Free Classroom Resources for Celebrating December Holidays
December kicks off the start of winter break and the holiday season. Our fun classroom resource packets and other freebies are packed with fun holiday-themed lessons and activities your elementary students will love. Check out these fun resources we’ve assembled so your students can celebrate all the fun of winter in class or over winter break!
Winter Break Writing Prompts
We know how important it is to keep your students engaged over winter break. With this in mind, we wanted to help busy educators by creating a fun and meaningful way to keep students writing while they are out of school.
These simple winter-themed writing prompts can help you give your students something creative to work on over the holiday season and keep their writing skills sharp.
Winter Solstice Classroom Resources
The winter solstice is the perfect way to blend science and the official start of the coziest season of the year.
The free Winter Solstice Toolkit from Edmentum offers a variety of resources to help you do just that, including an age-appropriate poster, fact sheets, and critical thinking tasks specifically created to educate your pre-K through 6th grade students.
Consider sharing these fun facts with your class:
- The word solstice comes from the Latin words for “sun” and “to stand still.”
- The winter solstice occurs at a specific time of day. This year winter officially begins at 11:45 PM EST.
- During the winter solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is pointed at its furthest distance from the sun, bringing less light and colder temperatures.
- The winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year—meaning the day with the least amount of daylight hours.
- After the solstice occurs, days grow longer north of the equator. This movement culminates on the longest day of the year, the summer solstice (usually falling between June 20 to 22).
- Meteorologists consider December 1st the start of winter and March 1st the start of meteorological spring. That’s because December, January, and February are the coldest months of the year.
Edmentum Bingo – Winter Edition
We created a winter version of our bingo cards for you to share with your students and have some fun over the winter break. These bingo cards are perfect for printing and playing or sharing on your favorite social media platforms.
The Edmentum Brain Game
Who doesn’t love a family game night over the holidays? The Edmentum Brain Game is a fun, descriptive game that puts an interactive twist on flashcard review by challenging players to describe terms with a partner or group.
There are multiple ways to play the game, so put your own spin on the rules to fit the needs of your students. Keep an eye out during the rest of the school year for more fun themed packs to add to your collection. Visit the game’s website for the full list of card packs and rules.
Winter Holiday Classroom Resources
Celebrate in the classroom or at home with free winter holiday topical resources from Edmentum. This resource packet includes fact sheets, activities, a poster, and critical thinking questions so that you and your class can explore the history and significance of different holidays and discuss the traditions we observe today.
Edmentum Gratitude Cards
Include a punny printable or virtually shareable gratitude card when you send out your holiday greetings! These quick and fun cards are full of clever and creative sayings that will make anyone who receives them know that they are appreciated.
Start sharing ‘thank you’s to your fellow teachers, admins, students, or anyone you want to today.
Encourage Reading During Winter Break
It would be ideal if students can use their free time during the winter holidays cozying up with a book. But the reality is that many will spend their time with their eyes fixed on a video game, a television, or staring at the screen of a smartphone, tablet, or laptop in the car as their parents drive to visit out-of-town relatives.
Keep your students’ reading momentum going by implementing these tips on encouraging students to read at every grade level.
This blog was originally published November 2020 and has been updated.