Winter Holidays Around the World — RACE Writing Passages

Bring the magic of global winter traditions into your classroom with this diverse, culturally-inclusive RACE writing resource!

This download includes informational and fictional passages representing a wide range of winter customs, all paired with RACE-aligned prompts and model responses that make writing expectations crystal clear.

Perfect for December literacy stations, winter units, test-prep warm-ups, or engaging sub plans, this resource helps students practice:

• Restating the question
• Answering clearly and concisely
• Citing direct text evidence with quotations
• Explaining how the evidence supports their answer

Your students will explore traditions from:

• Christmas (The Snowlight Tradition)
• Hanukkah (Why the Dreidel Spins)
• Kwanzaa (The Missing Mkeka)
• Las Posadas (A Journey Through Community)
• Indigenous Winter Solstice (Return of the Sunlight)
• Diwali
• Chinese New Year
• Three Kings’ Day
• Muslim community service traditions in winter

Each passage is written at an accessible middle school level and supports the development of short constructed responses, as required by STAAR and TEKS.

What’s Included:

• 10 high-interest winter holiday passages (fiction + informational)
• 10 RACE prompts aligned to each passage
• 10 short RACE model responses (perfect for modeling + anchor charts)
• TEKS-aligned practice for multiple reading and writing standards
• Great for print, digital, or Google Classroom

Your students will LOVE the stories.

You will LOVE the built-in rigor, clarity, and time saved.