Your students will love creating their own reindeer puppets and stories. Here's a free lesson plan, printable p
uppets, story web and mini-book.
Materials:
Instructions (for students):
- Color the My Reindeer puppet.
- Write notes for the story on the story web.
Write a draft of the story.- Cut out the mini-book and staple the pages together.
- Complete the cover, title page and number each page of the book. (There are 7 lines on the web, because one page is a title page.)
- Write the story in the book. (The back of each page, left side, is for illustrations and the right side is for text.)
- Cut out and glue the puppet onto a popsicle stick.
- Act out your My Reindeer story.
Here's a free Winter Words printable!
Materials:
Instructions:
- Read the instructions (color & trace).
- Read aloud each word with students.
- Students repeat each word.
- Students color and trace each word.
More Writing Help:
This printable has been designed to use after assessing your students' prior knowledge. It is meant to be differentiated, depending upon the student's needs.
Materials:
Instructions:
1. After completing pre-assessments, the student circles the money he/she needs to study.
2. Student draws the amount of money on the right side. Then, the student writes the amount inside the green box.
(E.g., Drawing a simple circle with "25" inside the circle, can symbolize a quarter. Drawing a rectangle with a dollar sign and "1' can symbolize a dollar.)
3. Student draws the gift on the left side. Then, the student writes the purchase price of the gift on the tag.
3. Students draw a line from total amount of counted money to the gift they can buy with that amount. (Needs to be the exact amount.)
Notes:
- On the upper-right of the printable, you will see "other bills to study". This can be used for larger bills (e.g. $5, $10, $100, etc.)
- Here's a Gift Shopping, Learning to Count Quarters and Dollars printable.
- Students can use pretend money as they count. (optional).
More to Help Students Learn about Money:
Materials:
Instructions:
- Teacher reviews colors and shapes with the students.
- Students color the Christmas trees.
- Teacher posts the Christmas Trees on a classroom bulletin board (optional).
- Create a big Christmas tree in your classroom made from green poster board. Students cut out shapes or ornaments from colorful construction paper and attach the ornaments to the tree. Here's a free ornaments template.
More to Help Teach Your Students about Shapes and Colors:
Here's a quick and easy last-minute Thanksgiving activity for use at school or at home! Children will love to use their handprints to create the feathers on the turkey, and write what they are thankful for. This is a treasured centerpiece for the Thanksgiving table.
Materials:
- Pine cone
- Google eyes
- Black marker
- Construction paper (brown, orange or yellow)
- Glue
- Pencil
- Scissors
Instructions:
- Discuss and write examples of what the children are thankful for on the classroom white board or overhead.
- Show an example pine cone turkey and explain that they can put the turkey on their Thanksgiving table or display as a decoration in their home.
- Children (or adult) traces over the child's hand to make a handprint. Make as many handprints as you like. Older children may want to make a few handprints. For older children, a few handprints can be used to make more feathers. Younger children can make one handprint.
- Students write (with pencil) what they are thankful for on the thumb and fingers.
- On the palm of the handprint students write (with pencil), "I am Thankful."
- Proofread pencil writing.
- Trace over with a black marker.
- Tuck the handprint into the back of the pine cone. If the student made more than one handprint, tuck in all the handprints. You can choose to glue the handprints onto the pine cone, or just tuck them inside the cone.
- Glue on the googly eyes.
- Display as a Thanksgiving decoration or as a centerpiece on the Thanksgiving table.
[caption id="attachment_7132" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Here's a free, printable, Note to Santa Placemat (color)"][/caption]
Here's a Christmas Note to Santa Placemat (color or black & white), which can also be used as a classroom writing activity to post on a December bulletin board.
Materials:
- Christmas Note to Santa Placemat (color or black and white)
- Construction paper (9" x 12")
- Pencil
- Crayons
- Glue or tape
- Laminate or clear contact paper (optional, if making a placemat)
If you want more lines for your students to write on, use this Letter to Santa template.
Instructions:
- Review the parts of a letter (friendly or personal). Such as the greeting, body, complimentary close and signature line.
- Review Christmas words. Students can add more words next to the list on the upper right of the page.
- Students write a note to Santa.
- Glue to a sheet of construction paper.
[caption id="attachment_7136" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Here's a free, printable, Note to Santa Placemat (black & white coloring page)"]
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Options for Display:
- Laminate or use clear contact paper to use for Christmas placemats.
- Display on a December classroom bulletin board.
Your students will love writing in their journals with the help of their summer adventures guide, Ms. Robin!
The Summer Fun Journal can be sent home on the last day of school or it can be used for summer school.
Ms. Robin sings writing prompts on each page. Your students will enjoy writing and illustrating their own journals.
Materials:
Instructions:
- Copy one Summer Fun Journal for each student.
- Your students can help by stapling the pages together or punch with three holes and tie the journals together with yarn.
- Send the Summer Fun Journals home for the summer or use for a summer school activity.
More Fun and Educational Activities for Your Students:
Students will love creating their own winter scenes and stories.
First, they make a winter scene in a shoebox. Then, they can use the free templates (under "To Create a Book") for a story web, draft, and finished book explaining their winter scene.
Materials:
To Create the Book
To Create the Shoebox Winter Scene
- Shoe box
- Small mirror (or color paper blue or silver. This is the ice.)
- Cotton balls
- Glue
- Paper
- Scissors
- Colored pencils or crayons
- Lots of imagination!
Instructions:
1. Scenery
Students create a winter scene inside a shoe box. Glue the glass (ice) to the bottom of the box. Then, glue cotton balls all around the edges of the glass. (If you don't have a mirror, color some paper light blue.) Completely cover the bottom of the shoe box with cotton balls leaving the ice visible.
Draw any buildings, houses or mountain scenery you would like on the back of the shoe box using crayons or colored pencils. You could even use glitter for extra sparkle.
2. Characters
Draw small people and animals onto a piece of paper. Draw a line around the people or animals. Use this line as a guide to cut out your character after you draw a 1/4 inch box underneath each character. Fold this little box back and glue it to the bottom of the box to keep your character in place. If it needs extra help standing up, poke a toothpick behind the character and through the cotton balls.
Character Suggestions:
- Children ice skating on the frozen pond.
- A dog running in the snow.
- Children building a snowman.
- Children sledding.
- Children skiing.
- A snowman made of the cotton balls. Use paper, colored pencils, scissors and glue to make the eyes, nose, mouth, hat and buttons.
3. Story
Use this story web to brainstorm ideas.
Write a draft underneath the web.
Then, write the story in the book. Share it with friends as they look at your winter scene.
Here's a free template for a Letter to Santa to use during writers' workshop. Children will be thrilled to write a letter to Santa. Knowing the children's family traditions is important. Referring to the Family Tree (which can be completed at the beginning of the year) can help determine the students able to do this assignment.
One option is to have a variety of activities available to choose from, including the Santa Letter. Such as Top 5 Hanukkah Activities or the Winter Writers' Workshop Book. You can also ask children who celebrate Hanukkah to bring a dreidel game.
Materials:
Instructions:
Modeling/Teacher Example
Explain that they will be writing a letter to Santa. Show the students your own letter to Santa. What do you want Santa to know? What do you want for Christmas? Write each step on the white board. Explain how they should let you know that they are ready to have you proofread, so they can trace over in pen. (e.g. Get out a silent reading book and read quietly, so you can rotate through the room.)
Steps 1 and 2 - Pre-writing and Drafting
Start with a web. Make each line a paragraph. Write a draft with pencil under the web. Explain that during the brainstorming stage, you don't need to worry about spelling. Start writing the draft under the web.
Step 3 - Revising
Make any necessary changes to the paragraphs and sentences. Would you like to change a sentence or paragraph? What details would you like to add?
Start writing the finished version on the Santa Letter template using pencil.
Step 4 - Proofreading
Teacher shows students how to proofread using the word wall, words on board, dictionary and buddy feedback. Make any changes.
Hand out dictionaries, or if your students have the Words Writing series of books, they may enjoy adding to the list of words in the differentiated, personal dictionary.
Here's a list of words to write on the board during the teacher modeling (explained above). Add more words as students discover the correct spelling. It can be helpful to have students go up to the board and write the words on the board from the dictionary to share with the class.
- Santa Claus
- Christmas
- reindeer
- sleigh
- chimney
- presents
Step 5 - Publishing
- Trace over the pencil with black pen.
- Staple to a red, green or blue piece of construction paper and post on the classroom bulletin board or take home to share with parents before sending the letter to Santa.
Perfect for Parent Gifts
Play dough Christmas ornaments are perfect gifts for parents. Here are a few ornaments students can create using the easy, no-bake, play dough recipe provided.
Easy Play Dough Ornaments for Christmas:
- Handprint ornaments - Give each student a handful of play dough of any color. (To save time, if it is already a color, e.g. red, there will be no need to paint it later.) Students use a rolling pin to flatten the play dough. Then, they press a handprint into the dough. Use a straw to poke a hole in the top. Pull a ribbon or yarn through the hole for hanging. An optional design idea is to turn the handprint upside down and to paint the hand green (like a Christmas tree). To add a star use yellow paint -or- after drying dot the top of the tree with glue and sprinkle with glitter.
- Cookie cutter ornaments (optional photo)- Snowmen and angels are perfect for adding a photo of the child after drying and painting. Just cut out and glue the photo where the face is. Stocking shapes are perfect if you would like to add a name (e.g. "Mom" or "Dad"). Simply make the play dough recipe provided. Use the cookie cutters to cut out the shapes. Add little loops before drying toward the top or cut a hole towards the top with the end of a straw, so students can hang their ornaments using ribbon or yarn. Let them dry. Then, paint the ornaments. Glitter can also be glued onto the ornament, if you wish.
- Candy cane ornaments - Make a batch of the play dough. Cut it in half. Leave one half plain (or add glitter to it for extra sparkle). Then, use red food coloring to make the other half red. Give each student a small round ball of both colors. Students roll into balls and then smooth snakes. Then, they twist the play dough snakes around each other from top to bottom. Cut the ends. Make into a candy cane shape. If you have metal loops it will work out nicely to poke the loop into the curved top of the candy cane. That way they will have a hook ready to loop ribbon or yarn through for hanging. Let the ornaments dry. String yarn or ribbon through the loops.
Homemade play dough is very easy to make. The play dough hardens and can be used to make the adorable, one of a kind ornaments explained above.
Play Dough Recipe
Here’s a simple and quick recipe for play dough. The recipe does not require cooking. You can add glitter and food coloring for extra sparkles and colors, or keep it out.
[caption id="attachment_4015" align="alignright" width="298" caption="Glitter play dough is perfect for making crafts. You can also keep it in a plastic bag and re-use it."][/caption]
Ingredients:
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup salt
- 4 tbsp oil
- 1 and 1/2 cup water
- food coloring
- glitter (optional, sprinkle and add as necessary as you knead dough)
Instructions:
- Mix oil and food color together.
- Add dry mixture.
- Mix until pliable.
- Add the glitter. Mix/knead until glitter is distributed evenly.
- Keep in a plastic bag.
