Playbooks
Reader's Theater Exercise: The Night Before Christmas
Yes, Virginia, there really is a reader's theater script for "The Night Before Christmas." The exercise is a great way to productively channel pre-holiday energy.
British Council
Make a Hanukkah Card!
Add a little light to a Hanukkah celebration by asking class members to use the provided template to craft a Hanukkah card for a friend or family member. Senders get to color the menorah on the cover and write their own messages inside....
Curated OER
Whimsical Wooden Santa
Students create wooden Santas using small blocks of wood, paint, holiday materials, doll hair, glue, and berry leaves in this Holiday art lesson for the elementary classroom. The lesson includes resource links and a finished example of...
Curated OER
Different Ways We Celebrate
Students examine a variety of ways that families celebrate winter holidays. They complete a graphic organizer comparing Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, and write a five-sentence paragraph about one of the holidays discussed. Students...
Curated OER
World Celebrations-Focus on Christmas around the World
Sixth graders, in groups, research Christmas celebrations in countries from around the world. They follow guidelines to create PowerPoint presentations with their findings.
Curated OER
Santa Claus Around the World
Learn about the legend of Santa Claus around the world in ESL holiday plan. In it, learners explore the many ways that Santa Claus is depicted in cultures around the world. There are some excellent masters included in the plan that help...
Teacher Created Resources
The First Thanksgiving Book
Looking for a Thanksgiving week activity? Try this seven-page printable book documenting the story of the first Thanksgiving. Each page (1/2 sheet) has a short text along with a picture kids can color in.
K12 Reader
Color the Christmas Adjectives
'Tis the season to be joyful, merry, beautiful, and red! Test young learners' knowledge of parts of speech with a festive coloring worksheet. As they identify which words are nouns and which words are adjectives, they color each part of...
Anti-Defamation League
Shirley Chisholm: Unbought, Unbossed and Unforgotten
A 13-page packet introduces high schoolers to a lady of amazing firsts. Shirley Chisholm was the first Black woman elected to Congress, the first Black woman to run for President of the United States, and a leader of the Women's Rights...
Curated OER
Clay Pot Snowmen
Students create "clay pot" snowmen using clay pots, glue, mitten scraps, paints, and markers in this early-elementary Art instructional activity. The instructional activity may take 1-2 days depending on the amount of time it takes for...
Curated OER
Fill in the Missing Letter -- Christmas Words
In this Christmas learning exercise, students read 8 words which have missing letters. All pertain to winter or Christmas. Students fill in the missing letters to complete the words.
Curated OER
Winter Holidays Around the World
How much do you know about the holidays around the world? Second graders put their knowledge to the test with a 14-day activity about global celebrations. They read informational text, employ KWL charts, and compare and contrast the many...
Curated OER
ESL Holiday Lessons: National Ice Cream Day
In this reading comprehension and vocabulary worksheet, students read a text about the history of National Ice Cream Day. Kids work alone or in partners to complete 144 questions. There are vocabulary matching problems, fill in the...
Curated OER
Multicultural Multimedia Holiday Project
Twelfth graders investigate a holiday of a major religion. They conduct research, develop a timeline of the origin of the holiday to the present, and create a Powerpoint presentation of their research.
Curated OER
December Concentration Game
Students play the classic game of Concentration using cards with December holiday and weather pictures on them. They research different December holidays and adapt the details to the game of concentration.
Curated OER
Giving Thanks to Mother Earth
Students create an art project to be made into a laminated placemat to use during a classroom Thanksgiving feast. The lesson involves choosing at least three cutouts of elements of nature to glue onto a background page, drawing one...
Curated OER
Groundhog Day
Students practice moving in general space and to increase listening skills.To enhance movement during this activity ask them to perform a variety of different locomotor skills as they move throughout the space.
Curated OER
Why do we Dream of a White Christmas?
Students examine a reading selection on how the idea of a white Christmas was developed. In this ESL lesson, students share a class discussion about the article then complete several assignments to reinforce what they learned, including...
Curated OER
Keeping Spirits Bright
Here are some transition and sponge activities to keep your students motivated until winter break.
Curated OER
The Polar Express Experience
Explore the holiday classic "The Polar Express" with a variety of activities.
Curated OER
Christmas Lesson Plans
Students learn about the Christmas season through music, research, and other activities.
Curated OER
Santa Claus Around the World
Students investigate how students in various countries celebrate their winter holiday traditions, locate various countries on a map, and draw and tell about various Santa Claus legends.
Curated OER
Frosty's Freeze Tag
Young scholars participate in a holiday P.E. tagging game involving chasing, fleeing, and dodging skills. With the taggers holding a fleece ball (snowball), they chase and tag the other students, with the tagged young scholars becoming...