The question becomes, how do I keep my students engaged for these last few days before the Vacation? By the way, as I am typing this on my prep I am avoiding the giant pigsty of a desk that needs to be cleaned and the book shelves that need to be organized. Across the hall is the music room where I have been listening to "Frosty the Snowman" and a variety of other Christmas Carols being sung loudly and enthusiastically with the eighth graders that just left my class.
Way off topic already. So...what do I do to keep them engaged? Why prove that Santa is real of course. I found an old copy of the letter written by Virginia O'Hanlan in 1897 archived by me many, many years ago in my file cabinet.
Me: "Who here believes in Santa?"
Eighth Graders: Eye rolls and groans
Me: " What if I told you that I had a primary source document that proves Santa is real?"
Eighth Graders: Less eye rolls and groans this time, surprisingly a few perk up to listen.
Me: "It all started when..."
I built a little background information for them by talking about the letter that Virginia wrote to the editor of The Sun in New York way way back in 1897. We chatted for a few minutes and then analyzed the primary source using the document analysis sheet I created a few years ago. You can find it here at my TpT store. After analyzing the document, we watched the cartoon " Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus."
I found two cartoon versions on youtube, each about 22 minutes long. The first one was the one I remembered from the 1970s and the second one was a much newer version. Interestingly enough, I offered the choice of which one they wanted to watch. The first group watched the newer version and the second group went for the cheesy cartoon from the 70s!
Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.pdf |