Classroom tips: 12 days of Christmas

Iram Ahmed
Young children stood in a row clapping and celebrating with a christmas tree in the background

With the holiday season approaching, it’s good to add some fun into teaching to keep your students engaged and motivated. We’ve created 12 simple classroom activities and tips that you can carry out with your primary class to encourage them to be good.

Classroom tips for the lead up to the holidays
Play
Privacy and cookies

By watching, you agree 色猫AV can share your viewership data for marketing and analytics for one year, revocable by deleting your cookies.

Day 1

Santa’s watching

Fact: Father Christmas, St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas – whatever we call him, many countries around the world have a tradition that naughty children will only receive coal, twigs or even onions. But do children always know how to be good?

Classroom application

Classroom tip: Catch students being good

Watch out for good behavior and praise it when you see it - much more effective than dealing with problems as they arise.

?

Day 2

Christmas countdown

Fact: Advent calendars count down the days to Christmas, and for children that usually means gifts! But is the festive period all about presents?

Classroom application?

Classroom tip: Kindness calendar

Challenge students to carry out one act of kindness every day in December. They can plan this on a blank calendar and tick the kind acts as they complete them.

?

Day 3

Season’s greetings

Fact: Did you know that greeting students individually at the door improves learning and engagement?

Classroom application

Classroom tip: Holiday password

Have a holiday-themed password for children to give as they enter the classroom. Students choose a new password every lesson.

?

Day 4

Frosty the Snowman

Fact: The largest snowman in the world was actually a snowwoman. and had trees for arms.

Classroom application? ? ? ? ?

Classroom tip: Concrete poems

A concrete poem written in a shape that reflects the topic of the poem, for example a poem about a snowman written in the shape of a snowman. Challenge your students to write their own concrete poems about Christmas (or a current holiday for them).

?

Day 5

DIY decorations

Fact: Chinese New Year is the most important winter festival in China. Like Christmas, one of the main activities is putting up paper decorations.

Classroom application

Classroom tip: Collaborative tree

Each child draws around their hand, cuts it out and either draws a picture or writes a sentence about themselves. The whole class makes a display out of the handprints.

?

Day 6

Star students

Fact:?Stars feature in many Christmas traditions. For example, in Poland, the Christmas eve feast only starts when the first star appears in the night sky.

Classroom application

Classroom tip: 2 stars and a wish

Give focused feedback on written tasks by identifying two positive aspects of work and one area to work on. Works great for peer assessment too.

?

Day 7

Perfect presents

Fact: Everyone loves getting presents. In Liberia, instead of Santa bringing toys, you’ll find Old Man Bayka, who walks the streets asking for gifts!

Classroom application

Classroom tip: My gift to the world

Brainstorm things students can do to help make the world a better place, such as volunteering at a local charity or planting a tree. Challenge them to do one thing as a holiday gift to the world.

?

Day 8

Festive feasts

Fact: Famous fried chicken in Japan, caterpillars in South Africa, hot tamales in Venezuela and oysters in France. Christmas dinners vary greatly as you move around the world.

Classroom application

Classroom tip: Recipe for success

Students can make their own Recipe for Success by thinking about what they need to be successful in the new year.

Example (to be designed to look like a child wrote it):

  • 1 cup of doing my best
  • ? cup of ideas
  • ? cup of smiles
  • 2 tablespoons of teamwork
  • 3 teaspoons of listening to the teacher

?

Day 9

Holiday traditions around the world

Fact: Festive saunas in Finland, roller skating in Venezuela and Christmas cobwebs in Ukraine, no two countries celebrate Christmas in exactly the same way.

Classroom application

Classroom tip: Venn Diagrams

Students choose 2 countries and research how they celebrate during wintertime. They record their findings as Venn Diagrams. They record the different traditions of the two countries in the sections on the left and right. Anything they have in common goes in the middle.

?

Day 10

The excitement of Christmas

Fact: Anticipation plays a big part in the excitement of Christmas. Will Santa come? What presents I get? Who will win the annual family game of charades?

Classroom application

Classroom tip: Big questions

Start lessons by posing big questions to engage students’ natural curiosity and motivate them to find answers. Open questions work great, such as How do animals communicate? or What makes someone a hero?

?

Day 11

Holiday cheer

Fact: Forget the Grinch, the festive season is a time for feeling good and spreading happiness.

Classroom application

Classroom tip: Compliment corner

Allocate a space in the classroom as the compliment corner – a notice board or a big piece of paper. Students can write compliments to each other on sticky notes and put them on the board. Such as ‘I love the pictures you drew of your favorite hobby’, or ‘You’re so good at singing’.

?

Day 12

New Year’s resolutions

Fact: The start of a new year is a great time to focus on self-improvement, but only 8% of people are successful in sticking to their resolutions.

Classroom application

Classroom tip: Self and peer reflection

At the end of each lesson, ask students to reflect on their learning. Support students by providing sentence stems such as I learnt…I enjoyed …I’m good at…To improve I will…I didn’t understand…

?

Make these activities your own and adapt them to your class. They should help you turn the lead-up to the holidays in the classroom into an exciting one for your students and almost make them forget they're learning at the same time.

For more inspiration and general activities for your primary learners, try reading?5 quick and easy ESL games for teaching young learners.?If you're looking for inspiring and engaging English courses for young learners check out our range:

Young learners courses

More blogs from 色猫AV

  • Children sat next to their teacher in a classroom, smiling at eachother

    Tailoring language learning for diverse needs with the GSE

    By Heba Morsey
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    Why inclusive language teaching matters more than ever

    You’ve probably heard the word “inclusive” more and more in recent years, though I first encountered it over 20 years ago. (I say 20 because that’s when I graduated, and we had a course on diverse learners called “individual differences.” But back then, actually meeting their needs wasn’t nearly as comprehensive as it is today.)

    Today, learners come with a wide range of proficiency levels, cognitive styles, educational background, and personal goals. That’s why — it’s essential. In simple terms, inclusive teaching means making sure all learners feel they belong and can succeed.

    It calls for differentiated instruction, flexible assessment and learning materials that respect individual needs. That’s where the Global Scale of English (GSE) comes in.

  • A woman stood outside in a square holding a map smiling

    3 traveling tips your English dictionary won’t teach you

    By Steffanie Zazulak
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    Traveling to a new country is a wonderful way to practice your English skills, but sometimes speaking English in a foreign country can be a little daunting—and an can only help so much. That’s why we’re sharing these three traveling tips: try them the next time you travel to an English-speaking country. They’re sure to make communicating in English with others more interesting and fun.

    Learn how to “break the ice”

    While you’re exploring, you’ll likely come across strangers you might want to “break the ice” with or speak to. A simple “hi” or “hello” along with telling them where you’re from is a great way to start a conversation.? Next, ask them for “insider tips” about their city, like their favorite places to visit or not-to-be-missed restaurants.

    If they seem friendly and are willing to share more information, make sure you ask for their name and use it when asking more questions. Most people appreciate it when others call them by their names in conversation.

    Learn how to ask people for help

    It's normal to get lost during your trip, but don't worry. Most English-speaking countries will have tourist centers near popular destinations with trained staff who can help you with any questions.

    If you can’t find a tourist center quickly enough, approach a friendly-looking person (students with backpacks are a pretty safe bet) and use the skills that you’ve already learned about approaching new people. You can include additional questions like “I’m lost, could you help me?” or “Do you know where I can find _________?” to let them know that you need their help. It’s also not uncommon for strangers to come up to you, especially when you’re carrying a map and look lost, to ask if you need help finding your way.

    Learn to express gratitude

    You will likely want to thank many people during your travels, like the new friends who just helped you when you were lost—and there are many ways to express gratitude.

    Saying “thanks” or “thanks so much” is an informal form of “thank you” in many English-speaking countries. You can also add the phrase “I appreciate it” or say “Thank you. I really appreciate your help” if the person you are thanking did something really special for you, like helping you out with directions.

    For some people, talking to someone you don’t know can be a little scary, especially in a second language. But don’t worry?— most people will be pretty responsive to you. In fact, many people welcome visitors to their cities with open arms, just remember to be polite and have a smile on your face when approaching them.

  • woman uses highlighter on book

    Grammar 101: tips and tricks to help improve your Engish writing

    By Hannah Lawrence
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    I've always been fascinated by language and writing: as a child, I wrote newsletters for my classmates and books about my imaginary friends' adventures. That love of words eventually led me into a career as a writer, editor and proofreader. Over my career, I've checked thousands of reports, articles and blogs – and I see the same grammatical mistakes time and time again.

    In this blog series, I'll share my favourite tips and tricks to help you remember those tricky grammar rules; whether you're writing for work, to learn or just for fun, these posts will help you improve your English and write with more confidence. Here are the top three grammar rules that people ask me to explain:

    1) "Which" or "that"?

    2) "Less" or "fewer"??

    3)?"Me" or "I"?