Why Christmas?

http://www.whychristmas.com/

What is the site about?

Everything to do with Christmas! Why Christmas exists - to celebrate the Birth of Jesus as told in the Christmas Story; how traditions and customs such as cards, trees and carols came into being; how Christmas is celebrated in different countries around the world. There's also lots of Christmas fun on the site.

Why was it chosen as site of the week?

It was chosen because:

• It contains a huge amount of educational information about Christmas.
  
• It presents the full Story of Chrismas in the traditional way, along with related stories and points of view - e.g. The Three Wise Men and the Shepherds.
  
• It includes extensive quotations from the Bible.
  
• It contains clear explanations of the Bible story, putting each section into context for readers.
  
• It contains a number of interactive and offline activities such as decorating a tree, spotting the difference and emailing Santa.
  

How can it be used as an educational resource?

It would be particularly useful for children in Senior Primary and Junior Secondary classes. Children could use the site as basis for gathering questions and answers for a table quiz. Each group could compile a list of questions to submit to the teacher/quizmaster, who would then collate the final quiz.

For group work with older students, each group could research a particular country - its traditions, food and customs - and prepare a powerpoint presentation for the class.

A worksheet based on the site, designed by the teacher, would encourage students to research aspects of Christmas they might otherwise be unaware of.

Younger children will appreciate the option of emailing Santa, complete with safety tips, and receiving an (almost) instant reply. There are lots of other activities available in the Christmas Fun section.

Further activities may also be found on the Scoilnet Christmas themepage.
 
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