Christmas writing activities can help you and your students celebrate the holiday while still learning important academic skills. Christmas is one of the most difficult times of the year to teach because students are so excited about the holidays. But we need to keep teaching because we know state testing is just around the corner and there is so much material that we need to cover. The solution is to our problem is Christmas writing activities. We can teach the skills we need while students celebrate the holiday through writing.
Christmas Writing Activities in My Classrooms
Different schools approach the holidays differently. One school I worked in was anti-bias, which meant they didn’t celebrate any holidays because they didn’t want to exclude anyone. Another school I worked in took time to organize a secret friend exchange so that every student got a gift and there was a delicious dessert bar for students to visit. Most schools I’ve worked in have celebrated the holidays with themed work like Christmas writing activities.
The Challenge of Christmas Writing Activities
The biggest challenge of Christmas writing activities is learning what your students celebrate to make sure you include everyone. The best way I have ever done this is through my Culturally Responsive Teaching unit. Part of this unit is having students explore their family history and culture. When students explore their history they record their holidays and traditions as part of the unit at the beginning of the year, it lets me know how I should approach holidays for the rest of the year. It lets me include so many more students by planning ahead, rather than being surprised and having to react at the moment.
Why Celebrate Christmas with Christmas Writing Activities?
Christmas writing activities help us to acknowledge our students’ excitement and celebrate the holiday without stopping academic work. Our students write better when they write about topics that they are interested in and passionate about. Rather than telling them to focus on the excitement we can embrace it and put that energy into meaningful writing.
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10 Christmas Writing Activities
Classroom writing activities can come in many forms and the more ideas you have the better. It’s unlikely that you will use the exact same activities every year because you have a different group of students every year. Think about who your students are and what their beliefs are as you pick Christmas writing activities that are right for your classroom.
- Haiku About Christmas is Part of Christmas Writing Activities
Haiku poetry originated in Japan. These poems focused on small moments in time about nature, such as a leaf falling from a tree. They are three lines long, that’s it. Haikus are most famous for their syllable count of 5-7-5. Writers must use descriptive language and conciseness in haiku poetry.
In our modern world haiku poetry can be about any topic. They are great for teaching syllables, descriptive language, small moments, and conciseness. We can have our students write about small, special Christmas moments as they share their holiday traditions with you. You will be able to teach academic skills while embracing the holiday. And you get to send home a nice piece of holiday poetry to their families.
- Christmas Shape Poetry is Part of Christmas Writing Activities
Shape poetry is exactly what it sounds like. The poem is written in a shape relevant to the topic. It’s also called concrete poetry. There are two types of shape poetry. Outline poems are when the words of the poem fill the shape and drawing poems are when the words create a pencil-like sketch of the shape.
In this poetry lesson, students get to decide if they would like to write an outline or a drawing shape poem. There are several shape templates to choose from. It is available in digital and printable, but I would recommend printable for this particular poem.
- Christmas Poem Easy is Part of Christmas Writing Activities
There are so many special and unique sounds during the Christmas holidays. They infiltrate our senses. In this Christmas onomatopoeia poetry, students will follow the free verse poem template and writing process to incorporate onomatopoeias into a Christmas Poem of their own.
First students learn about onomatopoeias and practice identifying and working with them. Then students use the free verse poetry template to write their own onomatopoeia Christmas Poem Easy. It’s a great way to celebrate the holiday, learn onomatopoeias, and practice some sensory detail.
- Christmas Acrostic Poem is Part of Christmas Writing Activities
Acrostic poems are the most common type of poem I see teachers write with their students. They are easy to plan and fast to complete they are a great choice for the busy teacher. Acrostic poems are when there is a base word (usually written down the left side of the paper) and each line starts with a letter from the base word.
Once students hit 4th grade I like to challenge what they’ve been taught about acrostic poetry. I trade in the simple acrostic for a more mature version of an acrostic poem. I ask my students to write full sentences instead of just one or two words. I also allow them to have their sentences go over several lines of the poem. The result is a more mature acrostic. Sometimes they are simply descriptive, while other times students tell stories.
In this acrostic poem, students will write about Christmas. They can tell a story, share traditions, or imagine something else. They can practice acrostic poetry while sharing about a topic that is engaging.
- Hanukkah Acrostic is Part of Christmas Writing Activities
Acrostic poems are the most common type of poem I see teachers write with their students. They are easy to plan and fast to complete they are a great choice for the busy teacher. Acrostic poems are when there is a base word (usually written down the left side of the paper) and each line starts with a letter from the base word.
Once students hit 4th grade I like to challenge what they’ve been taught about acrostic poetry. I trade in the simple acrostic for a more mature version of an acrostic poem. I ask my students to write full sentences instead of just one or two words. I also allow them to have their sentences go over several lines of the poem. The result is a more mature acrostic. Sometimes they are simply descriptive, while other times students tell stories.
This Hanukkah acrostic poem is a great chance for students to practice acrostic poetry while they tell about the history, traditions, and excitement of Hanukkah.
- Christmas Traditions Poem is Part of Christmas Writing Activities
Every family has different traditions at Christmas and this Christmas Traditions Poem is a great way to celebrate them. Students will use the free verse poetry template to help them count down to Christmas. Each number of the countdown focuses on a different tradition. Students will start thinking about the Christmas holiday in a new way once they brainstorm their traditions. I also love that this poem lets parents see what their child cherishes about the holiday.
- Hanukkah Poetry is Part of Christmas Writing Activities
Hanukkah has a rich history full of traditions. There is actually a countdown to Hanukkah similar to how students count down to Christmas. Countdown poetry is free verse poetry that gives students a template to follow to make it easier. While writing this poem students will reflect on the meaning of Hanukkah and the traditions they might follow. This poem was created in partnership with my Christmas Traditions Poem. I wanted to make sure that both cultures had the opportunity to celebrate their holiday through poetry.
- Countdown to Christmas and Countdown to Hanukkah Bundle is Part of Christmas Writing Activities
Do you have students who celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah? Then this bundle is for you. Our students spend so much time counting down to the Holidays. This poem takes all of that energy and combines it with their traditions and expectations for the holiday. You’ll be able to send your students home with a wonderful poem that lets their parents see what they cherish about the holiday season.
- Poem for Winter Solstice is Part of Christmas Writing Activities
Diamantes are poems of opposites in which two things are compared through poetry. A diamante poem is a seven-line poem that uses specific parts of speech in each line. The first line is the first topic then the next two lines give details about the topic using a specific part of speech. The next line, number four, can give two details about each topic or tell similarities. Line 7 is the second topic and the two lines proceeding it give specific details. Diamante poetry can be a bit of a challenge but our students need to be challenged.
The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and right near Christmas. If you need an alternative to Christmas in your classroom teaching your students about the winter solstice could be a great option. A comparison poem about the winter solstice is perfect because your students can compare light and dark or summer and winter. They might think of other comparisons that are related too.
- Winter Solstice Poetry is Part of Christmas Writing Activities
This is a winter solstice acrostic. By the time my students are in 4th grade, I have them write a more mature and complex acrostic with complete sentences that go across multiple lines. For this lesson in particular I have my students research the winter solstice and then write a poem about it. There are some great YouTube videos that show the differences between light and dark and how a lit-up world looks. They are pretty neat to show to students during a winter solstice lesson.
I love having my student research the winter solstice a little bit because they need to know enough to write a poem, but they get to practice research and the writing process. This assignment is short and easy to grade which makes it perfect for right before winter break.
Final Tips About Christmas Writing Activities
Here is Your FREE Prompt for Writing Poetry
I know that you needed a prompt to help kickstart your students’ writing. Here is an entire lesson for FREE. My Our School Poem guides students by using sensory language to describe their school. The step-by-step directions guide your class through the writing process with all the necessary worksheets making this the perfect lesson for your classroom.