiest to most challenging, so you can hand one to each group. The map, compare and writing pages work as a center or as homework, and the family page sends the questions home.

A Short Reader, Not A Full History

The reader is written for this file and describes customs the way a social studies lesson does: families, parties, songs, food and flowers. It makes no claim about belief and teaches no religion. Families celebrate in different ways, and the file says so. Only a handful of Spanish words appear: posada, piñata, Nochebuena, flor de Nochebuena and Feliz Navidad. The only student in the file is an invented example, and it says so.

Type In, Or Print

The name line, every answer box, every check box and every ruled work box are type-in fields in any PDF reader: click one, type, then save. This is a fillable PDF; it is not a Google Slides or PowerPoint file.

What This Is, And What It Is Not

A country-study unit with the record-keeping around it. It is not a timed test, a screener, a clinical tool, or a claim about any student's age or rate of progress. There is no IEP goal language or eligibility wording anywhere in the file, and no claim of alignment to any standard.

If You Want More

Christmas Around the World | Reading, Compare, Sort Worksheets Grades 2-4; Advent Countdown Calendar Paper Craft, Kindness Tasks PreK-2 Special Education.