Christmas is an exciting time of the year in the classroom! Your students are thinking about holiday break, and it’s hard to keep them focused on anything else. Why not plan some fun Christmas activities so you’re still teaching the standards while having some holiday fun? Here are 5 of my favorite Christmas activities for your classroom.
Christmas Activities for Your Classroom
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I like to keep my schedule as normal as possible until holiday break. That helps my students stay calmer and better behaved. This year, we have a full week before Christmas. Friday is a half day, and that’s our holiday party, but I like to find fun activities to build into my lessons for all my regular subjects.
#1 – Math Problem Solving
My team planned out our math lessons through state testing. We need to do a lesson every day to cover all of the important topics. Therefore, I stick to my guided math routine through holiday break. However, my students love doing holiday-related performance tasks at their problem solving center.
I created a special Christmas problem solving for this year. They have to use multiplication and division to find out how many supplies the reindeer need, use geometry to decorate the tree, and decide how many cookies Mrs. Claus needs to make to feed Santa and all the elves.
#2 – Olive, the Other Reindeer Sequencing
For reading, I love using special holiday books to teach important reading skills we need to review. Sequencing isn’t something our reading program directly teaches, so I decided to teach it using one of my favorite holiday books, Olive, the Other Reindeer.
I read the book to my students. Then, they cut apart 4 events and put them in order. Finally, they fill in the other missing events to finish sequencing the story.
#3 – Create a Reindeer Writing
After we read about Olive, I have my students create a new reindeer to join Santa’s fleet. They name the reindeer and give it a special talent that will help Santa. They decorate their new reindeer and write a story about it and how it helps Santa on Christmas Eve. My students love this activity every year!
#4 – Santa’s Sleigh STEM Challenge
For science time, my students will do a STEM challenge. They enjoy working in teams to accomplish challenges. The students need to use Smarties and popsicle sticks to build Santa’s sleigh. Then, they need to see how many sugar cube presents they can fit on the sleigh.
#5 – Christmas Unlock the Box Mystery
We have a little bit of time before our holiday party on the last half day before break. I’m going to use that time for my Christmas Unlock the Box Mystery. My students will solve 4 Christmas clues to get the code for a 4-digit lock and unlock a box. I’m going to put their Christmas gifts from me inside the box for a special surprise.
Want to Use these Activities in Your Classroom?
All of these activities are available in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. You can get the math, reading, writing, and STEM activities in my Christmas Activities Pack. You can get the Christmas Unlock the Box Mystery by itself, or you can get all 5 activities in the Christmas Activities Bundle.
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What Do You Think?
What are your favorite Christmas activities for your classroom?
Let me know in the comments.
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