Visits with Santa, gingerbread houses, caroling, reading holiday storybooks, making lists for Santa, and decorating holiday ornaments and cards are all activities that we can recall from our childhood years at school. Our teachers would create a festive and fun atmosphere that was perfectly themed to each holiday and I remember getting so excited about the classroom activities. However, as the years progressed, my teachers became less enthused and it seemed that the holidays were just another day for content, with the occasional “ugly sweater spirit day” sprinkled in. Although older students do not wish to participate in writing letters to Santa or making holiday crafts at school, students still do want to feel the spirit of the holidays and enjoy this festive time while at school with their peers and teachers. Here are a few ideas to implement the spirit while keeping older students interested and engaged without making them feel like they are back in elementary school:
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Creative writing: give your students the opportunity to write their own holiday story by providing fun prompts to get their mind working.
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Allow students to research cultural origins and traditions from about the world and present to the class.
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Using cultural research, allow students to write a fiction story related to their research, or write a nonfiction research report.
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Give students the opportunity to write about their favorite holiday traditions or make a plan for a new tradition they wish to implement.
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Provide materials for students to make holiday cards during class or if they finish their assignment early. In elementary school, students would always make an ornament or craft to gift to loved ones. However, as middle and high school students, often students don’t have the money or ability to go buy a present for loved ones, so give them the materials and time to write a message for the special people they wish to celebrate.
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Implement a community service project as a class. Last year, a student of mine heard about a child going through chemotherapy at a local hospital. As his holiday wish, the child wanted to fill the walls of his room with holiday greeting cards from all over the world. Using this as an inspiration, my students made cards and brought in leftover holiday cards from their families for us to sign and send. Not only was this inspirational, but I was able to show students how to address an envelope, place a stamp, and fill out a greeting card.
The holiday season should be a time of celebration, reflection, and inspiration for everyone. How do you plan to celebrate the season with your students?
*By the way, the slide deck below can easily be adjusted for all grades, so elementary teachers grab the deck, too!
CLICK HERE to grab this Done-for-You Google Slide deck complete with holiday lessons!
