Australian Christmas Stamps

1. Discuss Australian Christmas traditions with the class, including special postage rates for holiday greetings. Most Australian Christmas postage stamps deal with religious themes or cultural traditions. Some show events that could only happen in a warm climate at Christmas such as seeing Santa on a surfboard. Have students create a cool, warm-weather Christmas stamp!
2. Students use their imagination to experiment with ideas that could become a future Australian Christmas postage stamp. What symbols of Australia and warm weather could be included? What colors? Have students sketch ideas with Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils.
3. Students draw a large stamp and color in their design with Crayola Washable Markers. Students find out how much postage costs in Australia and adds the price in the corner.
4. Students cut out their stamp with a fancy edge using Crayola Scissors.

LA: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.

LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.

LA: With prompting and support, read informational texts appropriately complex for grade level.

LA: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in text.

SCI: Ask questions about the natural and human-built worlds.

SS: Demonstrate and speculate about physical system changes, such as seasons, climate and weather, and the water cycle.

SS: Demonstrate an understanding that people in different times and places view the world differently.

SS: Compare and contrast different stories or accounts about past events, people, places, or situations, identifying how they contribute to our understanding of the past.

VA: Use art materials and tools in a safe and responsible manner.

VA: Use visual structures of art to communicate ideas.

VA: Select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning.

VA: Identify connections between the visual arts and other disciplines in the curriculum.

Classroom resource: World Book - Christmas Around the World.

With adult support, students research the seasons in Australia and compare these to the climate and seasons in their home country. Students find typical Christmas mailing stamps from their home country and compare/contrast these to the Australian stamps.

Using Australian Christmas Stamp projects, students take digital pictures of their projects and upload these to an electronic classroom file. Students will compose a summary of what they included on their Australian stamp and why. This summary will be audio-recorded and electronically attached to the digital photographs. These electronic files will be stored on a classroom computer for future review.

With adult support, students research other countries in the world that celebrate the winter holidays with warm weather. Students design a Christmas stamp from one of those countries which reflects research. Students can also audio-record their research summary and electronically attach it to a digital photo of their work.

With adult support, students design a set of questions to pose to parents/guardians regarding their winter holiday practices. Students bring their interview responses to class and design a new stamp reflecting the history of their families' heritage. Students can present these interview summaries and stamp representations to small groups or the class. A follow-up class discussion could include a comparison of the varying heritages that are represented in the class.