Get into the holiday spirit with any of these 10 holiday short stories for your secondary ELA classroom. You’ll find a mix of classic and contemporary in this roundup list as well as a bonus resource you can use with any short story any time of year. Take a look at these snapshots and pick a few favorite short stories to add to your ELA classroom.
Classic List
There’s something about the good ol’ classics. They’re often familiar and many students find ties to their own traditions or recognize the storyline in contemporary examples. Take a look at this short collection of classic short stories.
Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
Jim and Della are a young couple who each give up their most prized possession in order to buy the other a Christmas gift. It’s heartwarming and particularly magical during the holidays. If you’re pressed for time but want to deliver engaging, purposeful lessons there’s a great resource here that’s all laid out for you.
Lexile Level 870
Word Count 2,073
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
This classic recounts the story of an elderly miser named Ebenezer Scrooge. He is visited by several ghosts throughout the night and is transformed into a kinder man.
Lexile Level 480
Word Count 30,762
Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck
On Christmas morning, young Rob wakes up early to finish the farm chores as a surprise for his father. He realizes just how much his father loves him through this act of service. Years later, Rob reflects on this memory and writes a letter to his wife.
Lexile Level 770
Word Count unavailable
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
On a snowy New Year’s Eve, a little girl is afraid to go home because she hasn’t sold any matches. Instead, she lights her matches to keep warm and sees visions of food and warmth. She eventually sees her late grandmother who takes her to Heaven.
Lexile Level 470
Word Count 940
The Gift by Ray Bradbury
This story includes sci-fi themes as a young boy receives a special Christmas gift from his parents while waiting for it in a future where humans are going on space missions.
Lexile Level 930
Word Count 760 (approximate)
Contemporary List
Maybe you’re looking for something different and a bit more contemporary. Here’s a quick look at some holiday short stories with modern twists.
Fish Cheeks by Amy Tan
The 14-year-old author’s Chinese family invites American friends over for a traditional Chinese dinner. She struggles with embracing her identity and is particularly worried about what the white American families will think.
Lexile Level 910
Word Count 500
“Krampuslauf” by Holly Black
Hanna and her friends decide to go to a Krampus celebration to spy on the guy who led on Penny, one of the friends. They invite him and his real girlfriend, their friends, and another boy with a very realistic Krampus costume, to a New Year’s Eve party.
If you want to embark on a dark and intriguing exploration into folklore and learn more about the legend of Krampus, this resource transcends the conventional boundaries of a standalone literacy activity, offering a dynamic tool adaptable to various instructional contexts.
Lexile Level 700
Word Count unavailable
“What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?” by Gayle Forman
Sophie Roth makes all kinds of mistakes, except maybe her last mistake to go to an on-campus caroling event where she meets Russell. While not the most likeable or amiable young lady, the two comprise of making snap judgments about the other and stepping all over their own prejudices.
Lexile Level 700
Word Count unavailable
“Angels in the Snow” by Matt de la Peña
Living in New York and studying at NYU on a full scholarship, Shy doesn’t have the funds to get back home for the holidays. Instead, he is cat-sitting for a friend. While he thinks his is completely alone in the building, turns out there is someone else: Haley.
Lexile Level 700
Word Count unavailable
“It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown” by Stephanie Perkins
Marigold lives with her mother in a tiny apartment, getting ready for the first Christmas since her father left. And “getting ready” means completely ignoring the holiday. However, Marigold is making an animation short and needs the cute guy selling Christmas trees to voice a character for her.
Lexile Level 700
Word Count unavailable
Bonus Activity
You can get high-quality, engaging activities to teach any short story with this set of 10 CCSS-aligned reading comprehension and writing activities. These activities include responses to literature tasks split into before, during, and after reading categories. It’s flexible and comes with a doodle-style printable PDF, an editable Google Docs version and Slides deck for virtual or 1:1 teaching. You can assign as many or as few of the activities as you want and these can be used with any short story.
What do you love from this list? Are you more of a classic or contemporary reader? If you have other favorites not on this list, leave them in the comments. I’d love to see how you add holiday short stories to your secondary ELA classroom.
Happy teaching!
