Cranberry Christmas Unit Study

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This unit study includes lessons and activities based on the book Cranberry Christmas by Wende and Harry Devlin.

Old Cyrus Grape doesn’t like children. And he insists that the skating pond is ‘his.’ Mr. Whiskers knows this isn’t true, but since he can’t prove it, there’ll be no skating…not even on Christmas Day! That is…unless cleaning Mr. Whiskers’ house uncovers some important information.
from Cranberry Christmas on amazon.com

Join the Cranberry crew for another great tale that teaches a lesson about jumping to conclusions.

Grab our free Cranberry Christmas unit study and dive into various lessons on maps, helping in the community, chores, elements of a story, vocabulary, and more!

Thanks to Carrie Piper for preparing this Cranberry Christmas Unit Study.

Cranberry Christmas Unit Study Lessons

Here is a sample of the lessons found in this Cranberry Christmas unit study:

Math: Christmas Countdown
In the beginning of the story it states that it is three days until Christmas. How many days is it until Christmas at your house? Make a paper chain with one link for each day until Christmas. Each evening you and your children can remove a link and recount how many days until Christmas. You can also number each chain or put a scripture on each.

Art: Silhouette
When Maggie and Grandma leave Mr. Whisker’s home on Christmas Eve the scene is in silhouette. Silhouette is an old art form. Some people can cut out a silhouette freehand. You can do your own silhouettes. Use a bare light bulb or some other source of directed light to cast your profile shadow on the wall. Hang up a piece of paper and trace the profile shadow. You and your child can use this method to draw each other silhouettes. Try to trace the silhouette of other interesting objects, too.

Language Arts: Story Structure
This story is expertly crafted. Discuss the elements of a good story in Cranberry Christmas.

Setting the Stage: It is a few days before Christmas and Mr. Whiskers is sad about the children not being able to skate on the pond.

Conflict: Cyrus Grapes claims the pond is on his property and Mr. Whiskers cannot prove him otherwise.

Rising Action: Tension rises with the visit of Mr. Whiskers’ sister. Maggie and Grandma try to help and Mr. Whiskers makes a discovery.

Climax: Mr. Whiskers confronts Cyrus Grape with his deed.

Falling Action: The truth comes out.

Resolution: Mr. Whiskers’ sister decides he can take care of himself and the children enjoy skating on the pond.

You can grab a copy of the entire Cranberry Christmas unit study in an easy-to-print file at the end of this post.

Cranberry Christmas Printables

In addition to the lesson plans, the free download also includes these printables to enhance your unit study:

Chore Chart
Interjections! Activity Page
Mapping My Property
My Silhouette
New England States Map Page
Cranberry Christmas vs. Christmas at my House

How to Get Started with the Cranberry Christmas Unit Study

Follow these simple instructions to get started with the Cranberry Christmas unit study:

Buy a copy of the book, Cranberry Christmas, or grab one from your local library.
Print the Cranberry Christmas unit study.
Choose the lessons you want to use with your student (a highlighter works great for this).
Enjoy a week of book-based learning with your student.