Ideas for Engaging Students During the Fall and Winter Holidays

September. 🍎 October. 🎃 November. 🦃 December. 🎄 The -ber months are here, which means we’re about to embark on a magical journey through the fall and winter holidays. As a teacher, you know the excitement can be palpable. Keeping your students engaged throughout the festive seasons can be quite the challenge, am I right? But fear not! I have some ideas to keep the learning going and add a sprinkle of holiday magic to your classroom. Let’s get into it!

1. Thematic Lessons

Dive into the spirit of the season by incorporating holiday themes into your lessons. Whether it’s Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or some other holiday, use celebrations as thematic units to make your subject material more relatable and fun!

Need an example? Here’s one: in my sixth-grade math classes, I’m having students look through store circulars and calculate the cost of their Thanksgiving dinners. It’s the perfect real-world application for decimal operations!

2. Interactive Notebooks

Given my passion for interactive notebooks, I can’t stress their importance in the classroom enough! Create holiday-themed foldable activities that relate to your curriculum’s learning objectives. It’s a fantastic way to make student learning multisensory and channel that holiday excitement into a productive activity.

3. Holiday Decorations

Transform your classroom into a festive wonderland! Let your classes help decorate your shared classroom and bulletin board spaces, being mindful to represent all students. Use this as an opportunity to discuss traditions and holidays from around the world. It’s a great way to promote cultural awareness.

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I tend to stick to nondenominational, generic winter decor. In the picture above, students glued their spelling words in categories onto large mittens made from construction paper. We also do a word sort during our word study; this one just happened to be comfy, cozy fun! It really doesn’t take much.

4. Seasonal Reads

Incorporate holiday-themed books into your reading list! Encourage your students to read and discuss these books, fostering their love for reading while connecting with the holidays.

5. Festive Projects

Plan creative projects that align with the holidays. Whether it’s making holiday cards, crafting ornaments, or researching holiday traditions, projects add a hands-on, interactive element to your teaching.

6. Guest Speakers

Invite parents or community members to share their holiday traditions and experiences. This can be a powerful way to teach diversity and inclusion, all while keeping the excitement alive.

7. Virtual Field Trips

If physical travel isn’t possible for whatever reason, take your students on virtual field trips to explore holiday celebrations worldwide. This can be an eye-opening and engaging experience for them.

8. Multisensory Learning

Incorporate activities that engage the senses – touch, smell, taste, sound, and sight. This can make learning more memorable and enjoyable for both teacher and student!

The Bottom Line: Student Engagement During the Holidays

Remember, it’s okay to embrace the excitement of the season. Use it to your advantage and weave that holiday spirit into your teaching. Learning can be fun and festive! 🎉 ACTIONABLE STEPS: Let’s make this fall and winter season one to remember. Keep the learning going while creating cherished memories with your students. You’ve got this!