Family traditions and celebrations (social studies)

Suggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA,™
Lexile,® and Reading Recovery™ are provided
in the Pearson Scott Foresman Leveling Guide.

Family Traditions

and Celebrations
by Megan Litwin

Genre

Narrative
nonfiction

Comprehension
Skills and Strategy

• Draw Conclusions
• Author’s Purpose
• Summarize

Text Features

• Headings
• Glossary

Scott Foresman Reading Street 2.6.3

ISBN 0-328-13315-9

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illustrated by Nicole Wong


Reader Response
1. Why do you think it needs to be dark
outside for Ashley and her family to
watch the Fourth of July fireworks?
2. Summarize the customs that Daryl’s
family observes during Kwanzaa. Make
a web like the one below to help you
organize your ideas.

Family Traditions
Kwanzaa

and Celebrations
by Megan Litwin
by Nicole
Wong
theillustrated
difference
between

3. What is
a custom
and a tradition? Use the glossary in this
book to help you answer.
4. Which of the holidays in this book do you
or your friends celebrate? Compare and
contrast your customs and traditions with

some of those you found in this book.

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Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R),
Background (Bkgd)
Illustrations by Nicole Wong
ISBN: 0-328-13315-9
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Celebrations are important to our
lives. They are a way for us to spend
time with our families. Many people
look forward to certain holidays because
they know they will get to see relatives

they have not seen for a long time.
Celebrations are also a way to
remember important events of the past.
Many parents use celebrations to teach
their children about family traditions
and customs. Many families have special
events, games, or foods that have been
passed down from family members of
the past. It is fun to think that, years
ago, one of your ancestors might
have celebrated in the same way you
celebrate today!
3


Birthdays
This is Jenny. Jenny is celebrating her
eighth birthday. Birthdays are important
in her family. If you are in Jenny’s family,
young or old, your birthday always calls
for a party! Aunts, uncles, grandparents,
and cousins gather for a special meal.
Jenny is lucky that her relatives live
nearby and can easily come over to visit.

4

It is a tradition in Jenny’s family that
the birthday person gets to pick what
to eat for dinner. He or she also gets

to pick the flavor of the birthday cake.
Yellow cake with pink frosting is Jenny’s
favorite. Jenny’s family loves singing
“Happy Birthday” to the birthday
person. Jenny closes her eyes tight and
makes a wish. Then she opens her eyes
and blows out all eight candles!
Jenny’s cake has eight candles
because she is eight years old. Her
family uses one candle for each year
until a child is sixteen years old. Then
they start using just one candle shaped
like a number. It would be very hard for
Jenny’s father to fit thirty-nine candles
on his cake!
5


Thanksgiving
Meet Ryan. One of his favorite
holidays is Thanksgiving Day. Many
people in the United States celebrate
Thanksgiving Day as a way of showing
they are thankful for all that they have.
On this November day, Ryan’s parents
rise early to begin preparing the meal.
Ryan and his brother play football
outside with uncles and cousins. Other
family members gather inside and tell
stories.

By four o’clock, a delicious feast is
ready. In Ryan’s family, it is the custom
to serve turkey, stuffing, potatoes, corn,
cranberries, and homemade rolls. After
dinner, they eat traditional Thanksgiving
desserts of apple pie and pumpkin pie.
6

Ryan’s family also observes special
customs during Thanksgiving dinner.
Before eating, someone is chosen to
give thanks for the food. This year it is
Ryan’s grandmother. She gives thanks
for all of their blessings.
Ryan’s family also has the custom of
breaking the turkey wishbone. At the
end of the meal, two children hold the
V-shaped bone. Each child makes a silent
wish. Then each holds onto one end and
pulls until the bone snaps. The child who
gets the larger piece is supposed to have
his or her wish come true!

7


Hanukkah
This is Alison. Her family celebrates
Hanukkah, a very old Jewish tradition.
Hanukkah means “Festival of Lights.”

Alison’s family celebrates Hanukkah to
remember a miraculous event in Jewish
history that happened more than two
thousand years ago.
During Hanukkah, Alison’s family
lights a menorah. A menorah is a
special candleholder with places for
nine candles. Alison, her brother, and
her parents all take turns lighting one
candle on the menorah each night.
Alison loves this event. Last year, she
made her very own menorah out of clay.

8

Hanukkah lasts for eight days and
nights. Some of Alison’s friends, who
also celebrate Hanukkah, exchange gifts
on all eight nights. In Alison’s family, it is
the custom to pick just one day to give
gifts. Alison likes this custom because it
makes that day special.
On the last night of Hanukkah,
Alison’s family hosts a family dinner.
They eat latkes, a traditional potato
pancake. Alison’s grandmother makes
the latkes and serves them with
applesauce.
9

Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is an African American
celebration that is very special to Daryl
and his family. It was begun in 1966 to
help African Americans focus on family
and goals and remember that their
ancestors came from Africa.
Kwanzaa is a Swahili word that
means “first fruits.” It refers to the
harvest. Kwanzaa is a seven-day feast.
Each day, Daryl’s mother reminds the
family of one important goal, such as
responsibility or faith. Daryl’s job is to
light a candle for each day’s goal.
10

Daryl’s favorite goal is kuumba, or
creativity. Daryl loves this idea because
he is very good at making things. His
mother talks about the goal of kuumba
on the sixth day of Kwanzaa.
Each child in Daryl’s family gets a gift
on each day of Kwanzaa. The custom
is to give a small gift, such as a piece
of fruit, each night. On the last day,
the children get a bigger gift. Daryl
likes to make the gifts he gives. This
year Daryl made a necklace out of all
kinds of pretty beans for his little sister.

He chose beans to match the colors of
Kwanzaa. Black represents the people,
red represents their struggle, and green
represents the future.
The family celebrates the last day of
Kwanzaa with food and music. Daryl’s
favorite part is when his grandfather
and grandmother get up to dance.

11


Fourth of July
In the summer, many American families
celebrate their freedom on the Fourth of
July, the day the United States declared
its independence from Britain. It is the
custom of Ashley’s family to visit her
grandfather’s cottage for this celebration.
The cottage is next to a lake.
Each Fourth of July, Ashley’s
parents pack a large picnic basket with
sandwiches, fruits, juices, and other
snacks. They load it all into the car and
then drive to Grandpa’s. The whole
family has a picnic on the shore. The
children play games or go swimming.

12

Once it is dark, the traditional
Fourth of July fireworks begin. Ashley
and her family watch the fireworks
sparkle across the water. Ashley loves
hearing her family tell which fireworks
are their favorites.
Ashley’s family also plays a little
game during the fireworks. They try to
guess which fireworks will come next.
What color will they be? Will they be
loud and quick, or the kind that gently
shimmer to the ground like fairy dust?
Watching the fireworks every year with
her family is the best part of Ashley’s
Fourth of July celebration.
13


Family Reunions
Some celebrations are shared by lots
of families in the United States. Others
are unique to just one family. One
custom some families share is a family
reunion. Peter’s family has a family
reunion every four years. In the summer,
his whole family gathers from near and
far. Peter looks forward to each reunion.
Peter has cousins who live on the
other side of the United States and even
some who live in other countries. They

don’t get to see one another very often.
At family reunions, they have the chance
to play together. Everyone in Peter’s
family is happy to be there, and the day
flies by.
14

Another reason Peter likes family
reunions so much is the food! His aunts
and uncles prepare all the favorite
family recipes. Peter’s mother says that
those recipes have been in the family
for years. Peter loves to help his mother
bake, and he feels proud that members
of his family are such good cooks.
Everyone at the reunion enjoys the good
food and sits around catching up.

15


At family reunions, everyone takes
pictures. By the end of the day. Peter’s
face hurts from smiling so much! Peter
likes to look through these photographs
after the reunion. Peter’s favorite
picture is one of him, his dad, and his
grandfather. It was taken at a reunion
many years ago.
In the evening, some of Peter’s older

relatives tell funny stories about when
his dad, his aunts, and his uncles were
children. Peter loves to hear these
stories, and he tries to remember them.
Someday he might need to tell them to
his baby sister!

16

Coming Together
Family celebrations are important to
our lives. They are a way to share time
together, and they also help us keep
family traditions and customs alive.
Special activities or events are repeated
each year, and soon they become a part
of the celebration.
Each family is unique and so is their
way of celebrating. From birthday
parties to Hanukkah, every family
does something a little differently. The
customs in this book are just a few of
the many customs that families in the
United States take part in today. What is
your favorite family celebration?

17


Now Try This

A Family Celebration Place Mat
Do you have a photo album or a
special way to remember your family
celebrations? Here is an idea you will
like!

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to Do It!
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1. Make a list of three special
celebrations in your family.
2. Think of two customs your family
carries out at each celebration.
3. Think of an image for each custom.
Ryan, for example, might use a
wishbone to represent Thanksgiving
Day.
4. Get a blank sheet of white paper.
Divide the paper into six equal
squares.
5. Draw an image of each custom inside

each square.
6. Share your family celebration place
mat with your classmates. Compare
your family traditions with theirs.
Which ones are the same? Which
ones are unique?

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Glossary
ancestors n. people
from whom one is
descended, such as
grandparents, great
grandparents, and
so on.
celebrations n.
gatherings
of people to
remember special
events.
customs n.
activities shared by
people in a family
or a particular
place.

Reader Response
festival n.

celebration.
traditions n.
information,
beliefs, and values
handed down from
one generation to
another.

1. Why do you think it needs to be dark
outside for Ashley and her family to
watch the Fourth of July fireworks?
2. Summarize the customs that Daryl’s
family observes during Kwanzaa. Make
a web like the one below to help you
organize your ideas.

unique adj. one of
a kind.
Kwanzaa

3. What is the difference between a custom
and a tradition? Use the glossary in this
book to help you answer.
4. Which of the holidays in this book do you
or your friends celebrate? Compare and
contrast your customs and traditions with
some of those you found in this book.

20