Our National Holidays

Our National Holidays
by Karen Spies
[Nonfiction]

Our National Holidays is an informational text with everything you need to know about the national holidays in America. The book is organized into chapters, and begins by discussing what a holiday is, why we celebrate them, and why they are all important and different in chapter one. The second chapter discusses holidays that celebrate our nation's roots, such as Independence Day, Flag Day, Labor Day, and Citizenship Day. Chapter three introduces holidays that honor famous people in our country's history, including Martin Luther King, Jr., President's Day, and Columbus Day. In the next chapter, you learn about the holidays that honor our armed forces, which are Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Chapter five incudes the holidays that celebrate our heritage, such as Thanksgiving, New Years, Cinco de Mayo, Kwanzaa, and Native American Day. The final section in the book tells about the holidays that celebrate our earth, which include Arbor Day, Bird Day, and Earth Day. For each holiday throughout the book, we you learn the date of celebration, the history and purpose of the holiday, common traditions associated with the holiday, and much more. The book contains great pictures displaying traditions or historical figures that are associated with the holidays. In this one text, you can learn an incredible amount of information on our national holidays, which every American should be knowledgable about!

This story would be ideal to incorporate with a social studies lesson on our nation's history. Students can find SO much information in this text, as well as photos to go along with it. It is very important that students are aware of the holidays that our country celebrates, and equally as important that they understand the meaning and history behind them. This is an easy read that is enjoyable as well as informational. After reading this text, students could choose one of the holidays to research further and do a presentation or report on.