Holiday and Winter Activities for Upper Elementary Classrooms

Holiday and Winter Activities for Upper Elementary Classrooms

By: Jacqueline Ortiz, Written Nov. 2018 Updated Dec. 1, 2023

Winter is the most wonderful time of the year, filled with excitement and anticipation, making it a perfect opportunity to create engaging and thematic lessons. Keeping students focused during the winter months can be challenging, but incorporating winter-themed activities will spark their interest and keep them engaged. Below, I’ll share some of my favorite winter resources, creative writing ideas, and must-have books for the season, along with math and STEM activities to extend the learning.

Winter Activities for ELA, Writing and Bulletin Board Ideas

Winter Creative Writing Bulletin Board:
One of my favorite activities to keep students engaged during the winter months is creating an interactive Winter Creative Writing Bulletin Board. This activity not only brightens up the classroom but also allows students to share their writing in a fun and visual way. I incorporate a variety of winter-themed writing prompts to suit different student needs, including Christmas-themed prompts, winter wonderland stories, and more. These activities are perfect for grades 3-5.

Winter Truck Loads of Wishes Bulletin:
This interactive bulletin board encourages students to write about their winter wishes, resolutions, or creative winter stories. It serves as a great class display and conversation starter, fostering a sense of community and creativity among your students.

Quick Write Color Winter Themed Pennants:

Celebrate the Holidays in your classroom with theseChristmas Holiday Coloring & Quick Journal Reflect & Write Teach-GO Pennants™. These are perfect for having your students color and use all season long. They will feel inspired and motivated to show case their beautiful display to everyone. After the individual pennants are completed, they can be displayed in the classroom or in a common area of the school to encourage all who see them.

Winter Activities for Reading and Comprehension

December Reading Comprehension Bundle:
This reading comprehension bundle is a great tool for guided reading, homework, or bell work. Each set focuses on essential skills like summary, context clues, author’s purpose, inference, and writing. With genres ranging from poetry to nonfiction, this bundle provides a diverse learning experience throughout December. Answer keys are included, making it easy to project on the SMARTBoard or create printables. You’ll love the quick passages and monthly theme packets designed for grades 3-5.

Christmas Poetry:
Poetry is a fantastic way to build fluency and help students analyze language. This Christmas-themed poetry unit is full of seasonal poems to last through the month, making it a great addition to students’ poetry notebooks. It’s perfect for reinforcing literary devices, rhyme schemes, and fluency.

Winter Fun Writing Prompts:
Engage students with creative winter writing prompts like “The Ugly Sweater,” “Inside a Snow Globe,” and other fun seasonal ideas. These unique Teach-Go Pennants make writing fun and help students develop their creative storytelling skills.

Winter Holidays Around the World Activities:
Explore how different cultures celebrate the winter season with the Winter Holidays Around the World Reading Comprehension Packet. Pair it with templates for pennants, flip books, and brochures to give students a hands-on way to document their learning. Plus, the digital Google Slides version makes it easy for virtual or in-person instruction.

Winter Activities for adding Math and STEM to Lessons

Winter isn’t just for ELA activities—this season is also a great opportunity to integrate math and STEM activities into your winter-themed curriculum.

Winter Festival of Lights, PBL & Stem:

Design your own Festival of Lights and Persuade us to come to it! The ultimate goal for this activity is to grow your students creativity and to help them with their persuasive writing skills. My students enjoyed these design tasks and seeing their final outcomes was so exciting. With writing, reading, STEM and creating your stduents will have a blast all season long!

STEM Challenge: Build the Tallest Snowman (STEAM Activity):
Challenge students to build the tallest “snowman” using household materials such as marshmallows, toothpicks, or Styrofoam balls. Incorporate measurement, engineering principles, and creativity as students work together to create a structure that holds up. Encourage students to design, test, and improve their creations, blending engineering with fun!

Color By Code (Multiplication, Addition and Subtraction Practice):
Turn math practice into a fun coloring. Students will not even realize they are working and learning while coloring away with these fun and decorative color by multiplication pennants!

Ice Melting Science Experiment (STEM Focus):
Introduce a simple but engaging science experiment by exploring the science behind how salt melts ice. Provide students with ice cubes, salt, and a timer, and ask them to make predictions about how quickly the ice will melt with and without salt. Students can record their observations and discuss the scientific principles behind the experiment, including how salt lowers the freezing point of water.

Favorite Winter Engaging Read Alouds

Here are some of my favorite books to read aloud during the winter season. I love gathering my students on the floor and diving into these engaging stories. Each book offers a wonderful opportunity to focus on a different reading skill such as main idea, character analysis, summarizing, and plot development. Not only do these read-alouds capture the magic of the season, but they also provide rich learning experiences.

Here’s a list of a few of my favorites:

• The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg: This timeless classic takes students on a magical train ride to the North Pole, teaching them about the power of belief. As we read, I like to focus on plot structure and themes, while students explore the development of the characters’ emotions and transformations.
• How to Catch an Elf by Adam Wallace: This playful and humorous book follows a sneaky elf who evades all sorts of traps on Christmas Eve. I use this book to practice sequencing events and discussing cause-and-effect relationships in a fun, lighthearted way.
• Olive the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh: In this adorable story, Olive the dog thinks she is one of Santa’s reindeer! This read-aloud is perfect for character analysis and making inferences as students discuss Olive’s journey and what makes her special.
• Snowman At Night by Caralyn Buehner: Ever wonder what snowmen do at night? This imaginative book sparks students’ creativity while focusing on visualizing and predicting. I love using this story for winter-themed creative writing extensions as well!
• The Night of the Posada by Tomie dePaola: This beautiful story celebrates the Mexican tradition of Las Posadas and introduces students to the cultural significance of the event. I often pair this with a discussion on summarizing and the importance of traditions, highlighting how different cultures celebrate during the winter season.
• The Story of Hanukkah by David A. Adler: This engaging retelling of the Hanukkah story provides a great introduction to the Jewish holiday and its significance. We focus on identifying the main idea and summarizing, as well as discussing the holiday’s traditions and history.
• Together for Kwanzaa by Juwanda G. Ford: A heartwarming story that teaches students about Kwanzaa, its principles, and traditions. We explore the concepts of family and community, and I use this book to practice making connections and understanding diverse cultural celebrations.

CHECK OUT MY COMPLETE BOOK SUGGESTIONS HERE!

Incorporating winter-themed lessons across subjects not only keeps students excited but also helps them connect their learning to the real world. From creative writing to math and STEM activities, these ideas will engage your students and make the winter season even more magical in your classroom!

Don’t forget to check out these Winter Freebies available now!

• Winter Fast Finishers Activities: this packet is perfect for your fast finishers, with tons of creative ideas to keep your kiddos engaged and learning!
• Here are another two fun Christmas Freebies you won’t want to miss- Reindeer Food Freebie and Christmas Writing Craft Bulletin Board