VALENTINES

DAY AROUND THE WORLD

CONTENT AREA Social Studies
GRADE LEVEL 2
OBJECTIVES At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Identify and discuss various Valentines Day traditions around the world

Compare and contrast how different cultures celebrate Valentines Day

NJ STANDARDS
6.1.4.D.19: Explain how experiences and events may be interpreted differently by people with
different cultural or individual perspectives
6.1.4.D.13: Describe how culture is expressed through and influenced by the behavior of
people
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES: DAY ONE (Japan)
INSTRUCTION
ACTIVITY
TIME MATERIALS
Explain to students that to prepare for Valentines Day, we will be
Opening
5-10

exploring
c
ultures
a
round
t
he
w
orld
a
nd
h
ow
t
hey
c
elebrate
t
his
Activities
min.

Lesson

Closing
Activities

Opportunities
for Assessment

holiday. Begin by asking students what they like best about

Valentines Day. Initiate a discussion about culture and traditions in
the U.S. or in other native countries of students in the class. Explain
that not everyone celebrates in the same way, so we are going to
look into how different cultures celebrate this festive time.
Present students with a pre-prepared paper bag with items relating
to Japanese culture and how Valentines Day is celebrated in Japan.
Can include: Picture of Japanese flag, picture of Japanese young
people celebrating Valentines Day by giving chocolate to one
another, picture of people making chocolates, and descriptions of
each picture. Allow students to look at the various items and ask
some students to read certain captions aloud to the class. Lead a
group discussion about the way that Japan celebrates Valentines
Day and their unique White Day. What are the customs? Are they
similar or different from the U.S. customs or customs of other
countries we might know about? Create a Venn diagram to
illustrate similarities and differences between Japans Valentines
Day and our Valentines Day in the United States. Before closing the
lesson, have students locate Japan on a world map.
Give out brown construction paper to students. Instruct students to
write down something they learned about Valentines Day in Japan
on the piece of paper, then cut the paper into the shape of a
chocolate. The chocolate can be whatever shape students would
like, so long as it does not cut off the words written on the paper.
Have students place their chocolates into a box of chocolates as
their ticket out the door for the day.
Student responses on homemade chocolates; student
observation

20
min.

Chart paper

Japanese
Valentines
Day bag

SmartBoard

10
min.

Brown
paper
&
Chocolate
box

DIFFERENTIATION Explain captions included in Valentine Bags in simpler terms if students

have trouble understanding. For ELLs and immigrant children, allow students to share more

about their own culture and how they celebrate Valentines Day (if they do celebrate). Allow
extra time as necessary for students to complete work (use discretion as necessary).
TECHNOLOGY SmartBoard