Holiday season lessons can be difficult to find. It is important that we enjoy the season with our students, but also maintain a rigorous curriculum program. I have compiled a list of classroom management tips and engaging holiday season lessons to help teachers and students enjoy the holiday season while maintaining a focus on curriculum and instructional time.
Keep teaching and stick to your routines. Even during the last week before school breaks for the holidays I assign small tasks for homework and keep students accountable for their learning. Instructional time is important. Keep going to the library for weekly book check out, quizzes and tests must still occur. Students need to understand that learning does not pause for the whole month of December
2. Reserve The Movies
During my many years as a teacher, I have seen teachers break out the holiday movies very early in December. Reserve movies (if you are permitted to show them) until the last week before school breaks for the holidays. I still show educational videos related to the Science or Social Studies curriculum during the month of December, but save any special videos for the last week.
If you want to show a video, check out these videos about Christmas.
- How CHRISTMAS Started? – The Dr. Binocs Show | Best Learning Videos For Kids | Peekaboo Kidz
- Christmas traditions around the world – Kids News Break
Holiday Season Lessons
Historical Connections
Connect the holidays to historical events. One important event to share with your students is the Christmas Truce that occurred during World War 1 when British and German soldiers left their trenches and celebrated Christmas together. I have read the picture book Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon to my students. After the read-aloud, we have a class discussion about the events of the story and continue our research about this event.
Creative Writing
Students need to get up and move during lessons. I have created these Interactive Christmas Writing Prompts resource that provides teachers with 8 different story prompts. I print out several copies of each writing prompt and display each prompt around my classroom on a clipboard or taped to a hard surface. Students must rotate around to the different writing prompts and add one line to the story. Each line must build upon the previous. Students practise their creative writing skills in an engaging manner. Find this resource on Shopify CAD and Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
If you need a longer writing assignment for December – try this Christmas Writing Assignment. Students will select the role of one character: Santa’s Elf, Christmas Turkey, Gingerbread man, Christmas Tree or Museum Curator and create a written product (brochure, postcards, infographic, etc.) based on the character’s specific writing prompt. By using this fun Christmas creative writing choice board assignment, teachers can combine covering the writing curriculum and enjoying the holiday season with their classes. Students are provided with 5 different Christmas-themed writing options using the RAFT format (Role, Audience, Format, Topic). Find this resource on Shopify CAD and Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Service Project Ideas
Tis the season to give, not get. This is an important message for our students to learn. Read the curated recap from our #2ndaryELA Twitter chat last year on Helping Students Think Beyond Themselves. Teachers shared what they do in their classrooms to help spread this message.Spread Holiday Cheer
Don’t forget to spread the holiday cheer around your school with small gifts for your staff. During the school year, we see our co-workers for many hours during the day. A gift is a nice small gesture to share your appreciation for their hard work and support. If you have a large staff you might consider giving a small gift to your grade team as well as any support staff that are essential to your school life (i.e. Educational Assistants, Custodians, Secretaries). Some easy-to-create gift ideas can be found on this blog post.
Enjoy this holiday season with your students, colleagues, friends and family. Don’t forget to grab the free New Year’s Goal Setting lesson linked below.
More Holiday Season Lessons
- Christmas Lesson Plans for Middle School Students
- Holiday Lesson Plans for Middle School
- December Lesson Plans for Middle School ELA
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I love your idea of spreading holiday cheer for your staff! It is such an important part of making everyone feel recognized and feel special at this time of the year. Thanks for sharing your great ideas!
I LOVE the idea of relating the season to a historical event! What a fantastic idea!! Thanks!
Love these ideas!
These are excellent classroom management tips and holiday lesson tips, Kristy. Thank you for sharing them. I love that you included ideas for spreading holiday cheer! Best wishes to you for the holiday season!