December Activities for the Upper Elementary Classroom

December in the classroom might be the shortest month of instructional days, but it might be the hardest, too. Students are excited about the holidays and school break. Their thoughts are consumed with Christmas and gifts and travel and well . . . just about anything but school! And teachers are just as busy, too! There are lessons to plan, students to engage, and a Christmas party to plan – and that is just at school. So, let me help you fill your lesson plans with fun and engaging December activities that your students will love!

December Christmas Activities for the Upper Elementary Classroom 3rd 4th 5th Grades

December Morning Message

I love greeting students with fun morning messages! The consistency and structure they provide at the start of the day is so important. They also help students build confidence in their surroundings.

Start your day right with these December BITMOJI Morning Greetings Slides. Not only will they give you a consistent routine, but they will also help you complete those necessary morning tasks faster and more efficiently. All of the slides are editable, so you can quickly add your morning note, routine, or morning work task. Each slide also includes a quote and journal topic that can be used for daily writing. Easily change my BITMOJI to yours in just seconds. Step-by-step directions are included!

I also enjoy using these morning messages as an opportunity to reinforce positive behavior and instill values in my students, such as kindness, responsibility, and determination.

December Morning Meeting Daily Agenda Slides
Bitmoji Morning Greeting Slides December

Maximize your productivity in the morning and enjoy more free time after school! Discover the benefits of using BITMOJI Morning Greeting Slides all year round with the comprehensive Morning Greeting and Daily Agenda Slides BUNDLE. Simplify your school year with everything you need in one package.

December Book Reviews

One of the best ways I’ve found to get students interested in independent reading is to let them find books based on recommendations from their classmates. Each month, students choose one book they’ve read and complete a book review on it. Posting these book reviews in your classroom library allows students to use them to find their next book! These December Book Reviews make a great bulletin board, too!

Christmas Activities December Bulletin Board Book Report Review Writing Template
Christmas Activities December Bulletin Board Book Report Review Writing Template

With this resource, students are guided through the process of writing a good book review. They start with a planning sheet that allows them to collect their thoughts and all of the information they need from the book. Next, they use the book review bookmark to make sure they’ve included all the elements of a good review. Finally, they add a little seasonal embellishment to their book review before posting it in the library.

Do you want an ongoing way for students to share their favorite (or least favorite) book throughout the year? Get the Seasonal Book Reviews BUNDLE and treat your students to new book reviews every month!

Christmas Traditions Around the World

Explore Christmas traditions from around the world with these engaging reading passages and questions. These carefully curated passages will immerse students in the holiday spirit while strengthening their reading comprehension skills. Each passage explores the unique Christmas traditions of a different country, including America, Mexico, Canada, England, Germany, Italy, Australia, Sweden, France, and Russia.

Christmas Traditions Around World Reading Comprehension Passages Text Evidence

Through these Christmas-themed nonfiction passages, students will not only deepen their understanding of different cultures but also practice the RACES writing strategy. With one constructive response question and three additional questions, students will learn how to effectively use the RACES strategy to support their answers with text evidence.

These Christmas Traditions Around World Reading Comprehension Passages are designed to enhance your students’ ability to find and cite text evidence, fostering their critical thinking skills. By guiding students through the RACES writing strategy, we empower them to respond confidently and accurately to comprehension questions.

Get ready for an engaging and educational journey through the diverse Christmas traditions celebrated around the world.

Fun Christmas Math Activities

Christmas Math Worksheets No Prep December Math Activities Coloring Pages

Get your students excited about learning during the holiday season with these Christmas Math NO PREP worksheets and fun activities. Designed for 4th and 5th graders (but can be used for review in 6th grade or with intervention groups), this engaging math packet covers a variety of skills, from multiplication and division facts to logic puzzles.

Forget the chaos of the holiday season – this resource requires NO PREP and is easy to use. With the included answer keys, you can quickly assess your students’ progress. Add these high-interest activities to your December lesson plans and keep your sanity intact while keeping math skills sharp!

Need to take a sick day or a day off from work? No problem! Choose any of the 12 included worksheets to leave for a sub! These Christmas activities are NO PREP and perfect to leave as sub plans. NO PREP = NO STRESS!

December Close Reading

As teachers, we know how hard it can be to get anything academic done in those few weeks leading up to the holidays. So, instead of fighting against it, embrace the holidays and weave them into your lesson plans. These December Close Reading Passages and Questions make it super easy to do just that.

This resource has more than enough activities to fill your reading lesson plans for December! Your students will love these seasonal and holiday-themed non-fiction reading passages. Five high-interest and engaging reading passages are included. Each passage comes with two reading levels so you can easily differentiate for your students.

Christmas December Reading Comprehension Passages for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade
Christmas Close Reading

These December-themed close reading activities will make reading fun and relevant to the season and help improve reading comprehension skills, too. Your students will love reading about Candy Canes, Christmas Trees, National Cookie Day, and more.

Close reading is an instructional approach that uses the same reading passage for multiple days to teach a variety of skills and concepts. Over the years, I’ve found that close reading really helps students dig deeper into a text and learn to think like a reader. I’ve also seen students carrying these skills over to their independent reading! Find out how to best use close reading passages in your classroom.

Christmas Main Idea Practice

This valuable resource offers short Christmas Main Idea Reading Passages and Graphic Organizers to help your students enhance their skills in finding the main idea and supporting details. These reading passages simplify the process of identifying the main idea for students. Supporting details are thoughtfully included, allowing students to practice identifying the smaller details that support the main idea easily. These high-interest reading passages, centered around Christmas, will keep your students engaged in learning amidst the holiday frenzy.

Winter activities for finding main idea
Christmas Activities for Main Idea and Supporting Details

Although an important reading skill, main idea often gets jumbled in with a variety of other skills in reading passages. These shorter passages provide focused practice on this one skill. This resource includes 12 Christmas-themed non-fiction passages that students can work independently without any problems.

Christmas Reading and Math No Prep Skills Review

Simplify your holiday season with these engaging, ready-to-use activities. This Christmas No Prep Reading and Math Skills Review Packet is perfect for independent work. Use these worksheets for early finishers, morning work, homework, or as time fillers. They are also ideal for substitute plans. Add any of these Christmas-themed reading and math pages to your substitute folder for easy use!

No Prep Christmas Activities Skills Review Packet

This packet includes a variety of math and language arts concepts. Here are just a few of the skills your students will practice with these December no-prep activities:

  • similes and metaphors
  • idioms
  • reading comprehension
  • parts of speech
  • writing
  • multiplication
  • factors and multiples
  • prime and composite numbers
  • word problems
  • place value, and more!

What sets these activities apart is their focus on quality skill practice. Rest assured, your students will be developing and reinforcing important skills while enjoying themselves during the holidays! Try a FREE reading comprehension passage from this packet by filling out the form below!

Christmas Digital Stickers

Christmas Digital Stickers

If you’re assigning digital work, don’t forget your stickers! With digital stickers, you’ll never run out! These 20 Christmas Digital Stickers for Google™ or Seesaw™ are the perfect way to connect with your students through any digital assignment. Simply copy and paste the digital stickers onto student work in Google Slides™, Google Docs™, or click on the camera to add a sticker in Seesaw™.

Students can also collect their digital stickers! This Digital Sticker Book for Students includes a 6-page realistic-looking journal with editable tabs. It also comes with 20 motivational digital stickers. It easily provides a fun way for students to collect their digital stickers!

Save these December Activities

Prepare for a calm and enjoyable December with engaging activities for your students! These activities are sure to keep them entertained and excited. If you’re not ready to plan for December just yet, save this to your favorite classroom Pinterest board for future reference!

December Christmas Activities for the Upper Elementary Classroom 3rd 4th 5th Grades

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