Christmas in the classroom: Our 3 favourite festive lesson plans

With Christmas very much on the horizon, now’s the time to introduce a few festive activities to the classroom!

It can be tricky to keep kids motivated towards the holidays, but our selection of festive lesson plans should keep them engaged and get them into the Christmas spirit.

3 festive lesson plans

Take a look at our festive lesson plan ideas which cover a range of ages and abilities and can be customised to suit your students.

1) Get creative with Christmassy art

Making Christmas decorations is a fun activity that younger kids really enjoy.

Potato print cards are a great way for little ones to get their hands dirty and create art that they can share with friends and family. Potatoes can be modelled into a variety of festive shapes, from robins to Christmas trees. There are many awesome ideas for this activity online, but one of our favourite festive potato prints has to be the (very cute) Christmas penguin.

To make your penguin potato print art, you’ll need:

Materials

• Brown card or wrapping paper
• Paper plates (to use as paint palettes)
• Potatoes
• Black and white tempura (or acrylic) paint
• Orange acrylic paint
• Self-adhesive googly eyes
• Knife
• Paint brush

Method

1) Choose a large potato for the penguin’s body and a smaller one for its white stomach. (If you cut a ‘hand hold’ into the potatoes it will make it easier for kids to work with them.)

2) Lie your wrapping paper or card flat on a table. Stamp your penguin bodies into the black paint then onto the paper or card and allow them to dry.

3) Take your potato bellies, stamp them into the white paint then onto the black bodies on the paper or card.

4) After the white paint has dried, it’s time for the fun part – adding the googly eyes! Position these on a sensible place on the penguin’s black head.

5) The final step is to add some beaks and feet using the orange paint then allow to dry overnight and, hey presto, you have some super-cute hand-made cards or wrapping paper!

(Source: https://www.muminthemadhouse.com/diy-gift-wrap-potato-print-penguins)

2) Set a web quest about Christmas traditions

A ‘web quest’ is a research-based activity where students are given a task and provided with access to online resources and technology, like iPads, to help them complete it.

Christmas traditions tend to vary massively from country to country and students will really enjoy finding out about some of the quirkier festive customs from around the globe.

Traditions they might like to explore could include Sweden’s 13-metre tall Gävle Goat, Iceland’s gift-giving Yule Lads or Japan’s unusual custom of tucking into fried chicken on Christmas Day!

3) Christmas market language lesson

This a great language activity for older students that will transport them to a bustling, authentic Christmas market.

Use your interactive screen to play a short video clip to your class, such as this one which is crammed full of interesting info about Strasbourg’s Christmas Market. Get them to take notes on what they see as the video plays (e.g. on the products sold and descriptions of the market). Play the video again, so they can catch anything they missed first time round.

Ask students to describe what they saw or set them a quiz or short worksheet with specific questions about the video’s content to test their understanding.

(Source: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator-french/french-christmas-lesson-plan/)

These festive lesson plans are sure to bring a touch of Christmas to your classroom and keep kids engaged ahead of the holidays!

If you need some help with equipment to add a festive touch to your classroom, just call on the friendly team at Utility Rentals.