Article Beyond Food & Fiestas
Practical ideas for creating authentic cultural experiences for your students.
Featured Resources: Fall Holiday Traditions
Fall Holiday Traditions
Explore how the arts connect with our traditions and celebrations during the fall season
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Our featured resources focus on:
Fall Holiday Traditions
As leaves change and temperatures chill, the season brings opportunities to participate in diverse cultural celebrations. The arts are an excellent way to explore these fall holiday traditions from Halloween to Día de los Muertos, to Diwali, and more.
First up, we are featuring our article Beyond Food & Fiestas, which is full of practical suggestions on how to create authentic cultural experiences in your classroom.
Next, we are featuring a lesson for grades 3-5, Comparing Cultural Holidays, which has students compare the holiday traditions of Halloween, celebrated in the United States, and Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), celebrated in Mexico. Next, another lesson for grades 3-5, Haunting Music, has students create a class mural inspired by scary and superstitious musical compositions: Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique and Camille Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre.
For K-2 classrooms, we are featuring our lesson Adjective Monster, which has students create sculptures and learn adjectives to describe their monstrous clay creations.
For grades 9-12, we’re featuring the lesson The Making of Monsters, which has students investigate monsters in film and across cultures, analyze film scores and soundtracks that feature monsters, and create original conceptions of a monster to present in a multimedia presentation.
Up next is a Halloween-themed performance from Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats. What if supernatural creatures were real and have been walking among us in disguise? What if the days surrounding Halloween are their days to shine just as they are? Find yourself bedazzled by this bewitching video concert.
Next, explore a small collection of resources about the spooky sides of the season. Your Brain on Music: Chills and Thrills (part of a series on how the brain responds to music) explains why some music sounds scary with plenty of well-known terrifying audio clips. Halloween Decorating Tips from Theater Designers will help you create a fun visual atmosphere in your home (or classroom!). Discover the tricks of suspenseful sound effects with Creating a Spooky Radio Play and learn about the tricks you can use to rattle readers with The Skeleton of a Scary Story.
But this time of year isn’t just about ghosts and goblins. With Soundtrack to the Seasons, give each season a personal musical playlist to keep the classics with you all year round.
And finally, prepare for the Diwali Festival of Lights, the celebration of the Hindu New Year, by learning about Indian music and dance with Rhythm and Raga (focusing on form, structure, and instruments), Music of India (a three-part audio story on history and culture), and Ragamala Dance (exploring traditional Bharatanatyam dance).
Explore our robust collection of lessons, media, and articles, organized by grade and subject.
We would love to hear your feedback on this collection, as well as your ideas for future collections. And if you have ideas about curating a collection of Kennedy Center Education resources, let us know! We’d love to share your expertise with our educator community.
Featured Resources: Fall Holiday Traditions
Lesson Comparing Cultural Holidays
In this 3-5 lesson, students will explore the holiday traditions, music, and art of Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Students will create an altar in memory of a loved one.
Lesson Haunting Music
In this 3-5 lesson, students will create a class mural inspired by spooky and superstitious musical compositions. They will learn about orchestra program music by exploring the works of Hector Berlioz’s, Symphonie Fantastique, and Camille Saint-Saëns’, Danse Macabre.
Lesson Adjective Monster
In this K-2 lesson, students will create their own adjective monsters using paper sculpture techniques. They will explore the connections between visual art and language arts, and how both are used to creatively tell stories and express emotions.
Lesson The Making of Monsters
In this 9-12 lesson, students will investigate monsters in film and across cultures. Students will analyze film scores and soundtracks that feature monsters. Students will create original conceptions of a monster to present in a multimedia presentation.
Media Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats in Concert
What if supernatural creatures were real and have been walking among us in disguise? What if the days surrounding Halloween are their days to shine just as they are? Find yourself bedazzled by this bewitching video concert.
Media Your Brain on Music: Chills & Thrills
Creators of spooky tunes know exactly what they are doing when they send shivers down the spines of listeners.
Media Halloween Decorating Tips from Theater Designers
Want to join in the Halloween fun, but aren’t sure how to begin? Let these theater designers from around the country inspire your spooktacular display.
Media Creating a Spooky Radio Play
Write, record, and scream! A creative way to explore not-too-scary storytelling
Media The Skeleton of a Scary Story
What gives a scary story its boo factor? Learn about the tricks you can use to rattle readers.
Media Soundtrack to the Seasons
Feel like giving each season a personal playlist? This handy guide to keeping the classics with you all year round can help.
Media Rhythm and Raga
The music of India is diverse, but there is still a distinct “sound” that makes Indian music unmistakable-- use this resource to learn the basics of Indian music.
Media Music of India
This 3-part audio series explores different aspects of Indian music: Indian musical instruments; the styles of music across India; and what makes Indian music unique—and where it is going
Media Ragamala Dance
Learn about traditional Indian Bharatanatyam dance from the Ragamala Dance company
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