fun christmas writing activities for 3rd grade

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Christmas Writing Activities That Kids Will Love

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We all know that during the holiday season it is harder to engage our students.  Using holiday and seasonal activities helps to get over that hurdle.  These Christmas writing activities will have your students focused and engaged while working on important writing skills.

Writing Activities that Engage

Engaging students in writing can be tough, holidays or no holidays.  There’s something about a blank piece of paper and a really broad topic that overwhelms students.  By just taking these away and changing up the methodology we can grab their attention and get them focused on writing.  Shorter writing activities are also a great way to really focus on one specific writing skill.  Once students have practiced the concept, it is then easier for them to incorporate their new writing skill into larger writing assignments.

These Christmas themed flip books are a great way to engage your students with the holiday writing and help them work on a variety of writing and language arts skills.  The small, mini flip book format makes them something fun and exciting for students too.  Inside this resource you will have 6 mini-books to engage your students in different types of writing.  These no prep writing activities include directions so your students know just what to do.  A great resource to whole class writing or adding to the writing center.  Here’s what your students will work on using these Christmas writing activities.

1. Descriptive Writing Fun

This flip book on My Christmas Tree is a great example.  On two of tabs in this mini-book, students will focus descriptive writing.  They will start with listing adjectives to describe their tree.  Then they move on to using adjectives in sentences as they describe the ornaments.

Three of the 6 mini-books have descriptive writing activities.  This allows students to have multiple opportunities to practice this important writing skill.  You can find the descriptive writing activities in the My Christmas Tree, A Christmas Bakery and the Wrap It Up mini-books.

2. Writing and Supporting Opinions

Another important life skill we can teach our students is that of thinking through why they have opinions. It is one thing to have an opinion, we all have them, but it is another to be able to explain why we have an opinion.  As our students get older, they transition from just believing what they are told to developing their own opinions.  But being able to think through and explain why we have those opinions is an important part of that.  Helping our students learn that “just because” or “I don’t know” are not good reasons.

Using the Christmas flip books, students will work on stating their opinions and explaining why they have that opinion.  It might be their favorite Christmas ornament in My Christmas Tree, explaining what gift they would give to someone in Great Gift Giving, or writing about their favorite Christmas Carol.  All opportunities to practice writing and supporting their opinions.

3. The Power of Persuasion

Learning how to write persuasively is another great skill we can teach our students.  Whether they have a future in advertising, the  courtroom or public service, being able to lay out a well crafted, persuasive plan is great life skill.  Using the Christmas mini-books, students will practice their persuasive powers.

Practicing persuasion takes a couple of different forms in these mini-books.  In A Christmas Bakery, students will create an advertisement for the bakery.  This is a great way to learn how images and words can go together to persuade.  Additionally, in My Christmas Tree students will write to try to persuade someone to come and see their decorated tree.

4. How to Writing

Another writing skill your students will work on is how to writing.  Being able to clearly and concisely write steps or instructions is an important skill for our students to develop.

Using the Christmas mini-books your students will have the opportunity to practice how to writing about activities they have already done in real life.  The Wrap it Up mini-book will have your students writing about how to wrap a present.  Here students will include a list of needed supplies in addition to writing the steps.

What’s great about this activity is that it is really simple to set-up a hands-on gift wrapping station so that kids can experience it before they write about it.

Using recycled newspaper, construction paper or wrapping paper, students can practice before writing.  You can also use the hands-on gift wrapping station to have students “test” their steps.  Working with a partner, students can read one step at a time while the other person completes the action.  Make sure to have students do exactly what was said – no reading between the lines allowed.  This activity is a wonderful way to help students see how they can be more specific with their words.  Here’s an example of this type of activity done with how to writing for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

As you can see, this type of activity really helps students to think about their words.  It’s great for a whole class lesson as an engagement activity, but it’s also great to put the final writing to the test.  I don’t know about you but a gift wrapping station is a lot less mess than PB&J!

More Christmas Writing Fun Too!

While these activities cover many important writing skills, there’s more too.  Students will have opportunities to do some creative writing in A Christmas Bakery, and practice word variety in Christmas Carols as they work on synonyms.  There’s also a fun flip book with word puzzles and a chance to write out their Christmas list.

Your students will love writing this holiday season with these Christmas Flip Books .  And you, well you will love just how easy it is to engage your students in working on a variety of writing skills during the holiday season.  You can grab these Christmas Flip Books in my store on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Looking for More Christmas Learning?

Between my love of Christmas and my desire to engage students, I have a variety of fun learning activities that are perfect for this time of year.  Here’s just a few that I know you and your students will love.

• Christmas Writing Prompts with a Gingerbread PBL Twist
• 5 Fun Christmas Math Worksheets for Upper Elementary Classrooms
• Christmas Activities for Kids
• Christmas Tree Challenge: A Christmas STEM Activity
• December Reading Activities for Upper Elementary

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You might need these resources now, or you might have found your way here in July.  Either way, just pin this to your favorite classroom Pinterest board so you can come back any time for fun and engaging Christmas writing activities.

Shelly Rees

Hi, I’m Shelly! Thank you for being here. I love helping third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers with fun and engaging activities that require no to little prep! Let me help you by taking some of the stress and work off your plate.

Hi, I'm Shelly

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Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

Christmas Worksheets

Please use any of the printable Christmas worksheets below in your classroom or at home. Just click on the worksheet title to view details about the PDF and print or download to your computer. All worksheets are free to print.

Christmas Writing Paper

This printable lined paper template includes a colorful Christmas tree and colorful lines for your youngster to write on.

Christmas Preschool Theme Activities

Celebrate the holidays while you keep your Preschool students engaged in the class with these helpful, fun Christmas activities! Your students will enjoy a variety of worksheets and coloring pages found in this Christmas Theme Pack of holiday printables focusing on letters, numbers, and colors. These resources are great for use both at home and in the classroom!

Christmas Acrostic Poem Activity

See what your students come up with when you hand out this worksheet and have them write an acrostic poem about Christmas.

Christmas Rhymes Worksheet

In this worksheet, your youngster will match the Christmas words to the words that rhyme.

Christmas Stockings: Names That Start With a Vowel

This Christmas activity will help your students in learning how to find a vowel by using names on a Christmas stocking!

Christmas Vowel Match Game Worksheet

This fun Christmas match game will help your student learn the vowels and practice memory skills.

Christmas: Color the Long O Sounds

Celebrate as you practice letter sounds with this Christmas Activity on the long o sound. Students will be asked to color the spaces with words that have a long o sound red, and the spaces with words that have a short o sound any color they like.

Christmas: Color the Short O Sounds

Celebrate as you practice letter sounds with this Christmas Activity on the short o sound. Students will be asked to color the spaces with words that have a short o sound red, and the spaces with words that have a long o sound any color they like.

Color the Christmas Adjectives

Have fun in the classroom celebrating the holidays as you practice identifying adjectives with this fun, educational coloring page! Color each of the shapes that have an adjective in it red, and the other shapes with any color you like. Once all of the shapes have been filled in, the picture of a festive stocking and candy canes will appear!

Color the Christmas Words

Each space has a holiday word written on it. Students will be asked to color each word with a different color. For example, color the spaces with ‘tree’ green, ‘candle’ grey, ‘elf’ blue, and so on. You’ll be surprised to find a fun ‘Ho Ho Ho!’ illustration when all the spaces are colored!

My Christmas Tree Writing Prompt

A Christmas worksheet for students to write about their own Christmas trees! Fun for all students and a great creative activity!

My Christmas Wish

Encourage your students in their writing skills with this Christmas wish writing activity.

Name the Christmas Elves

Each of the elves in this printable Christmas worksheet needs a name. Students will be asked to name each elf by combining a syllable from Column A with a syllable from Column B. For example, combine the syllable “twee” with the syllable “zo” to get the name “Tweezo”. Have your students give it a try!

Candy Cane Maze Activity

You little one will have to find her way through this delightful Christmas maze of candy canes.

Christmas Add an Adjective Worksheet Activity

In this worksheet, your student will use adjectives to describe a sparkling Christmas tree.

Christmas Eve Secret Code Worksheet

Everyone loves to solve a mystery! Here’s a Christmas worksheet where all your students can break the code!

Christmas Lights: Make a Word

Ready, Set, Go! See how many words you can make with this holiday lights activity!

Christmas Modifiers: Change the Adjectives to Adverbs

Teach your students the difference between adjectives and adverbs with this Christmas classroom activity.

Christmas Storytime Worksheet

Have our youngster practice her writing skills with this special Christmas writing prompt.

Christmas Synonyms and Antonyms

Practice writing synonyms and antonyms with this Christmas Words Activity. Students will be asked to read a list of holiday themed words and write a synonym and antonym for each given word. For example, write a synonym and antonym for “dashing”.

Christmas Writing Printables

Resources to Support Writing During the Holidays

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Students get excited about Christmas. These writing resources give your students opportunities to expand their writing skills on topics they find really fun and exciting.  On each page you will find a link that you can click to create the pdf file or files.  You may want to create your own models, as you utilize these free printables.  You might also choose to use these pages to create a class Christmas book that you copy, your students assemble, and take home as a keepsake for their second, third or even fourth grade class!

Structured Christmas Writing Activities

These Christmas writing worksheets provide models at the top of each page, as well as directions for how to write a complete paragraph.  These ask students to write a topic sentence, three detail sentences and a conclusion. Perfect for emerging writers who have progressed past "fill in the blank" worksheets. 

Christmas Writing Themes

Each printable has a single topic with suggestions to help you structure your writing.  True graphic organizers, these paragraph prompts provide a visual reminder to help your students create their own paragraphs.  Perhaps a rubric would be a great way to structure the activity and assure good quality writing.

Christmas Writing Paper

We provide free printables with different decorative borders to encourage your students with Christmas writing projects.  Provide these attractive blank pages to your students and it will generate lots and lots of interest. Why not give a different writing prompt to go with each of the frames: candy canes, holly and Christmas lights.  They will also make your holiday Christmas bulletin boards, as well. Or try a cutting activity !

More Christmas Writing Templates

These Christmas writing templates have decorative headings to help spur student writing.  You can create your own writing prompts, or see what your students consider to be appropriate topics for each of the spaces. For non-Christian students, you can provide the snow man to help them write about their favorite winter activities. 

Who Doesn't Love Christmas?

Motivation is seldom a challenge when given a Christmas writing activity. Considering how many or our students will use inappropriate behavior to avoid writing? Not when it involves Santa, or presents or Christmas trees. These resources provide a range of supported writing opportunities, from filling the blanks (the Christmas Rhymes book) to writing independently (the bordered Christmas writing printables.) Hopefully your students will knock themselves out!

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• Christmas Writing Printables to Format Christmas Writing
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• Christmas Journal Writing Prompts
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Christmas Ideas and Activities for 3rd, 4th, and 5th Grade

The Christmas ideas and activities below will help you keep your students engaged those last few weeks of school before winter break.  Whether you are looking for free, no prep printables, holiday or Christmas party ideas, or low prep literacy activities that will keep your students learning, you've come to the right place.

The Christmas activities and ideas below are ideal for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students.

Low prep literacy activities to help you celebrate Christmas in the classroom while still keeping things educational. Includes ELA activities - writing, reading, and oral language activity ideas for your upper elementary students.

Looking for some affordable and educational gift ideas for upper elementary aged kids?   This is the Christmas gift list for you.

Having students write on Christmas topics is a fun, no prep activity for the upper elementary classroom.  Check out these 18 Christmas writing prompt ideas for this holiday season.

Christmas party ideas for your 3rd grade, 4th grade, or 5th grade students.   Some of the ideas are geared towards Christmas, while others can be used in classrooms or schools where Christmas is not celebrated.

Wanting to watch Polar Express with your students?  Here are some ideas to make comparing the book to the movie a rigorous and meaningful activity this Christmas!

Stuck inside?  Have an indoor snowball fight!  You can use this activity as a brain break, an ice breaker, or a way to review different skills.   The possibilities are endless.

A collection of some of my favorite free Christmas printables on TPT for upper elementary classrooms.  Includes math activities, ELA activities, and just for fun activities.

This free printable has students use their knowledge of fractions to create a snowman scene.  Your 3rd and 4th grade students will love this activity that integrates art and math!

Need some engaging ideas for keeping students engaged during the holidays?  Check out these 15 Christmas activities for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.

These strategy games make perfect gifts for upper elementary teachers or for families with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade aged kiddos.

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45 Christmas-Themed Writing Prompts and Activities for Middle School Students

October 27, 2023 //  by  Rachel Cruz

Christmas is just around the corner, which means winter break is too! How can you get your middle school students to write when the break is so close? Keep them engaged in your ELA class with these 45 Christmas-themed writing activities! Your middle schoolers will practice their writing and learn about the gift of giving throughout each writing activity.

1. Roll and Write!

Middle schoolers often dread writing or complain that they don’t know what to write about. Instead of telling them to use their imagination, give them a die and have them roll an idea for each part of their story. These roll-and-write Christmas stories make for a good laugh and a great writing experience.

Learn More: Simply ELA

2. Acrostic Poems

Acrostic poems are an excellent writing activity that can be used with all grade levels. Pick the holiday, and have them use creative writing to describe that holiday! You will be surprised by each student’s writing skills as they complete each poem.

Learn More: Thought Co.

3. Ten Things In An Elf’s Pocket

This creative writing activity is perfect for 6th-grade or upper-elementary students. Ask the students to imagine if they were elves. What would they have in their pockets? You will be surprised by the imagination of your students in this Christmas-themed writing activity.

Learn More: Tes

4. Would You Rather?

A great holiday game for ELA is Would You Rather? Give the students questions and have them choose between each option. Then, they can write about it in a persuasive essay and add it to their writing folders. Not only does it meet the standards, but it also gets kids engaged and passionate!

Learn More: Perkins

5. Father Christmas…Stuck in Chimney! 

This fun holiday activity requires your students to use their imagination as they write a newspaper article about Santa Claus and how he got stuck in the chimney. After they finish, have your secondary students share them as a class and vote for the best story.

Learn More: Twinkl

6. If I Were an Elf…

If I Were An Elf is similar to Ten Things In An Elf’s Pocket, but in this activity, students must imagine they were an elf and all the things they would do! This fun writing activity has endless opportunities for using their imagination and creative writing skills.

7. Collaborative Stories

Collaborative stories are perfect for a fun time in the holiday season. Students will write a sentence for a holiday story and then pass it to the next student. The result will be a hilarious holiday-appropriate short story in which the entire class participated.

Learn More: 100 Story Building

8. How To Catch A Gingerbread Man

This writing prompt is excellent for upper elementary students or 6th grade. Students must use their creativity to imagine how to catch a gingerbread man. Students won’t even realize they are doing an assignment as they write about this fun topic.

Learn More: Primarily Speaking

9. What Brings You Joy?

A great holiday activity for middle school students to practice gratitude and mindfulness is  What Brings You Joy? Students will have to brainstorm and reflect on what makes them happy as they write each one inside the word “Joy.” Then, you can hang them around the classroom for the entire class sees.

Learn More: Digging Deeper Teaching Resources

10. The Night Before…Parody

A Christmas Carol Parody is a great activity for engaging your secondary students around the holiday season. After reading The Night Before Christmas, introduce them to parodies they may know, then challenge them to write their own!

Learn More: Just Add Students

11. Ugly Christmas Sweater

Everyone loves an ugly Christmas sweater! In this fun writing unit, students will practice using descriptive writing about an ugly sweater. Then, they will pass their paper to another student and have to color a shirt based on the form! This writing game is perfect and aligns with common core standards, so it’s excellent for students and teachers.

12. Trapped in a Snow Globe

In this creative writing prompt, students must imagine they were trapped in a snow globe! They can practice writing using the five senses or write a short story. This holiday lesson plan is perfect for a busy holiday season and a stressed-out English teacher.

Learn More: Jennifer Findley

13. The Great Tree Debate

Persuasive writing is one of the common core standards for middle schoolers. Have them show what they know by answering the holiday discussion question: Which is better: real trees or artificial ones? Students can write an essay or do an impromptu speech to make the class more exciting!

Learn More: Course Hero

14. Scrooge’s Diary Entry

After finishing the favorite holiday tradition of reading or watching  A Christmas Carol,  have your middle school students try out a new perspective. What was Scrooge thinking? What is his diary like? Then, have them write a diary entry explaining their thoughts!

Learn More: The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs

15. Snowball writing

Snowball Writing is a collaborative activity that engages the entire class! Students will each begin a story and then pass it to the next person as if it were a snowball. Then, they continue to write the Christmas story. These collaborative writing pieces will make students excited about writing and dying to discover the story’s ending!

Learn More: Presto Plans

16. Mitten Memories

Mitten Memories is a great writing prompt that asks students to reflect on their holiday breaks over the past years. They must choose their favorite moment about Christmas and write about it with sensory details and figurative language to capture the emotion of each moment.

Learn More: The Classroom Creative

17. Gingerbread House For Sale

In this creative writing endeavor, students must create their own gingerbread house and put it up for sale. This persuasive writing lesson will have students apply their knowledge about how to convince others. Plus, at the end of the unit, they can build their gingerbread house and try to sell it to their classmates for real!

Learn More: EB Academics

18. Holiday Story Task Cards

Some students complain they don’t know what to write about, especially when it’s close to the holiday break. Keep them motivated by giving them creative writing holiday story prompts. This could be used for journal writing or in centers, but teachers love it because they will never run out of things to write about.

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

19. White Out Poetry

This fun writing center activity is excellent for teaching poetry. This digital activity challenges students to change the main idea or meaning from an original poem by adding whiteout to the words making for a super fun English class.

Learn More: Now Spark Creativity

20. Throw Kindness Like Snowballs

The holiday season isn’t only about presents. Teach your students the magic of kindness and giving compliments through this fun activity. Students will feel warm and fuzzy as they read the kind things their peers write about them.

Learn More: Raise the Bar Reading

21. Mad Libs

Mad Libs are suitable for any holiday but make for a great Christmas writing activity. Elementary or secondary students will practice parts of speech as they fill in the blanks in the story. This fun idea will have your students laughing and begging to do more!

Learn More: Happiness is Homemade

22. Scattegories

This Christmas-themed writing game is perfect for a fun, engaging class time. Students will be given a variety of holiday topics, and they must think of one idea that starts with a specific letter. This activity for students is a great way to have fun in the classroom as the holiday break comes closer.

Learn More: The Crafting Chicks

23. Christmas Trivia

Christmas trivia is a super fun game for all ages! Your students can research facts about Christmas or any winter holiday and then write questions and answers. Then, they can have a trivia day about Christmas-themed topics.

Learn More: Adventure in a Box

24. Write a Carol

Caroling is a holiday tradition that many people practice. If you want to bring music into your classroom, have your students listen to carols, brainstorm themes about Christmas, and write their carols! Then you can go caroling to each classroom with the songs they create.

Learn More: Writing with Sharon Watson

25. The True Story Behind The Grinch

In this creative writing assignment, students must use their imagination to explain why the Grinch is the way he is. A decent percentage of students will know the movie and have crazy answers to the question.

26. Christmas Comics

If your middle school students dread writing, have them write a Christmas comic! They can use any holiday story they know and have them rewrite it with illustrations, interjections, and dialogue. Plus, this activity meets the common core topic of writing and understanding different types of texts.

Learn More: Mindroar Teaching Resources

27. Roll a Poem

Roll A Poem  is an excellent activity for elementary-aged students and up! Students will have to roll a die to create their poems. Every child will have a different poem, and they can analyze their differences.

Learn More: Paths to Literacy

28. Christmas Exchange Game

In this “Secret Santa” activity, students will have to describe an item they are willing to give. They. It must be super descriptive, as other students will need to guess the object based on their writing! Then, they get to choose the gift and see if it is what they are thinking of.

Learn More: ELA Core Plans

29. Choice Board

The Christmas Choice Board is a perfect activity for busy teachers during the holiday season. These writing activities allow your middle schoolers to be independent while they get to choose an activity that they like!

Learn More: The Library Voice

30. Sentence Mix-Up!

If you are looking for a great holiday game to play when students lack motivation, then play the Mixed Up Sentence Game! Students will sort complete sentences to create a simple story while enforcing writing rules.

Learn More: Composition Classroom

31. One Word Resolution Quilt

This short and straightforward writing unit is perfect for starting a new year! Teach your children about affirmations and self-reflection as they create a classroom quilt to remind them of the people they want to become.

Learn More: Mr. C’s SharesEase

32. Christmas Memories

Like Mitten Memories, this reflective writing prompt asks students to describe their favorite holiday memories. They should express it with figurative language as if the reader were experiencing it, showing the meaning and emotion of the moment.

33. Debate Writing, Giving, or Gifting?

The holiday season is about giving and joy and appreciating our things. This Christmas writing activity pack teaches your secondary students the gift of giving!

Learn More: Secondary Sara

34. Winter Poetry

Acrostic poems are fun, but some middle schoolers may think they are childish. Challenge these students to create their winter poetry with figurative language and strong vocabulary they can present to their families and friends.

Learn More: Loving Language Arts

35. Snow Day Story!

The news of a snow day is a fantastic feeling for students and teachers. Engage your students in this winter writing activity by having them create a short story or narrative about a snow day.

Learn More: The Secret Life of Homeschoolers

36. Bring Meaning To The Season

What is Christmas? Why do we celebrate these winter holidays? This interactive and hands-on unit teaches your students the meaning of the season.

Learn More: Mrs. Spangler in the Middle

37. The 12 Days Of Christmas

The 12 Days of Christmas is a familiar song that most students know. Encourage your students to write daily with these prompts until the beginning of their winter break!

Learn More: Dilyana’s World

38. Christmas Cards

If you want a Christmas Themed Writing Activity, have your middle schoolers write Christmas cards to their loved ones! Remind your students to be specific about why they appreciate each person, as this will contribute to a happy and safe classroom community.

Learn More: Lanternfish ESL

39. What Does Christmas Mean To Me? 

The holidays are critical moments in our lives. In this thoughtful writing activity, the students will need to think deeper about the meaning of Christmas and why it is essential to them.

Learn More: Journal Buddies

40. Santa Does Exist! 

For this creative writing activity, have your kids use their knowledge of facts and opinions to write about various prompts like, “What would a day in the life of one of Santa’s elves look like?”. Remind them to use evidence to persuade their readers before encouraging them to engage in a classroom debate with their work afterward.

41. Gratitude Journal

This writing activity can be used any year but is significant during the winter holidays. As a daily journal prompt, have your students write what they are grateful for and why, as it allows them to recognize how privileged they are and the good things they have in life.

Learn More: Homeschool of 1

42. If I had 1,000,00,000…

In this meaningful holiday-themed lesson, your students will be asked what they would do if they had one million dollars. Would they buy presents for the poor? Would they donate to charity, or would they spend it on themselves? Use this time as a gateway to explore the gift of giving and the meaning of Christmas.

Learn More: Think About Such Things

43. Christmas Reader’s Theatre

Reader’s theatre is an excellent way to have a fun ELA class. Have your students write or practice a holiday script and then perform in front of the entire class.

Learn More: Readers Theater

44. Picture Writing

Christmas picture writing is an excellent idea for an ELA or ESL class! Students will be given a photo and asked to write a story about it. These photos will allow students to dig deep and use their imagination to show their perspective of what is happening in the holiday photo.

Learn More: On TESOL

45. Christmas in Space

If you are looking for a unique Christmas-themed lesson, ask your students to write about Christmas in Space! There are no correct answers, and students must use their imagination and image of Christmas to explain their ideas.

Learn More: Inkling Writing

The Classroom Creative

December 1, 2012 By Karen Whiteside

Christmas Writing Activities for Kids

Look no further for a writing activity accompanied by a cute crafted reindeer, elf, Santa, gingerbread man or Grinch. Kids will surely find inspiration to write after creating a craft or two. Hang these projects up because these Christmas themed writing activities make great Christmas bulletin board displays!

Kindergarten Writing Activities

Reindeer activity from Welcome to room 36

Reindeer activity from Little Miss Glamour Goes to Kindergarten

Where is the Elf today? from A Cupcake for the Teacher

Gingerbread man read/write activity from Spotlight on Kindergarten

1st Grade Writing Activities All about evergreen a science activity! Includes the evergreen lifecycle,  craft, graphic organizers, and labeling! Click HERE for more details!

More Christmas fun with this Christmas lifecycle, drawing, and craft! Check out the details HERE!

Holiday Express Train mini-book  via our TpT shoppe

Holiday Express Train Bulletin Board display with writing prompts  via our TpT shoppe

Grab this fun gingerbread activity  for your bulletin boards!

Santa looks a little suck. Book and writing activity from 1st Grade Parade

Reindeer job application from Babbling Abby

Christmas fill in the blank activity from Clever Classroom via TpT

Reading Sequence from Sarah’s First Grade Snippet

2nd Grade Writing Activities

Snow not tell from 2nd Grade Shenanigans

Reindeer craft and writing activity from Buzzing About Second Grade

Dear Santa letter {free printable} from Polka Dot Pixies

3rd Grade Writing Activities

I would make the Grinch grin writing activity from 3rd Grade Rocks!

 Grinch Foldable from A Teacher’s Treasure

Did you miss our Christmas Bulletin Boards and Winter Bulletin Boards posts? We hope they inspire you to create a board you would like to share with us!   Need more ideas for your students this winter? Stop by our winter crafts gallery .   Stay connected with us here at The Classroom Creative: Google  ::  Instagram  ::  bloglovin’ Facebook  ::  Pinterest  ::  Twitter Email Have a great idea and want to share it? Whether you have a blog or not, we’d love for you to  submit an idea here ! Have a great idea and want to share it? Whether you have a blog or not we’d love for you to  submit an idea here !   Enjoy the cold, Karen

[…] by our Christmas Writing Activities for Christmas projects to fill your bulletin […]

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Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas! Super Teacher Worksheets has hundreds of Christmas printables that you can use in your classroom. Math, Reading, Writing, and Spelling. We also have a page of creative crafts templates and challenging word puzzles. Choose a subtopic from the list below.

We have a jolly selection of Christmas-themed math worksheets. Math topics include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, time, money, and fractions.

Santa's elves have been working hard designing new word puzzles, brain teasers, and classroom games for your students. Play Christmas bingo with your class. Challenge your students to solve the word search and crossword puzzles. And get your students searching the classroom with the holiday scavenger hunt.

Deck the halls of your school with Christmas these adorable Christmas craft projects! Activities include a Christmas countdown calendar, a Santa with arms and legs that move, a diorama project, cootie catchers, holiday headbands, and a 3-dimensional Christmas tree craft.

Pull out your markers, colored pencils, and crayons! This page has a selection of Christmas pictures for children to color.

These early literacy activities were designed specially for students in Pre-Kindergarten through 1st grade. Activities include sentence building learning centers, cut-and-glue phonics activities, and an easy-to-read mini-book.

Print these wonderful Christmas-themed reading comprehension stories, holiday poems for kids, seasonal writing prompts, and grammar worksheets.

Christmas Spelling Units

Here's a holly jolly Christmas spelling unit that your students will love. There's a word list and a dozen worksheets to try. Spelling words include: tree, snow, Santa, card, elf, shop, train, sled, bell, and gift.

This tree-mendous 2nd grade unit features a word list, word puzzles, and phonics-based spelling worksheets.

Here's a very merry Christmas spelling unit designed specially for your 3rd grade-level students. Word list includes snowman, Christmas, candle, reindeer, angel, merry, elf, wreath, snowflakes, winter, holly, sleigh, lights, Santa, and carols.

Teacher your students to spell seasonal words like reindeer, holly, snowflakes, decorations, December, chestnuts, chimney, exchange, and tinsel. This is a complete unit, with a spelling word list and worksheets.

Holiday words in this spelling unit include mistletoe, boughs of holly, snowfall, ornaments, wrapping, wreath, caroling, gingerbread, sleigh bells, fruit cake, Christmas, presents, and chestnuts.

Picture & Chapter Book Literacy Units

This page has worksheets you can use with the popular children's book The Polar Express , by Chris Van Allsburg.

This literacy unit has about a dozen worksheets that you can use with the book, Christmas in Camelot , by Mary Pope Osborne.

Students can cut out and color the menorah craft. There are also Hanukkah stories to read, math worksheets to try, and creative writing prompts.

Celebrate the magic of winter with these snowman-themed math worksheets, writing prompts, and reading comprehension passages.

We have printable worksheets and activities for all major holidays, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Earth Day, and more.

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Last updated by Linda Kamp on December 29, 2022 • Leave a Comment

10 Third Grade Christmas Activities You’ll Want To Do Every Year

There are some holiday activities that are so awesome, they become a permanent part of your classroom holiday events. I gathered a list of some of my favorite third grade Christmas activities that I keep coming back to each holiday season. I hope you’ll want to keep doing them every year too!

Third Grade Christmas Activities

I’ve included my top third grade Christmas activities with links to resources and freebies. Enjoy!

Take a trip around the world

Teaching about holidays around the world is one of my all-time favorite third grade Christmas activities that I have been doing for years! This always ends up being an incredible learning experience that is fun and memorable for my students.

Take your class on a journey around the world to learn about special traditions, celebrations, and foods for the holidays in different countries. There’s so much to learn!! Make the experience even more magical by using the free flight script and holiday destination posters in this post. If you’re looking for even more resources for teaching holidays around the world, click here for a complete Holidays Around the World Unit & PowerPoint!

Have a Holiday Book Exchange

Who doesn’t love a new book? A holiday book exchange is an excellent way to give books new life by allowing students to regift, recycle, and reuse unwanted books. This will get students eager to read over the upcoming break. 

Set up your holiday book exchange by asking students to bring in gently used books from home wrapped with a bow or a candy cane. You can lay out the books ahead of time to build students’ excitement all week long!

If you have Scholastic bonus points, that’s another great way to get books for the exchange. Look for books that students have been getting excited about and you’ll really spark their interest in the book exchange!

You can grab this FREE Holiday Book Exchange Parent Letter to spread the word to adults at home!

Compare different versions of The Gingerbread Man

Comparing different versions of The Gingerbread Man is a great way to practice and review skills taught so far this year. All of the versions of The Gingerbread Man are excellent for teaching about central message, character traits, repetition in stories, and how characters respond to challenges. They’re a great starting point for turning readers into thinkers !

Host a holiday movie day

My students always love a holiday movie day (and so do I!), so it’s making my list of top third grade Christmas activities! You can transform a simple movie day into a learning experience with some great movie day math and ELA ideas in this post. Be sure to download the awesome FREE movie day menus to use with any movie while you’re there!!

Have a countdown to Winter Break

No list of third grade Christmas activities would be complete without a special countdown to Winter Break! Students will get so excited to see what each day will bring. We even sing an alternate version of “The 12 Days of Christmas”.

Here’s how it works: Each morning roll down or uncover the chart to reveal that day’s special treat. Students use the treats to do math and ELA tasks!

Click here to check out what I use for this activity. I have options for grades 1-4!

Challenge your students to write one sentence summaries

One of my favorite third grade challenges, this one-sentence summary freebie is a great option if you’re looking for third grade Christmas activities. It really keeps students engaged by providing a little challenge combined with a cute craft!

It’s a simple activity too—just use some favorite books and challenge students to write a summary in one sentence only. It also makes for a great door or bulletin board decoration, which is an awesome added bonus!

Make easy parent gifts

One of the third grade Christmas activities I like to do in December is create easy and inexpensive parent gifts. I really like using Dollar Tree candles and turning them into little art projects by students. The candles can easily be made to look like snowmen, or students could decorate the candle with tissue paper scraps and watered down school glue.

There are also a ton of cute homemade ornament options that can easily and inexpensively be made. Check out this post to get more ideas for easy parent gifts!

Make candy cane cactus ornaments 

Read The Gingerbread Cowboy by Janet Squires and make candy cane cactus ornaments! They’re super easy to do!

Candy Cane Cactus Ornament for the Gingerbread Cowboy

Here’s how:

• Draw a cactus shape on card stock to make a tracer.
• Trace 3-4 on a sheet of copy paper.
• Copy on red paper.
• Cut out the cactus shape.
• Glue thin strips of white paper to the back of the ornament. Then turn the ornament over and trim off the extra.
• Glue pieces of green pipe cleaner to the tops of the cactus.

Hold a secret Santa of kind words

The Secret Santa of Kind Words is one of the third grade Christmas activities that you’ll definitely want to repeat each year—it is such a precious way to spread the gift of kindness during the holiday season!

Place the names of your students in a hat. You could also add names of volunteers and school staff as well to include them in on the fun. Have each student draw a name to find out who their Secret Santa of Kind Words is, then each student makes a card and writes kind things about the person they chose!

For students who don’t celebrate Christmas, this could be a Secret Snowman instead!

Exchange gingerbread men

Exchanging gingerbread men is a great holiday tradition for your classroom and it’s a great option for third grade Christmas activities. We sign up to exchange gingerbread men with other schools each year. It’s a lot of fun!

I like to get my students ready for this gingerbread exchange by reading The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School. Then, we make a class book filled with pictures of our class chasing our gingerbread men through the school. Click here to get my templates and directions for the class book and gingerbread man craft if you want to do this with your class!

Decorate for Data

I love to incorporate math skills into my third grade Christmas activities, so this Gingerbread Decorate for Data activity is always a favorite! We generate data by decorating our cookies according to a glyph key. You can use real cookies or paper cookies for this (to avoid the mess!).

It’s awesome to see how each child is represented through the items on their gingerbread man. This is a great classroom community building activity because students can get to know their classmates through their glyphs! 

We even used the ChatterPix app for students to explain what each item on their cookie represents.

Take a look at this post to learn more about how I do this activity with my students, as well as some other gingerbread math activities to try out!

Create lunch sack gingerbread houses

These adorable gingerbread house gift bags are one of the third grade Christmas activities that are always a crowd favorite with students! You can make them easily and cheaply by using lunch sacks from the dollar store. It also makes a great gift wrapping option for parent gifts!

I hope you’ve discovered some third grade Christmas activities you’ll want to repeat year after year! Pin this post to keep these ideas in mind and have them when you  plan!

Find more fun holiday activities & teaching ideas in these posts!

Easy Classroom Christmas Crafts That Keep Kids Learning

15 Winter Holidays Around the World Activities You’ll Want to Do Every Year!

10 Holiday Traditions to Start This Year!

Happy holidays!

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Free Summer Learning Menus

Help prevent summer learning loss. Grab these free Summer Learning Menus and parent letter for 2nd grade and 3rd grade students.

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Hello Friends

I’m Linda Kamp, a 20 year primary grade teacher with a passion for creating educational materials that excite students and make learning fun! I'm so glad you're here!