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Winter Carnival

The Quebec Winter Carnival (Carnaval de Québec) is the largest winter festival in the Western Hemisphere. Students will explore this annual event and create art depicting some of the festivities at this or other winter carnivals around the world.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Tape

Steps

  • Step 1

    The Quebec Winter Carnival (Carnaval de Québec), commonly called Carnaval  in both French and English, has been held intermittently since 1894 and annually since 1955. It is one of the largest winter festivals in the world and attracts an average of 500,000 people each year. Have students investigate the history of this festival and some of its traditional activities. Why was it originally organized? Who is its mascot? How does it play an important role in promoting the culture and heritage of Quebec City? How does it impact Canada's economy? What are some of the attractions?

  • Step 2

    Have students explore this carnival and others that are celebrated around the world. Select one and look at images of the event. Then create several scenes of the selected winter carnival celebration. They might depict its mascot (if there is one), traditional fashions and foods, and perhaps a parade and/or ice sculptures.

  • Step 3

    When their art is done, have students present it to the class and discuss whichever winter celebration they depicted and how it could lift people's spirits during the cold, dark winter.

Standards

SS: Culture: Create, learn, share, and adapt to culture. 

SS: Individual Development and Identity: Describe factors important to the development of personal identity and the context of identity within families, peer or affinity groups, schools, communities, and nationalities. 

Adaptations

The Quebec Carnival began as a way to lift people's spirits during the cold, harsh winters in this region. Have students talk about activities they enjoy that lift their spirits during the winter, then ask them to illustrate themselves enjoying one of the activities in a winter scene. 

The official language of Quebec is French. Have students learn some words and phrases in French. Encourage students to form pairs and engage in a conversation using some of the phrases they learned.