Holiday classroom activities can be hit or miss for a lot of teachers. It’s hard not to acknowledge the season, but it’s also appropriate to consider how to do it in a way that is both thoughtful and inclusive. I would definitely recommend that you consider your audience before implementing holiday activities. Here is a round up of ideas to help you get those creative juices flowing.
The Gift of the Magi Short Story Unit
“The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry is a heartwarming short story about the real meaning of gift giving. I have a done-for-you mini-unit that is perfect for any time in December. I also have a blog post with five teaching ideas right here. This is one of my favorite units to run all year.
Holiday Mad Libs
You probably know by now that Mad Libs are one of my favorite ways to practice parts of speech, but they also can be used as a classroom culture activity. Check out my pre-made, classroom appropriate holiday set of Mad Libs right here. If you have extra time, have students create their own stories and share out. It’s always a fun exercise!
Traditional Holiday Short Stories
There are plenty of traditional holiday texts if that is the route you are looking to take. Click here to see a round up of classic short stories perfect for the holiday season. If you’re looking for activities to pair with these stories, I have a great resource that can be used with any short story. Click here to check it out.
My True Love Gave to Me + Short Story Activities
If you’re looking for diversity in your holiday stories, try the short story compilation My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins. This compilation covers Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, and more in a way that YA literature is currently lacking. Again, pair this with my Short Story Activities for Any Short Story resource and you’ve got yourself an inclusive activity for a diverse crowd.
Holiday Choice Reading
Independent reading is a solid choice for any time, but what if you did a round based solely on holiday reads? Seasonal reading can be a lot of fun for everyone and help to really create a culture of reading. Click here to see a round up of my favorite holiday novels and then grab my resource to use with any choice reading novel right here.
Roll a Holiday Story
Creative writing is a great time at any point in the year, but I especially love this holiday-themed activity. Students roll a dice to get their narrative story elements and then come up with a creative story based on those items. This resource even comes with themed paper, so they’d make a great bulletin board and then potentially a gift students could give to their families for the holidays. Click here to check out my Holiday Roll a Story resource.
Argumentative Letters to Santa
This is probably my favorite activity on this list, but again, know your audience. With this resource, students argue their way on to Santa’s nice list. The activity is great because it’s so flexible. You can up the ante for big kids by requiring that they use rhetorical techniques they’ve learned so far in class. (As a 9th grade ELA teacher, I always made them include one example of ethos, pathos, and logos.)
Just like some of my other resources, this one also comes with themed writing paper and would make a great gift for students to give to their families.
Click here to check it out.
If you’re on the fence about including holiday activities in your classroom, another suggestion would be to just stick to winter-themed activities. You can check out everything I have in my own shop right here. I also worked on a collaborative blog with a few other ELA teachers to bring you 12 more winter-themed ideas. You can check those out here as well.
Hopefully this post has given you plenty of fresh ideas for your classroom. Wishing you all a very merry and bright season.
Happy teaching!
