Celebrating Diwali with your French Immersion class? Read on for some ideas for ways you can celebrate (or introduce) this holiday this year!
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What is Diwali?
You may be first wondering what is Diwali? Diwali is a five day festival of lights celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikh and Jains throughout the world. The date Diwali is celebrated each year changes but it is usually celebrated in the Fall.
Here are some suggestions to introduce this celebration to your French class!
1. Read Aloud: Nous célébrons Diwali
Sharing some of the traditions around Diwali is a great way to introduce students to this celebration. Chances are you may already have students whose family celebrate but if you do not or would like more information, I have written this read aloud book that introduces young students to this five day celebration.
With engaging pictures and a simple text, this book is geared towards beginning French students. The package includes a Big Book version (in colour and black and white) and two versions of a smaller text that you can copy for each student.
2. Read Aloud: Le plus beau Diwali
This beautiful book by Sonali Shah tells the story Ariana who is preparing for Diwali but struggling because of her pesky little brother! It is a beautiful story with amazing illustrations! The text is fairly simple and your French Immersion students should find the story engaging!
The book has a lot of information about the celebration of Diwali and the author does a great job of weaving Diwali traditions into the story!
3. Video: Des lumières pour Gita
This full length story features a child named Gita who has moved to a new country and is so excited to celebrate Diwali. Gita invites some friends who have never heard of the celebration to experience the party. Unfortunately an ice storm happens and her friends are unable to come. Gita is still able to celebrate Diwali in her new home, though it does not look like her traditional experiences in New Dehli.
4. On s’amuse: French Diwali Activity Booklet and Word Wall Cards
This booklet features a set of Word Wall cards and 7 different activities to engage your students in Diwali celebrations. The French activity booklet include a phonics activity, mazes, colouring and a writing prompt where students can compare Diwali celebrations to their own celebration. The package features both a booklet and full page version so that you can choose which activities to have your students complete.
Take some of the vocabulary surrounding the Diwali festival and play Bingo! This fun speaking game features cards in colour and black and white and is great for learning vocabulary. Once students have mastered the vocabulary, Bingo games also make a great learning center!
6. French Diwali Math Activities
Sometime it is fun to use Math to engage students with a celebration! This set of Colour by Code Math pages practices a wide variety of skills while at the same time colouring some Diwali images!
7. French Diwali Lanterns
Diwali is a festival of lights and your students will love creating this fun lantern! Simply colour and follow the included directions to cut and put together a lantern to decorate your classroom!
This lantern pattern is free for subscribers to my e-mail list! You can find the link to sign up at the bottom of this post!
Joyeux Diwali to all who celebrate this special holiday!
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