Kids are excited about holidays. Don't YOU get a little (or a LOT) excited, too?
The holidays provide us with creative ways to teach and learn about the traditions, symbols, and celebrations of different cultures. These teaching suggestions offer opportunities for elementary students to learn about various celebrations and enjoy holiday songs, crafts, and stories.
Because I teach children in a variety of settings (including school presentations, traditional classrooms, and online classes), I want to be respectful of spiritual traditions. Separation of church and state laws in many states and countries forbid discussions about religious practices. For that reason, I create lessons that focus on secular craft activities, stories, songs, and activities that many cultures and communities share in common.
Inspire a passion for reading and writing by practicing these skills with creative activities such as plays, songs, and art projects. I create classes that often include oral reading or singing, movement, and art activities such as:
Rudolf, Reindeer, and Reindeer Games: Teach children the words to and sing "Rudolf, the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Find several reindeer arts and crafts activities at FantasticFunAndLearning.com.
Celebrate Gratitude: Many cultures remember to give thanks for all the people, things, and experiences that make them feel grateful. Discuss "gratitude" with children and invite them to share what makes them feel grateful.
I created this lesson, "The Gratitude Tree: A Giving Thanks Story & Art Activity." I wrote a story, "The Gratitude Tree," that children read aloud from colorful PowerPoint slides in class. In this story, classroom students create a gratitude tree and write names of things that make them feel grateful on paper hands. I provide learners with patterns of hands that become the "leaves" and "tree" of a "Gratitude Tree" they create at home after we read the story.
Writing Prompts: Writing does more than provide children with opportunities to practice spelling, grammar, and sentence structure skills. Writing prompts allow kids to reflect on their personal experiences. Journaling can relieve stress and help children identify feelings, practice higher-level thinking skills, and engage in problem-solving strategies. Find many holiday writing prompts (including Valentine's Day, the Fourth of July, Halloween, Christmas, etc.) at JournalBuddies.com.
Sing, Dance, and Move: Many children, particularly online learners, spend hours in front of a computer screen. Experiences such as "Sing-a-long and Move: The 12 Days of Christmas" invite kids to sing AND learn movements that accompany the song. I created this class to give children opportunities to exercise while they sing. I provide the words to the song to children before they attend class. The words are also printed on PowerPoint slides as we learn the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas," in class.
Act and Art Activities: Some students hate to read - but LOVE to perform. I wrote a short play (adapted from "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens) and provide an art activity in this online class, "A Christmas Carol - Holiday Play and Art Activity." Children practice acting skills using vocal variety as they read aloud the play and discuss the meaning of gratitude. Students also create a holiday mobile after they read aloud and discuss the play.
Celebrate important Days Throughout the Year: Try these suggestions from Education World to explore a variety of different celebrations related to festivals, professions (Did you know February was Dental Health Month?), and other important days. KidsKonnect provides information and resources for children to learn more about mental health awareness during World Mental Health Day.
Read and Write a Book Report: Reading can be fun - especially if children are interested in the story or book. In this Outschool class, "Read and Write a Book Report (for Art Lovers)," children discuss and share their favorite form of artistic expressions (sing a song, share a picture they drew or painted, play an instrument, etc.). They also read a story about an art school, create a graphic organizer, and learn steps to writing a book report.
The following websites provide many holiday arts and crafts activities. Consider pairing a holiday story with art activity from one of these websites:
Adapt and modify holiday activities in ways that most interest and best fit your child's or student's age group, learning style, and abilities. Why spend lots of time creating an activity to accompany a lesson if it isn't fun?
Do YOU have holiday story suggestions or craft ideas? Add YOUR holiday ideas to the suggestions.
Happy Holidays -- 365 days a year!
Dr. Julie Connor, Ed.D. is a TED and school assembly speaker, online teacher, and author of Dreams to Action Trailblazer's Guide, an award-winning personal goal-setting book. She helps youth and adults talk about mental health awareness, communication and conflict resolution, and suicide prevention. Julie believes conversations can heal the world.
Dr. Connor has 30+ years of teaching experience in traditional schools and online teaching platforms. She offers guidance to those who want to become online teachers. If you would like to be an Outschool online teacher, use this link to begin the application process.
If you want to teach immersion English to children in Asia, Go to the VIPKID website and add the referral code, JULIE0530 (JULIE zero 53 zero), when you log in on the VIPKID website!
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