Jigsaw Reading on Mother’s Day
http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/about-mothersday/history/
This assignment begins with the section titled “History of American Celebration.” (You need to scroll down the page to find it.) The sections for the jigsaw are:
1. History of American Celebration and Julia Ward Howe (skip the poem)
2. Anna M. Jarvis’s Mother’s Day 1908
3. US Government Adoption
4. The Fight Over Commercialization
Vocabulary for whole class:
1. Flee – run away, usually run away from someone or something
2. Secular – not connected to religion
3. Persecuted – treated badly because of race, belief, or any other reason
4. Carnage – killing and injuring of many people, as in war
5. Union (as in civil war) - refers to the North in the American Civil War
6. Confederate – refers to the South in the American Civil War
7. Carnation – a flower
8. Petition – ask the government to do something
9. Commercialization – taking advantage in order to make money
10. Flourish – to be successful, to grow and prosper
Comprehension Questions: Julia Ward Howe
1. Is Mothers Day a religious holiday or a secular holiday?
2. Did the American settlers continue Mothering Day from England? Why, or why not?
3. Was Julia Ward Howe a pilgrim?
4. When did Julia Ward Howe make a proclamation about Mother’s Day?
5. Why did Julia Ward Howe want to create Mother’s Day?
6. What war motivated women to try to create Mother’s Day?
7. Was Julia Ward Howe successful in creating Mother’s Day? Why, or why not?
8. Do you think Julia Ward Howe had a good idea?
9. Do you think Julia Ward Howe would be successful if she tried again today?
10. Was Julia Ward Howe always against war?
Comprehension Questions: Anna M. Jarvis
1. Was Anna Jarvis’s Mother’s Day adopted by a church or by a state?
2. When was it adopted?
3. Was Mother’s Day about celebrating mothers, or about something else?
4. Do you think we celebrate peace today when we think of Mother’s Day?
5. What flower did Anna Jarvis give to mothers on Mother’s Day?
6. Do we give white carnations today? Why, or why not?
7. do you give mothers flowers for Mother’s Day, or any holiday? What kind?
8. Do you think the American people wanted to celebrate peace in 1908?
9. Was Anna Jarvis successful in creating Mother’s Day?
10. Do you think Mother’s Day will continue in the future?
Comprehension Questions: U.S. Government Adoption
1. Did Mothers Day become a national holiday in 1908 or 1914?
2. Describe the process of creating Mother’s Day as a national holiday.
3. Why was the World Sunday School Association important?
4. When is Mother’s Day?
5. Was Mother’s Day only in the United States?
6. Was it easy for Anna Jarvis to get Mother’s Day declared a national holiday?
7. Do you think Anna Jarvis was right to try to create Mother’s Day as a national holiday?
8. How many years did it take for Anna Jarvis to get Mother’s Day as a national holiday?
Comprehension Questions: Fight Over Commercialization
1. What does commercialization mean?
2. Do you think Mother’s Day is commercialized? Why, or why not?
3. What organization promoted selling flowers for Mother’s Day?
4. Was Anna Jarvis happy about flower companies selling flowers for Mother’s Day?
5. Why was Anna Jarvis angry at the American War Mother’s group?
6. Do you think Anna Jarvis helped the flower companies
7. Did the flower companies agree with Anna Jarvis? Why, or why not?
8. Do you think Anna Jarvis died a happy woman?
9. Did Anna Jarvis know who took care of her at the end of her life? Who was it?
Questions for whole group to discuss
1. When did Mother’s Day really start?
2. Is the Mother’s Day we have today what the original organizers wanted?
3. Did Mother’s Day have any effect on stopping war?
4. What do you think about the flower companies and the card companies, and how they promote Mother’s Day?
5. Do you think we should continue to celebrate Mother’s Day?