Christmas Reading Comprehension Activities

It's the most wonderful time of the year....and also one of the craziest. Can you really get any teaching done between Thanksgiving, Christmas breaks? My answer to you is yes, but you have to be strategic and play to the interests of the students....and what could be better than to using Christmas activities as the basis of your learning? I love to help my students learn about the traditions of the holidays. I find that sprinkling a bit of learning with a Christmas theme provides a bit of excitement and keeps them engaged in the crazy weeks leading into the holidays. 

Let me share with you what I mean. First, I think about different traditions for the holidays. I use those as the basis of learning activities. For example, I created a magazine-style reading booklet that covered different traditions surrounding Christmas trees. Inside I researched and wrote seven articles, enough for seven days of learning! Another booklet I created is all about gingerbread, a favorite around this time of year. With each set of reading articles, I included a set of comprehension worksheets. I also love to extend learning through additional fun activities. For the Christmas tree pack, we do a S.T.E.M. project where students build their own trees. We also do many other activities along the way. In the gingerbread activity pack, students create their own gingerbread houses using a template that looks like a gingerbread house and opens up to reveal a piece of writing about a Christmas memory or tradition. These are super cute for a bulletin board display too!

I love doing these for every holiday I can.  I these reading activity backs for many different holidays, not just Christmas. I have a set for New Year's that is updated with the new year each year. I have one for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, April Fool's Day, and Thanksgiving. They are so fun, and I love all the learning my students do. By the end of the holiday, they know why we have the traditions we do. 

If you are interested in checking any of theses out, you can find them by clicking on each picture below.