Happy birthday, Queen Victoria! In parts of Canada, the Monday before May 25 is still celebrated to honor this famous queen. Join in the Maypole dancing.

• 1.

  Every year, people in Victoria, British Columbia, celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday with Maypole dancing in front of the grand Parliament building. Why do hundreds of children participate in this event? Why is it not celebrated in Quebec? Find out more about this unique holiday! Here are a few ideas of ways to show the festivities in honor of Queen Victoria, whose British reign ended more than a century ago. Use your own imagination to create a 3-D project!

• 2.

  Make a triarama. Cut a recycled file folder into a large square with Crayola® Scissors. Fold it in half, point to point. Open and fold it in half the other way. Open the fold. Cut along one of these folds from a corner to the center. Slide one flap under the other to see how your triarama will stand up and then lay it flat.

• 3.

  Draw the festive scene. Sketch the Parliament building and Canadian flag with Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils. If you change your mind, or to add highlights like windows, just erase! Decorate just one of the flaps made by your cut. Color your drawing with Crayola Twistables.

• 4.

  Assemble your triarama. Overlap the two flaps with the decorated one on top. Hold them in place with Crayola School Glue. Color and then curl a leftover piece of file folder into a Maypole. Cut short fringe at one end and glue it to your triarama.

• 5.

  Make streamers. Color long paper strips with Crayola Markers. Cut and then glue the streamers to the Maypole. When the scene is dry, let the dancing begin!

Standards

• LA: Read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, at the high end of the grade level text complexity band independently and proficiently.
• LA: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher led) with diverse partners on grade level topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
• MATH: Solve problems involving measurement and conversion of measurements from a larger unit to a smaller unit.
• SS: Identify and use various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, and others.
• SS: Give examples of and explain group and institutional influences such as religious beliefs, laws, and peer pressure, on people, events, and elements of culture.
• VA: Use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
• VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.
• VA: Describe and place a variety of art objects in historical and cultural contexts.

Adaptations

• Students investigate where else Maypoles are used for dancing on May 1st. What do these celebrations honor? Create a life-size Maypole and practice dancing with the Maypole.
• Students research the various activities on Victoria Day in Canada. Organize research into an electronic format for presentation to classmates.
• Students investigate the reign of Queen Victoria. When did she sit on the throne of England? What is the relationship between England and many of the Canadian provinces? What is Queen Victoria best remembered for?