Although Christmas still seems a while away, like supermarkets, we find that schools and pupils start to prepare for certain festive related events earlier and earlier – any Reception Teachers who started their Nativity practice in October this year?!?
To help you survive, and to help get your pupils engaged in learning opportunities, why not try these festive twists when planning your lessons in December?
12 Days of Christmas
Use the story of the famous carol within a set of word or picture problems. Why not design equations for your pupils to solve – push any higher abilities with more complex calculations – or practice a specific function that your pupils turn off from.
Hands and Feet for artwork
With younger pupils use finger painting to create the front of Christmas cards or ornaments. A set of hands can create a nice set of brown reindeer antlers or make mistletoe out of a print of their actual toes!
Christmas Advert
In my house it doesn’t start feeling like “Holidays are coming” until specific adverts come on the television. Use video content in a lesson of your favourite Christmas advert and spark off their creative writing. It does not have to be a story; a newspaper article works just as well.
Retelling of a Festive story
Use festive stories in your guided reading or have them retell a famous story in their own words – in their own choice of medium. For younger pupils provide them with pictures from the story and ask them to put them in the right order or create a story arc.
Making a snow globe
A mix of both art and science. Older pupils can create their own snow to include within the model scene.
A Christmas Carol
Whether your favourite version involves The Muppets, Bill Murray or just the written word, the story and the learning remains the same. Discuss Scrooge as a character, the changes he makes, or the way in which the Victorian way of life, and work, was so different to what we are used to today.
Winter music
You will likely have enough of carols and 1980s Christmas No. 1s, so why not strip music back. As a group or a class produce a winter scene; use sleigh bells to make it clear Father Christmas is nearly here.
Father Christmas
The Christmas experience and our relationship with him is different all over the world. Explore these differences and have a debate on what you would want to add to your celebrations this year.
Design their own Christmas jumpers
And explore the charities that are promoted through Christmas Jumper Day!
New Year’s Resolutions
The New Year is always a great time to make some changes. Have your pupils decide what they would like to work on next term, have them write it up and then in January, hold them to it!
Whatever you decide to do in the lead up to the Christmas Break, make it enjoyable (for you and your pupils) and as stress free as possible.